bobodu
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My God....my back hurts from just thinking about 30 hours of welding.
Biggest forks ever
- Thread starter AKwelder
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AKwelder
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- Kubota B8200, 1953 International "Super C"
The forks are for a LARGE front end loader and I had to install the quick coupler on the back so the loader can drop them and add them as needed.
All of the none fork plate is cut by CNC water jet at a local shop.
No, the upright portion of the fork is 30 inches tall.
The weight? I have no idea, the plate steel is 1-3/4 high yield, the box tube is 8 x 8 x3/4 and the pins the fork is mounted on is 4 inch high yield steel.
The mast is 11 ft. wide
While we were building them we used an overhead crane and welded picking eyes wherever needed.
30 hours of welding just for the forks, me and an apprentice took 6 1/2 days at ten hours a day.
The welding on the forks was nothing abnormal, minimum preheat was 250 degrees, maximum interpass/preheat was 400 degrees. since this was not to crazy on the weld we used a DC-400 power source and a LN-3 (?) squirt feeder wire unit. I used .045 dual shield wire with a yield of 110,000 PSI and 75/25 backing gas.
On the rest of the unit we used what ever 80,000 PSI dual shield wire we had available, 81K2H mostly with 75/25 gas. The preheat was not as critical and the weld did not see anywhere near the stress. Most welds were 3/4 fillets.
We insulate pipe for oil field use here, the short of it is we wind a sprial duct around the pipe and cap the ends of the duct, then inject liquid foam in and let it expand and cure. If you use narrow forks to pick up the pipe when insulated it crushes the insulation. So we build one of a kind forks to use. Also has been discovered that the wider forks are better on all kinds of lift applications.
The other forks are high yield steel that is bent, I would guess that they are heated and bent and the cooling is very closely monitored and controled to avoid any changes to the steel. Kind of like heat treating, they may be slowly cooled over a long period of time.
The loader is big, very big. but nothing unusual, I thought it was a L-180. I will check and see if I can get any pictures of it in use. I saw that it was the loader supporting the double joint rack I am working at.
All of the none fork plate is cut by CNC water jet at a local shop.
No, the upright portion of the fork is 30 inches tall.
The weight? I have no idea, the plate steel is 1-3/4 high yield, the box tube is 8 x 8 x3/4 and the pins the fork is mounted on is 4 inch high yield steel.
The mast is 11 ft. wide
While we were building them we used an overhead crane and welded picking eyes wherever needed.
30 hours of welding just for the forks, me and an apprentice took 6 1/2 days at ten hours a day.
The welding on the forks was nothing abnormal, minimum preheat was 250 degrees, maximum interpass/preheat was 400 degrees. since this was not to crazy on the weld we used a DC-400 power source and a LN-3 (?) squirt feeder wire unit. I used .045 dual shield wire with a yield of 110,000 PSI and 75/25 backing gas.
On the rest of the unit we used what ever 80,000 PSI dual shield wire we had available, 81K2H mostly with 75/25 gas. The preheat was not as critical and the weld did not see anywhere near the stress. Most welds were 3/4 fillets.
We insulate pipe for oil field use here, the short of it is we wind a sprial duct around the pipe and cap the ends of the duct, then inject liquid foam in and let it expand and cure. If you use narrow forks to pick up the pipe when insulated it crushes the insulation. So we build one of a kind forks to use. Also has been discovered that the wider forks are better on all kinds of lift applications.
The other forks are high yield steel that is bent, I would guess that they are heated and bent and the cooling is very closely monitored and controled to avoid any changes to the steel. Kind of like heat treating, they may be slowly cooled over a long period of time.
The loader is big, very big. but nothing unusual, I thought it was a L-180. I will check and see if I can get any pictures of it in use. I saw that it was the loader supporting the double joint rack I am working at.
BX2230Dude
Silver Member
Here's more proof that it's "Tougher in Alaska"
Fairbanks is also home to the worlds biggest and toughest tow truck used to recover trucks that slide off the haul road to the oil fields. Seems fitting that they should have the biggest forks too.
Fairbanks is also home to the worlds biggest and toughest tow truck used to recover trucks that slide off the haul road to the oil fields. Seems fitting that they should have the biggest forks too.Lunk
Platinum Member
A salvage auction place down the road from me has forks that they use for loading junk cars. They slide them under the car the long way. The sucka's must 15-20 feet long, mounted on a mid-size wheel loader.
As far as capacity, I've never seen them lifting anything bigger than a crew-cab p/u, so 10k and under would probably cover it...
As far as capacity, I've never seen them lifting anything bigger than a crew-cab p/u, so 10k and under would probably cover it...
Bird
Rest in Peace
That's what I was talking about when I mentioned buying a forklift with 11 foot forks. The police auto pound was selling an average of more than 130 cars a week at an every Monday morning auction. As soon as the auction was over and the buyers started removing the vehicles they had bought, my guy started moving and lining up the vehicles for the next week's auction. He had been doing the job for years with a standard duty (one ton) wrecker, but it was much faster with the forklift, and even from one end, the 11 foot forks would handle one ton crew cab trucks.
woodlandfarms
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So, just how do you adjust those forks? You made them adjustable it looks like, but I know on my small little forks it is nothing but cursing trying to adust them. What do you use, a second tractor?
rtdiggr
Platinum Member
I would love to see the forks mounted to the unit if you get a chance to take a pic.
Shane
Shane
Wayne County Hose
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Well when I saw the title of this thread, I had to look. I was a forklift mechanic for over 22 years. Yes, they are the biggest set of forks I have ever seen. No, I don't want to work on what carries them.
Someone that mentioned it was correct. Standard forklift forks are made out of a sheet of steel that is tapered. The sheet is put in a huge press and bent to the 90 degree angle. Then they cut the forks to their individual width. I don't remember seeing them heated to bend them. I don't know what forks are made out of, but they are very hard and flexible. I have had to drill through them for attachments and even with a cobalt bit and a drill press it was very difficult.
Very nice job on building them. They look like something that came out of a factory. Hmm, maybe even better. I hope they got a new data plate for the machine, if needed. I know that on a forklift for something like this, you would first need a permission to modify form from the factory then an amended data plate for the changed weight capacity.
Someone that mentioned it was correct. Standard forklift forks are made out of a sheet of steel that is tapered. The sheet is put in a huge press and bent to the 90 degree angle. Then they cut the forks to their individual width. I don't remember seeing them heated to bend them. I don't know what forks are made out of, but they are very hard and flexible. I have had to drill through them for attachments and even with a cobalt bit and a drill press it was very difficult.
Very nice job on building them. They look like something that came out of a factory. Hmm, maybe even better. I hope they got a new data plate for the machine, if needed. I know that on a forklift for something like this, you would first need a permission to modify form from the factory then an amended data plate for the changed weight capacity.