Homemade Log Grapple

[woodlandfarms]

OK, you just can't put up a cool device like that and then walk away without telling us how you made it.

 

[FAZTRAC]

No scale to measure weight but guessing about 65 lbs without the square tubing extension. The main body side plates and top are aluminum alloy so that helps a lot.

In answer to how its made....just saw a picture from sweden or norway and couldn't see the innards, so I just used doorskin for patterns to figure it out, and mocked it up full scale and used finish nails as the center of the pivots, so I could open and close it with the connecting links and used a 6 inch stroke hydraulic cyl. I had bought in anticipation of project and used that in mockup too, and then cut out the steel and aluminum and drilled to suit. I waited until it was operational before welding in the flat bar reinforcement of the jaws to make sure jaws passed by each other OK. It actually opens up almost 40 inches. It is unreal fast picking up and moving logs around, even big logs around and loading trucks etc. When cutting up whole trees you can use it to pick up an end and support the tree to cut it up into managable chunks. If someone else wants to build one I can share the patterns. Head scratchin's the hard part.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Dude I am so IN!

I would love your templates. I am "logging" my 40, trying to get alders out and firs (redwoods, cedars) in. I have to get off the PT, do a chain wrap and drag trees out of a ravine. This would be a tool I would use a lot..

All the best

Carl

 

[FAZTRAC]

Carl
PM me with your e mail and I'll be glad to help you out. For your larger machine you can just scale up by 50% to 75% and be there.:thumbsup:
FAZ

 

[Red Zebra]

Totally righteous! I'm in the planning stages for a graple but mine will look nothing that nice. Great job.

 

[MossRoad]

Pretty sweet! :thumbsup: I like the head design. I am considering a grapple similar to that for firewood harvesting in our woods. I am just working out the swivel details in my head. The only thing that I would be worried about in your design is it doesn't seem to bend on all three axis. It appears from the photos that it will rotate parallel to the ground and rotate perpendicularr to that tractor but will not rotate parallel to the tractor without the use of the curl/dump function of the FEL. That could cause some serious torque, which, in the case of the PT, just means it will do the PT pucker, which most of us find acceptable anyway. :laughing:

 

[smilindave]

I'm impressed! I would have thought it would have weighed a lot more. Ive been thinking about building one of those myself.

 

[FAZTRAC]

Hey Moss

I opted for more control in just two planes when using the FEL facing the grapple forward. , but I do have a separate swivel to attach to balance point (see padeye welded on pipe 90) when I need free movement in three dimensions, (or I will just add another plate on my attaching tube with one more horizontal pivot bolt) without the FEL control, or when I get round to mounting on back of PT and I'm towing logs. With the FEL you have surgical control with this thing. Build one.... its a game changer in the woods!

 

[MossRoad]

Right now I just have a ring hitch that I put in my 2" receiver that I mount on the QA and use a chain. There is too much off and on of the tractor when doing it myself. Drive to log, get off and chain, get back on and drive to landing, get off and unchain, get on and drive to next log. 50 trees = 100 times off and on the tractor and 100 times the parking brake. Makes for a long couple hours.

The one I'm thinking of making will use rear wheel hub from a minivan for horizontal swivel and U joint from pickup truck drive shaft for the other two axis. That part is easy. The part that is hard is the grapple. I like your design. Now I gotta ponder... :laughing:

 

[3238dpw]

Man I hate to be a pest, but... How is this working for you? Did you ever get it set up for theback of the machine? Anymore action pics? How is the winch working out and any more pics of it in action?