Home made brush forks (tine strength)

[Chain Bender]

Okay, I put my walker down Monday and able to hobble around a little and am diing to get out of the house and build something.


Tomorrow I'm going to buy materials to build a set of brush forks for my fel LA524 (60" wide). I'm figuring 30" tines, but only 16" of that will actually be forward of the edge of the blade. If I only bolt the tines into the bucket, the bolts will be roughly 12" apart. Meaning that the tine carry will be roughly 18".

The material I can get tomorrow is box: 2X2X1/4", 2X2X3/16" and 1.5X1.5X3/16".

I'm not planning on pushing up pine stumps with this set of fork, but you guys now that on occasion we will try to do more than the rig will handle. Should I got with the 2X2X1/4 or will the lighter box we strong enough?


2X2X1/4 box weighs 5.41 pounds/foot. 8 tines at 30" equals 20'. Tines will weigh 108 pounds. Two 3" X 1/4" flat stock will weigh 31 pounds. So I'm already at 140# without any bracing material.

Same build with 2X2X3/16" weighs out at 117#
1.5X1.5X3/16" weighs out at 92#


Any recommendations?

tks in advance
Chain Bender

 

[Deere Dude]

If it was me I would go heavy, heavy, heavy. I don't know what kind of tractor you have but generally 50# extra is a drop in the bucket. I made a set using some 1-1/4" pipe from some job. It stuck in front of the bucket about 2 feet or so. I worked as gingerly as I could lifting brush. I ran it under the brush pile and carried the brush away and after a few trips I noticed that the down pressure from the bucket, which wasn't much I didn't think, bent everything on a 30 deg angle. Now I have a 150# jagged paperweight. :ashamed:
But that is just me. It would be a shame to go light and bend it, then what do you do? Straighten it, re-brace it?
If you go heavy and bend it, then it just wasn't meant to be.
Of course you know we need some pictures as you go along :thumbsup:

I think if you do a search tines or something like that there are quite a few different designs. Maybe you could ask the owners of these various designs which ones work the best.

 

[Chain Bender]

If it was me I would go heavy, heavy, heavy. I don't know what kind of tractor you have but generally 50# extra is a drop in the bucket. QUOTE]


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I've got a B3200. Using 2X2X1/4" box I made a set of forks to pick up logs with. They stick out 21" past the front of the FEL. They are bolted on to the bottom of the bucket and brace up to the top curl of the bucket with 2X2X1/4" box. I've hung them under roots and one of them will lift the opposite rear tire off the gound without bending. When I built this set of forks someone on here told me that one tine would carry 1000# out to the end. I would certainly think a tine that was 6" shorter would carry at least 1250#. I have also banged these forks sideways pretty hard and haven't bent one sideways either.


But I do understand your reasoning and agree. I'm just thinking about how hard it might be 10 years from now for me to mount this monstrosity! I suppose I could hang it on something and just walk the FEL up under it.

thanks for you input. It is appreciated and "under advisement"

CB

 

[Furu]

I have a Rankin Trash fork that I purchased a couple of years back. I assume that trash forks and brush forks are basically the same. 72" width can't remember exactly how much I paid.
VERY HEAVY DUTY. I have bent the tines a couple of times and have had to straighten them back. How i would live without an acetylene torch I don't know. They are at least 2x2x1/4 maybe thicker with lots of reinforcing steel. I can't measure them right now as I am on the other side of the country. You will without question do something that will be more than you should. Build them as strong as you can.

After I tweaked them the last time I called Rankin and asked how they temper the tines. They don't I was told. After my last "repair" I tempered the tines and have not had a problem since, however I am sure that the steel is more brittle now but it is less elastic thus less bending.

I don't know what they weigh but I can barely pickup and slide one end while mounting

 

[pat32rf]

My forks have five prongs made out of 1.5" solid round bar. They are each about 18" long with a cross brace about 10" back. When I bend a tine I stick a 10 section of 4" aluminium conduit over it and this gives me enough leverage to bend it back almost straight. Might not be the best for brush (need grapple) but they are great for moving 900lb (or more) rocks and carrying logs with my JD4300

 

[BruceWard]

I built forks for my B21 from 2x2x1/4" tubing. Even at 4' long I have not damaged them moving rocks or trees. My guess is that you would be fine either of the 3/16th materials for brush forks.

The big question may be what you want to bend. I have destroyed a couple of sets of homemade forks before the current set. The others were built from old heavy duty sign posts which were free. The sign posts bent. I expect that the bucket will fail before these forks do. It was a lot cheaper to break forks than it will be to break the bucket.

 

[Chain Bender]

I built forks for my B21 from 2x2x1/4" tubing. Even at 4' long I have not damaged them moving rocks or trees. My guess is that you would be fine either of the 3/16th materials for brush forks.

The big question may be what you want to bend. I have destroyed a couple of sets of homemade forks before the current set. The others were built from old heavy duty sign posts which were free. The sign posts bent. I expect that the bucket will fail before these forks do. It was a lot cheaper to break forks than it will be to break the bucket.

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I bought 2X2X1/4" box tubing yesterday to make the forks out of. I decided I had rather err on the hvy side than the light side. Will start cutting out tines today. They will only be 31" when cut and only about 17" wil stick out past the bucket. Should be able to do a 360 while standing on the FEL and not damage anything with this set.

Thanks to all for input.

CB

 

[Chain Bender]

OKAY, since I went with the 2X2X1/4 my next question is gonna be whether to mount the forks inside the bucket or bolt them on under the bucket. I'm leaning towards inside. It sure will be easier to put them on if I put them inside.

To keep from drilling as many holes as I can in the bucket I think I'm going to use some 2X2X1/4 angle for cross members. On the blunt end of the forks I'm gonna weld the angle up against the butt with the bottom angle flat and facing away from the tine. Will connect all 8 tines accross the blunt ends this way. If I mount the forks inside the bucket most of the pressure will be on this end when I lift. On the front cross member I'm gonna use a 2" X 1/4" flat bar and maybe only 4 bolts through the flat bar and bucket. Not sure how many holes I'm gonna drill in the back cross member, but an think maybe 5 1/2" gade 5 bolts.

I've pushed hard enough on the center of the bucket on small stumps that it spun all 4 tires and it didn't put a permanent bow in the bucket. Would anyone recommend a 1.5X1.5X1/4" angle welded across the front along with the 2" flat bar as an additional "stiffener" or just let it ride with the 2" flat stock?