Any odds on these Rock Tongs working?

[Luke'sScreenName]

Funny you have rocks everywhere and I am driving to all my neighbors digging out rocks in the woods so we can build walls and such at the house..... I have great neighbors to give me rocks, around us they are tough to get!

Bring a trailer and sone beer. I'll load for free.

 

[Code54]

If you were only a bit closer!
:drink:

 

[Cord]

I'm happy your fabricated grapple is working for you. I would have guess that it was too light. I've been stacking some boulders for rock walls at my place using a Faver grapple. It's seen a ton of abuse and is holding up surprisingly well. One of the big advantages is that it's narrow enough to not hit the adjoining rock and it's strong enough to allow it to rotate vertically without the rock slipping out. The ability to rotate and precisely place the rock is a requirement to building a good looking rock wall.

 

[jimmysisson]

Cord, that last pic is a footpath? Looks awesome - but how do you plow snow off it? And what's the travel surface made of?
Your rounded boulders are nothing like ours in NE and probably take more finesse in the placement. Nice work! Jim

 

[Cord]

Cord, that last pic is a footpath? Looks awesome - but how do you plow snow off it? And what's the travel surface made of?
Your rounded boulders are nothing like ours in NE and probably take more finesse in the placement. Nice work! Jim

Yes, it's the path to the front door. My lot is rather steep and the travel trailer is parked on a round-a-bout that we built. Unfortunately, to provide a level parking area we needed a retaining wall between the parking area and the front door. Wife was thinking steps, but those are really tough to clear in the winter. By using a ramp we can simply blow or shovel the snow off. Besides, a ramp is way safer than steps in winter. I used 3/4" TB (road gravel) for the surface. It was affordable and fits the farm theme. As for finesses in setting the rocks, I've seen some beautifully fitted dry stack walls on the east coast so there is something to be said for old world masonry skills. None of these rocks were fitted. I'd just pick one out of the pile that looked about right and then used the machine to rotate it so the faces aligned and the edges fit reasonably well together.

 

[Code54]

Now that you had it for a bit, any changes you would make?
It was pouring down rain tonight so I wondered over the shop and started cutting some scrap steel to build a set. Do you find the pivot point works well and is in the correct location ? Keep wondering if it should be more towards center or is better more towards the top?
Anything you all want to offer as advise is great!

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I'm definitely not an expert but here are some ramblings that may make no sense to anyone but me... ..

I liked where the hinge is. You don't need it to "bite" into the rock. This is because friction is not what holds the tongs in place unless the surface is vertical (like how brick tongs work). So having it in the middle as you describe is unlikely to make it more versatile on irregularly shapped or spherical rocks IMO. For the same reason the ends don't need to be pointy.

The competing design requirements of most importance IMO are:

- a shape that will get "arround" to grasp the rock but not be to much in the way when placing in the wall. (I think 3 points of contact is enough but the best shape depends on your average rock. If you imagine them like an eagle's foot, how curved and how long the pointy talon part is will make a big difference. Longer talon makes grasping easier but might structurally fail or get in the way when placing rocks)

- Strong enough not to fail but light enough to maneuver onto the rock. (You will be hefting it arround. Everyone, including myself thought my contraption might buckle but not so far. Don't overbuild. In my mind you want to prevent torsion within each side which will result in buckling.)

 

[Code54]

Good info - thanks!

I am going a bit heavier but do plan to use them with a Mini Ex and I just happen to have some left over steel that is a bit heavier.

Good points on the bottom gripper parts - need to make a better design than I currently have.

Also a good point about the clamping force - I see your point.

My main goal is to be able to reach out a bit further with the tongs and grab stuff I normally could not reach with bucket/thumb. I also think they will make maneuvering the rocks in position a bit easier seeing it will allow greater rotation than just the boom/bucket/thumb.

Thanks for the info and thoughts!

 

[PILOON]

LOL, your tongs are also a good test of your welds, gotta be lots of stress on them.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

LOL, your tongs are also a good test of your welds, gotta be lots of stress on them.

I honestly expected one or two to pop off. I was about out of argon/CO2 so I cut the flow way back. I'm a novice welder to begin with.... :drink: