The WICKED Root & Debris GRAPPLE!!!!!!!

[mike69440]

1) even the lightest duty grapple is made of far sturdier material than even a heavy duty standard bucket. Nobody "breaks" grapples trying to lift heavy loads.

2) you can use a one ton grapple if you want but your net lift capacity will always be lower with a larger grapple than with smaller.

3) the risk with carrying a very large log or tree is not the weight but rather the twisting force if you don't grapple at midpoint or if you move too quickly or hit an obstruction on one side while moving. The twisting force is as likely to damage the FEL as the grapple and frankly if one has to give I'd rather it be the grapple. Way easier to repair or replace.

Picking up loads off center and odd shaped rock, I've bent my AR400 Steel tined HD grapple

It weights abou 700 Lbs

 

[IslandTractor]

Picking up loads off center and odd shaped rock, I've bent my AR400 Steel tined HD grapple It weights abou 700 Lbs

And my 300lb 48" light duty mild steel grapple is snaggletoothed after ten years too but it works just as well as day one.

If you lift and move things like telephone poles (or similar sized trees) or boulder sized rocks, metal will sometimes bend a bit and not always return to "normal". I put those sorts of injuries into the same category as dents in bush hog decks. Noble battle scars that don't interfere with function.

The more damaging "injuries" come from the massive torque when a telephone pole in the grapple catches on a tree while the tractor is moving rather than lifting. We've all lifted big loads off center but the imbalance is generally noticed quickly so the load can be repositioned before serious damage is done. I'm not sure it is possible to actually damage either grapple or FEL simply lifting. Add forward motion however and all bets are off, even if the load was properly centered (if you hit one end on a tree for example). Similarly, I don't think a CUT can generate enough force pushing from standstill against an immovable object to hurt a grapple. Ram the edge of a grapple into a big stump while traveling at even a few mph however and the twisting forces can easily do damage. Wider grapples are more at risk for this type of injury than narrow grapples that are barely wider than the FEL arms.

 

[TomSeller]

Picking up loads off center and odd shaped rock, I've bent my AR400 Steel tined HD grapple

It weights abou 700 Lbs

Very impressive, but how far can you go in those woods with a log that long? I sways cut mine to manageable length anyway. That is one big rock, very impressed with that picture.

Wider heavier grapples help stabilize a load side to side, but can generally lift less than narrow lighter ones. I'd cut the logs, use a narrow grapple and carry more, less trips. Unless you are making telephone poles.

 

[KenB2920]

Sneak peek

 

[KenB2920]

Thank you

 

[EverythingAttachments]

View attachment 434600

Sneak peek

A great representation of the Wicked Engineering!! Thanks for sharing.

Here's an alternate view:


Looking into the closed mouth of a 66" single lid model:

 

[IslandTractor]

Boy, would my welding projects look good if I only had a CAD driven water jet or laser cutter!!! Nice work.

 

[KenB2920]

A great representation of the Wicked Engineering!! Thanks for sharing. Here's an alternate view: <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/attachments/434602-wicked-root-debris-grapple-20150728_094841-jpg"/> Looking into the closed mouth of a 66" single lid model: <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/attachments/434603-wicked-root-debris-grapple-20150728_095008-jpg"/>

I know you said in the video it was sharp, but I didn't realize it was actually sharp!!

 

[EverythingAttachments]

I posted this in our 50" Wicked Grapple thread also, but I think it'll get more eyeballs here.

Ted is a little more than offended by the "light duty" comment that is on the opposite side of the truth.

I just saw this posted a few days ago by Artillian on another forum that we're not a member of. The title of the thread is Grapple for 1025, which is a JD subcompact.

Direct quote from Artillian:
"The Everything Attachments grapple looks ok, but it's only made with 1/4" thick steel. Our grapple tines are 3/8" thick and of the same super high strength steel. You can use a grapple with 1/4" tines for light work, but that's about it."

It made me laugh :laughing: and this video came to mind. https://youtu.be/XOjAeZZELfg

Keep in mind that the tractor in the video weighs about 50% more than a 1025 and has about 40% more lift capacity. Ted tried his best to break it. But.....someone thinks it can only be used for light work. :laughing:

Which would you rather invest in? hmmmmm...the proof of the pudding is in the eating says me!
Travis

 

[IslandTractor]

I posted this in our 50" Wicked Grapple thread also, but I think it'll get more eyeballs here.

Ted is more than a little more than offended by the "light duty" comment that is on the opposite side of the truth.

I just saw this posted a few days ago by Artillian on another forum that we're not a member of. The title of the thread is Grapple for 1025, which is a JD subcompact.

Direct quote from Artillian:
"The Everything Attachments grapple looks ok, but it's only made with 1/4" thick steel. Our grapple tines are 3/8" thick and of the same super high strength steel. You can use a grapple with 1/4" tines for light work, but that's about it."

It made me laugh :laughing: and this video came to mind. https://youtu.be/XOjAeZZELfg

Keep in mind that the tractor in the video weighs about 50% more than a 1025 and has about 40% more lift capacity. Ted tried his best to break it. But.....someone thinks it can only be used for light work. :laughing:

Which would you rather invest in? hmmmmm...the proof of the pudding is in the eating says me!
Travis

There are all sorts of misconceptions about appropriate grapple size and construction. Bottom line is that if a CUT cannot "break" it's own standard bucket then it isn't going to "break" a grapple made of thicker stronger material. An FEL can deliver just so much force and I think we can trust that manufacturers mount standard buckets that are up to the forces involved. No standard bucket I've ever seen on any size CUT is made of even 1/4" mild steel much less high strength.

Grapples can be damaged by twisting forces but not, practically speaking, by FEL lifting forces.

And, as a corollary, wider grapples are easier to damage than narrow grapples as they are more likely to multiply twisting forces by and on the FEL.

Grapples can easily be damaged, along with the FEL, by forces generated through tractor motion but that is a different story.