Another DIY Grapple

[IvanS]

Yesterday yielded some of the most expensive hydraulic hoses known to man. I think I have all the fittings now as well. I picked up the grapple from the sand blaster yesterday and manged to get the etching primer and a top coat of Kubota Orange on today. If all goes well tomorrow I should get everything mounted and plumbed. If the rain holds off I might even get a test run in; pictures and video to follow if I get lucky. Happy Easter everyone!

 

[ovrszd]

Sounds like you are gaining!!!

I know what you mean about hydraulic hose cost. I always buy my repair parts and fluids at O'Reilly's. I bought a pair of hydraulic hoses there once. I didn't ask the cost until they totalled it up. I almost fell over!!! They were twice as expensive as the local JD dealer. And the JD dealer is twice as high as the local tractor supply store. And the tractor supply store is 50% higher than ordering hoses from Surplus Center. Now I plan ahead and have a little patience and buy all my hydraulic stuff from Surplus Center. For example, a 3/8" 4000lb psi double wired 3ft long hose is $10. Huge difference.

Anxious to see your finished project and hear progress reports when you start using it. A Grapple is my most used attachment.

 

[IvanS]

I finally finished up this past weekend. here is a link to a quick video of it in operation: DIY Tractor Grapple - YouTube

 

[94BULLITT]

Nice job. Does it have any battle scars yet?

 

[IvanS]

Nice job. Does it have any battle scars yet?

Roger,
I had more fun yesterday with two gallons of liquid (diesel fuel) than I've had in a long time - took me three hours to make a pile the size of a small bus. And to answer your question, I'd say about 15% of the paint is gone and the amount of scratches and gouges are off the chart. Painting of these things is highly over rated - don't you agree?

Dan

 

[BuilderML]

Re: Made some more progress yesterday

Wow, it looks like I copied your design more than I realized - nice job BTW. I contacted a local automotive paint supplier today and he assured me he can match the Kubota Orange. We are a bit of rural area and I'll bet this is not his first request to match that color.

OH NO !!! Not more orange..:smiley_aafz: Just playin. Nice job that really looks great.

 

[IvanS]

Re: Made some more progress yesterday

OH NO !!! Not more orange..:smiley_aafz: Just playin. Nice job that really looks great.

Funny thing, you probably can't tell in the video but the Kubota Orange is the old Kubota Orange, I sent the wife with a part of the tractor to match to the only two possibilities of Kubota orange and she chose the wrong one. I've been married to her for 33 years and she admitted right away it was her fault - they are very close BTW - so I chose the following path: I said nothing other than thank you for getting the paint - she's a keeper. So much paint is gone already I'll wait a couple years and paint it the right Orange then.

I could be dead right about this, but I'd rather be alive than right

Wisdom comes with years gone by....

 

[94BULLITT]

Roger,
I had more fun yesterday with two gallons of liquid (diesel fuel) than I've had in a long time - took me three hours to make a pile the size of a small bus. And to answer your question, I'd say about 15% of the paint is gone and the amount of scratches and gouges are off the chart. Painting of these things is highly over rated - don't you agree?

Dan

Yeah it does not take long to wear the paint off. I had a hard time using mine the first time, it now has plenty of scratches.

 

[IvanS]

Here are some pictures of where I mounted my diverter valve, it's behind the front tube of the loader mount. I made a right angle bracket and used the bolts that hold the loader mount and back brace together. It's very tight in that space, but it's pretty well protected as well. I hope the pictures make sense - it's very tight and compact in there - so hard to get a picture. I ran the supply lines for dump/curl to the diverter directly from the quick disconnects via some new 18" long hoses. The original dump/curl hoses connect to the diverter and the new hoses for the grapple are secured to the inside of the loader arm. This eliminates the ability to remove the loader assembly but I don't care because I can drop the grapple or bucket from the arms in 2 minutes using the Kubota quick attach feature.

 

[Guesseral]

Wow that's just the opposite to my way of thinking. I have my loader off anytime I can! I do a lot of mowing and tiller work inside of my wifes horse pastures and the riding arena where I need to get tight into the corners and having the loader lifted to do this is a real pain, especially where the trees hang over the fence. I am also so used to having tractors without a loader that they just look better to me. While your installation looks really good and works for you it wouldn't work for me. It really is unbelieve how just simple little things differ between different peoples needs, I guess that is why we all look at and read many many posts on TBN if we respond or not we are still learning something! What a great site.

I do have a question though. Where did you get the two different size 90 degree fittings so one is longer than the other and the hoses can pass by each other and do they have a special name?