home made attachments for 3pt. hitch and FEL

charlton289 · Jan 4, 2017

Here are a few things my son and I made for my GC 1705 out of scrape metal laying around and acquiring from scrap yards cheap!!!!. We made the counter weight it has about 300lbs.on it. the chain in the bucket is held in by 2 pins for easy on/off, and my own design of land plane works like a factory made. And the cherry picker is a handy thing too it has a receiver hitch so I can use it to lift or move a trailer by removing hook and putting on ball.

Mattsy Fergy · Jan 5, 2017

I am so going to LOVE this thread!!!:thumbsup: I have a blast fabricating stuff, and saving a ton off buying it.
1 question, why pins instead of a chain hook welded or bolted to the bucket? IMHO those pins bend too easy.

JWR · Jan 5, 2017

How high is the chain hook above the tip of the bucket (which serves as a fulcrum or pivot) in the 'cherry picker' ? Can't tell from the front view but it looks like it might only be 3 or 4 inches (?) If so, that is one huge lever of 3 or 4 feet compared to the 3 or 4 inches. Very much weight on the front receiver hitch area and something is going to stretch, give, or break. Side view would be instructive.

charlton289 · Jan 6, 2017

The hook is about 24" from bucket edge I picked up my counter weight which is about 350lbs with no problem I had my land plane on which weighs about 300lbs. i have some side view pictures.

charlton289 · Jan 6, 2017

I don't want to void my warranty by welding anything that's why all my additions are bolt on or pin on.

ovrszd · Jan 6, 2017

Mattsy Fergy said:
I am so going to LOVE this thread!!!:thumbsup: I have a blast fabricating stuff, and saving a ton off buying it.
1 question, why pins instead of a chain hook welded or bolted to the bucket? IMHO those pins bend too easy.

Welcome to TBN!!!! We'll need pics when you get your tractor!!!!

ovrszd · Jan 6, 2017

charlton289 said:
I don't want to void my warranty by welding anything that's why all my additions are bolt on or pin on.

Are you sure welding on bucket hooks would void your warranty??? I've never heard that before. Most dealers will weld them on for you if asked.

dickfoster · Jan 6, 2017

ovrszd said:
Are you sure welding on bucket hooks would void your warranty??? I've never heard that before. Most dealers will weld them on for you if asked.

My dealer welded my hook and shackle mount on for free as part of his standard service for all new tractor sales so I doubt it voids any warranty.

JWR · Jan 7, 2017

ovrszd said:
Are you sure welding on bucket hooks would void your warranty??? I've never heard that before. Most dealers will weld them on for you if asked.

I agree. Unless you did something really wild which would be an obviously destructive thing, I seriously doubt warranties would be affected. My pers opinion is that people needlessly fear warrantee impact about like they run in fear of lawsuits over every little thing. It is a disease. Unless you already have some contentious or us and them relationship with the dealer I would not worry about it.

JWR · Jan 7, 2017

charlton289 said:
The hook is about 24" from bucket edge I picked up my counter weight which is about 350lbs with no problem I had my land plane on which weighs about 300lbs. i have some side view pictures.
Ah! That sheds a much different light on the mechanical circumstance. There is not that much of an overwhelming leverage of the receiver hitch point over the chain hook point. Should hold for most things and certainly for moving trailers around. I have rigged a quick-hitch frame to fit into the FEL on a larger tractor and welded a bracket on the bucket to accept the "top link" part of the quick hitch. I'm very cautious what I try to lift with it but a pig pole then fits the quick hitch and allows me pick up fairly heavy objects out on the end (or better/safer the close-in lift point on the pig pole.)

charlton289 · Jan 7, 2017

here are some more of my attachments

PatrickS2222 · Jan 10, 2017

charlton289 said:
The hook is about 24" from bucket edge I picked up my counter weight which is about 350lbs with no problem I had my land plane on which weighs about 300lbs. i have some side view pictures.View attachment 494106 View attachment 494107 View attachment 494108

That land plane is a great concept and is well-made. The other ideas are beaut as well - equipment you can't work as safely, as easily of as quickly without. I'm always up for designing and building my own things too, but time is my short suit. I'd love to have the time to make a good strong crane attachment for my loader too. I intend to attach it instead of the bucket though .... I don't want to my contend with my vision impeded by what is quite a sizeable item.

JWR does have a point though, I noticed it quickly as well. In the side view in the 2nd pic, I would advise you to raise the eye where the hook attaches so it is around the same height as the bucket, a bit higher would be even better. This will greatly reduce the stress on everything because in the current design the crane has a tremendous amount of leverage on the chain, and the bucket also has huge stresses on it too. An inverted "V" frame (around 30" high) above the angle-iron cross-piece, and the tube welded to the top at the point of the "V" is all it needs, then it would be much safer as well.
The other small thing I thought of regarding the pins bending - my concern is the shear stress on those two lynch-pins. I would suggest two sizeable "D" shackles and round holes to suit - as far back from the front edge of the bucket sides as possible.

Remember, we're taking the trouble of typing these posts up to help you improve what is already darn good. :thumbsup: We also don't want something to break and hurt someone .... especially if it was noticed but nobody bothered to comment. Cheers and :drink:

charlton289 · Jan 11, 2017

thanks for the pointers on the I call a jib boom. I' am going to be welding 2 hooks on the bucket to replace the lynch-pins and see how much it will take to make the mods you mentioned I think I can get them done. I will post pictures when I get it modified. I have some more pictures of my home made snow plow and a cultivator i modified to either pull on 3pt. or push with my bucket to loosen the packed road bed and using my land plane on the 3pt. hitch that way I don't have to keep switching them out. I have to get some close up pictures of the snowplow and when the snow we got goes away I'll get the land plane and cultivator mounted for more pictures.

charlton289 · Jan 11, 2017

I asked my dealer about the hooks and he said no problem to weld on hooks just unhook battery when welding. So i'm going to get 2 hooks and weld them to the bucket to replace the lynch-pins

PatrickS2222 · Jan 17, 2017

charlton289 said:
I asked my dealer about the hooks and he said no problem to weld on hooks just unhook battery when welding. So i'm going to get 2 hooks and weld them to the bucket to replace the lynch-pins

Sounds great - I'd suggest welding them inside the ends, up high and flush with the front edge, at an appropriate angle (maybe tilted forward 30deg from horizontal) so the chains pull straight on the hooks ..... I hope you can understand Aussie-speak :laughing: But make your decision that best suits the use they'll get.
Can't wait to see some more of your ingenuity! :drink:

Also, disconnect both battery cables - it sounds strange, but from an automotive technician's view, any electronic equipment will certainly be safer. :thumbsup:

piercedtiger · Mar 26, 2017

I made a set of forks out of 4x4's. Great for lifting/carrying things that don't fit in the bucket and they just drop in. No drilling, bolting or welding. Also made a carry-all/ballast box.