3ph T-post thingamajig....

[bobodu]

The homegrown version....

Very handy when PULLING A PLOW!!!!!

 

[MarcusCarr]

I would probably not want to weld something to the bottom of my FEL. I wonder if you could weld an metal cylinder with a cap on top to the back of the bucket. Beside that you could weld on a bracket with two cams, that could be used to pull the posts out.

 

[Freds]

Not to anyone particular....

I was pulling T-posts out today giving this some thought. I don't have anything specifically designed to pull them, I just make a couple loops out of the middle of the chain, drop them over the post, walk back to the joystick and raise the bucket. I was operating the joystick with my left hand and got a little choppy one time lowering the post back to the ground so I could shake the chain off. The post swung under the bucket and I ended up shoving it right back into the ground (different hole) slicker than you know what. Because it took no effort at all, in my ground anyway, I wondered why the post driver had to be in the middle of the bucket, so this is what I came up with.
Bear with me, I don't have all the software loaded for my copier, so can't scan a drawing.

How about a bracket or two welded to the top of the bucket towards one side. My bota has about a 4" lip on the bucket that would work for this. To these brackets you would weld a pipe running parallel with the top edge of the bucket, side to side, maybe a foot long. This pipe would accept a slightly smaller diameter pipe or a solid steel rod. We'll call this pipe rod B. Rod B would be doing the work, so I was thinking maybe 2" diameter.

Let's say rod B is 18" long, so it slides into the pipe welded on top of the bucket and overhangs the side of the bucket. To the underside of rod B is welded a pipe to accept the T-post. You could even use the hand T-post driver. Because rod B swivels inside the other pipe, this "receiver" would always hang plumb, perpendicular to the ground.

You stick the T-post into this receiver, maybe use a bungee on one of those **** to hold it up in there, and the T-post should hang nice and plumb and be ready for you to lower the bucket and push it into the ground.

If anyone follows that build one and let me know if it works /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I don't have access to all the goodies, but when the weather warms up I may build one for next year's snow fence.

 

[texredneck]

This set up sounds pretty good to me. I dont see why you need it center loaded. The purpose would be for max strength, balance of strength. However, I dont see this being an issue. I would suggest for those who want to do work with the FEL and the 3PH you should build a carry-all for 3PH and carry all your stuff on there. Use the loader just for pulling and pushing. Seems like a plan to me

 

[Defective]

Here's a rough picture to see if I got your description.

The blue box is your FEL.
Green is your unnamed pipe.
Red is rod B.
White is the receiver.

Should work...

 

[Freds]

Hey, that's pretty cool /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Obviously the blue box could be any kind of bracket. I'm sure you knew that. I was thinking of a couple short pieces of 1/4" plate. There is a small lip on the side of my bucket I need to get over.
The white receiver for the T-posts... I was going to weld it on the bottom (so to speak) of the red pipe or steel rod to keep the whole unit swinging below this pivot point. I see no reason why welding the the red rod (rod B) to the wall of the post receiver, as you have drawn, wouldn't work either.

I also thought, if you had the ability to drill or burn some nice holes... you could make the brackets taller, heftier, and use them in place of the pipe (green was it?), that houses the pivoting rod. When the post driver is removed you would have a couple attachment points for a chain.
Put one on either side of your bucket and you add a couple other options. If you drive your tractor perfectly perpendicular to your fence line, you could space two posts a bucket's width apart without moving, or toss a couple shovel, rake... handles into these brackets /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Freds]

Just saw where you had all the components labeled. Need more coffee /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Defective]

Hi Freds,

My thinking:

Weld the green pipe directly to the top of the bucket (or spaced to cover the lip you mentioned) for maximum strength.

The white receiver is positioned so that it will hang open-end-down when there's no pressure on it. Once it's pushing the T-post, the pressure is on the top cap which is above the pivot point. This keeps it from trying to rock off the post which would happen if it was welded to the bottom of the red pipe.

I would stick to using pipe to house the pivot rod as it's simple and would allow for a grease nipple.

Definitely put one on each side of the FEL.

I've attached another image with the green pipe missing and the end caps re-colored. You can see the orange cap on the red pivot rod. This cap could be attached a bolt in the center to allow for easy removal.

I've also added a ring (yellow) to positively locate the pivot rod in the pipe bracket.

 

[Defective]

I may have had too much coffee...

Just had another thought. If you weld a bracket (green pipe) at each end of the FEL and line them up carefully, then you have the base for even more attachments. Think about options if you slide a solid (hardened) steel bar all the way through both brackets. Hhhmmm... Fork mounts... Grapple mounts... Better add a third bracket in the middle before we bend something.

 

[Defective]

Absolutely TOO MUCH COFFEE...

See the picture...