FEL Grapple from Scratch W/ Lots-O-Pics

GuglioLS · Jan 11, 2008

Well sice this thread sort of came back to life, I just realized I forgot to post pics of the cylinder rod protector plate after I welded it on:

Not only will this protect the cylinder rod from odd shaped rocks protruding through, it stiffens up the jaw assembly to protect against bending.

Larry

GuglioLS · Jan 11, 2008

I found some close matching gold metallic spray paint at home depot. I figured as long as welding on the plate burned the original paint job, I would paint it gold to match my tractor just to see what it looked like -

I think it looks OK, not to many have a gold metallic paint job on a tractor. It's kind a cool looking in person and in full sunlight.

Hum....After looking at these pictures and thinking a little, I may have come up with one more very simple idea. It will solve a little problem most people have when they install a grapple. A hint - you loose it because the cylinder takes it's place. Anyone venture to guess what I'm thinking? It should be an easy guess, the answer is on the bucket in the above pictures.

Larry

Red55 · Jan 11, 2008

Larry awesome job on the grapple! Like the new color as well. Will it blind you in the sunlight? Oh you aren't missing that hook you took off the middle of the bucket? Thanks for sharing betcha you got almost as much time into posting as you did in building "The Grapple" -Ed

GuglioLS · Jan 11, 2008

Oh you aren't missing that hook you took off the middle of the bucket?

Ed,
Yep you guessed it, you win the bubble gum cigar! I have some weld on grab hooks. When it warms up a little I'll MIG a few on the plate between the jaws.

betcha you got almost as much time into posting as you did in building

- No doubt, It's got to be a close tie.
Thanks Ed

Larry

justcountry · Jan 11, 2008

Well the lightbulb finally went on Larry, I thought you operated the grapple off the bucket lines. I see what you did now. Could you also simplify this setup by putting an electric valve on the line that goes directly to the bucket cylinder after the FEL valve and just select one set of lines or the other? Or was it easier / better to do it as a third function? Also where did you get the proportioner and the pressure relief valve? Also I see you put the relief valve BEFORE th e FEL, doesnt the tractor/pump already have this? One more thing, where would I get the diode for the valve? radio shack? Sorry for all the ?'s my mind is always going...Thanks

bucmeister · Oct 10, 2009

I realize this thread has gotten a bit old, but I would like to add a couple of comments or ideas if you will.

Another option besides diamond plate for the front bracing plate could be to have put some holes in the smooth steel like you did with the jaws.

Since the pins were ultimately held in place with the socket head screws through the flange the route for getting grease to the desired places could have been to cut the opposite end off just behind the cross hole and to have drilled from that end. I have even seen the ends of such setups counter bored so that the grease fitting is recessed and protected. This would not only preclude the need for the setscrew but would have eliminated the need to remove the fitting when removing and replacing the jaw pins. Kind of kill two birds with one stone.

Just some thoughts that occurred to me as I read through this fascinating thread. I only fantasize about having this kind of machining and welding skills. Came across the whole project while looking for information on MIG welding and specifically recommended flow rates for CO2. I usually set mine at 30, but have since read 20 as a better rate.

Since both Rob and Larry produce some mighty fine looking welds, what flow rate do you use when welding up something like Larry's grapple. My machine is a Miller 210.

GuglioLS · Oct 10, 2009

Bucmeister,
Great observation, You are correct there is a better way to machine pins to accept a grease fitting. No doubt it would have been better done the way you suggest. I know better now and did use that technique when I added a QA setup to my old Ford FEL. Link to "New Bucket for and Old FEL"

Here are a bazillion pictures of how I did that:

This series of photos shows the setup to transfer the OEM holes in the pins to the bushings:

Obviously as you note a much better way. I didn't counter bore them for two reasons 1. Where the pins are located the chance of a fitting getting broken off is about zero. 2. I do have some that are counter bored. Over the long run they get packed with grease and dirt and it's a pain to clean them out to re-grease so I decided against it.

I recently aided in the design and did all the plasma cutting on another grapple for a TBN member. Below is a picture of the front jaw tie plate along with all the other TOP SECRET parts. Experience has taught us to be a bit more creative:

Oh MIG welding on a calm day I use 20 PSI for MIG with 75% argon 25% CO2. On a windy day I up it to 25 - 30 PSI. When I am out of position welding and sometimes can't get the nozzle close to the end of the wire, I'll up the pressure to help compensate for the distance, it seems to work for me.

Thanks for you compliments and reviving this old thread, it was fun for me to look back through it again.

Larry

bucmeister · Oct 11, 2009

Thanks for the quick response. That is some fine looking cutting work on the parts for the new grapple, looks like the holes in the cylinder guard plate and the tine stabilizer plate were cut to serve as hookless chain attachment points. The pins show your usual attention to detail and quality of workmanship.

I will have to see about backing off on my CO2 flow rate a bit. I did find a CO2 heater to cut back on the tendency to freeze the regulator when welding steady but cutting back on the flow may help that problem without the heater. I live in SW MS and the humidity will have water dripping and ice forming rather quickly.

washita · Oct 12, 2009

excellent grapple, my brother in law wants me to build a grapple for his orange machine,how did you determine the capacity or opening for the jaws when closed, I would like to keep him from grabbing a tree of to large a diameter and tweaking his fel arms or over loading the lift. diameter of tree vs weight or is this not a design issue to be concerned with? he also has a screw jack capable of 500lb lift do you think this would provide adequate clamping force?