Bucket Mini-Forks Completed

[JackDWaller]

Ho All,

Although not the answer to all fork type needs, I believe these will be super handy so I made finishing them a priority. As with my rear blade I used mostly scrap material and will have to wait until warmer weather to paint.

THEY ARE PRESENTLY UNTESTED other than having my 240 lb. friend hang on one when it was nothing more than a slotted tube pushed over the lip of the bucket blade. I'm hoping, and quite confident that I'll be able to handle a V8 engine with a central single fork (about 400 lb?). I made two 18" forks but will do a third so that I can form a platform across the front of the bucket. I'd like to be able to lift fallen logs and rocks that don't quite fit the bucket (tend to want to roll out).

Here's the idea behind what I did. I wanted slide adjustable and really simple attachment. So, I welded a lip consisting of 3/8 x 3/4 flatbar onto the bucket blade (it is 1/2 x 4"). I did not want to drill holes so I opted for a set of gussets underneath that have hardened steel setscrews that catch just behind the blade. These are about 4-5 inches apart and provide substantial lateral strength. I also welded a 1/4 x 3" flatbar on the underbelly of the bucket to transfer dead center forces back to the box section of the bucket.

The pics show the first step in making the fork. I plasma cut notches on each side of a 2x2 x 1/4" tube and bent the bottom up to the top to give the long angle. I used the cutout pieces to gusset the top where a 3/8 x 3/4 pieces of flat iron is welded on to form a lip. It is this lip that slides along behind the long lip welded to the bucket. There is force on the lip but a lot of the force is directed to the bucket blade by the 1" V grove in the fork. The gussets were added on the top side to allow the 3/8 x 3/4" lip to be wider (around 3 1/2"). There are two regions of about 4" where there is no lip welded to the bucket. Here the forks are slid in and then sideways to position them wherever desired.

So I'll leave it there unless someone wants to ask questions. When I test out their capacity I'll post an update.

Jack

 

[jimcolt]

Here are my homemade lightweight forks. They are good for about 1000 lbs...2 x 2 x .250 wall steel tube, usable length of 36". Cost about $50 for materials. Used a plasma torch to cut the parts, 210 amp mig for the welding.

Jim

 

[JackDWaller]

Hi Jimcolt, If I'd seen yours first I might have copied them. Mine were more tedious to build for sure. One thing I like about mine, assuming they stand up as I hope, is that there is a pretty easy flow into and out of the bucket over the forks. I presume this was not a feature you were looking for?

Your forks are beefier no question and I'm guessing you tractor is also. Well, like everything in life, I made a choice and now I'll have to live with it. If they break or don't perform adequately then I'll be taking a second look at yours, so thanks for the pics.

Jack

 

[JackDWaller]

In case anyone might follow my design, I thought I'd add that a friend who wishes to do just that, has a couple of good suggestions. I think I'll modify mine based on the following.

There is no reason why the upper portion of the fork can not be extended backwards, say with 1/4" x 3 material, sloping right down to the bucket surface so that there is no ridge to hook on when sliding an item out of the bucket onto the forks.

There is no reason for not going with a more substantial gusset that is longer than the present 1/4" thick triangle pieces. So I plan to cut these off and add a 1/2" thick triangular gusset that will continue further forward on the fork past the end of the bucket blade. This will give more strength when the forks are pressed downward into the earth, lifting the front of the tractor.

Jack