Building a Boom Pole - thoughts?

[Zebrafive]

View attachment 274280View attachment 274281Here is a picture of my boom pole build. I made mine to fit on my forks. Works great!

Good idea!

 

[Chain Bender]

This is one I made last year using an old bloat trailer tongue. It iw 2X4X3/16". 8" long and 22" tall.

1/4X4" base plate and 1" water pipe for side stiffeners. 1/2" round stock for stiffener on top. Cat 2 draw bar. Four 3/4" bolts hold boom to draw bar. When I got the base plate bolted onto draw bar I tacked each bolt head in three places and only need one wrench to take it off. But the draw bar is dedicated to the boom so I haven't needed to take it off...YET !


The box metal was already gavanized so I cleaned it all up good and put 5 coats of spray galvanized paint on it. Minor rust around some of the welds. but still holding up.

I use it on a L3200.

 

[podieroe]

Hello,

Did a search but didn't see too much about this.

I think a boom pole would be very useful. Yes, I have seen the $75-100 ones on craigslist. However, they are usually beat up, bent up, and often light duty. I figured that I will try to find a cheap source for metal, and by manufacturing my own, work on my welding skills.

I'd like to build one loosely similar to the King Kutter HD model. If I find steel second-hand somewhere, do I need to be concerned about the grade? I assume a 3x3 or 3x4 tube is going to be sufficient as long as the metal is straight and not cracked or otherwise damaged.

Any thoughts or concerns about building my own boom pole similar to this? If anything, I will err on the side of extra metal and strength. Anyone know what thickness their tube is - maybe 1/4"? I will go with a minimum of whatever the commercial builders use to be safe.

Also - although I am not this far into the design yet - does anyone happen to have a chart showing the proper dimensions for 3-pt attachment points that are also QH and iMatch compatible? If not, I'll gather it all and put it together, but thought maybe there's a chart with all the dimensions in one place.

I use the boom off my post hole digger, don't recommend lifting too heavy a load, a little common sense you know . if you're gonna build remember to consider metal quality, too soft could get you hurt.

 

[PandDLong]

An older thread but it was so "on-topic" that I thought I would restart it rather than create a new one.

I am looking for a boom pole for a few uses and can't seem to buy a good fit (and price) so I'm looking to design one and then get a local welder to make it.

I have the regular uses for moving equipment, loading/unloading out of the truck box, and the occasional assistance in a building project. These seem to be well served with the regular 3 point boom poles one sees advertised and sold at dealers. At times I will want good height, so moving it to the FEL makes sense and with a SSQA -> 3PH adapter seems possible - and still without any fabbing. But once I starting thinking about having one, new uses come to mind.

I have 3 submersible pumps that I drop into my pond and canal every spring and pull-out every winter (and sometime mid-season if there are issues). I have always man-handled them but they are heavy, awkward and the water's cold early in the spring! Which is why it's a job that I postpone until I have to do it - which is frequently a bad approach. A boom that can reach 10-12 feet and mounted on the FEL should do this easily. But that size would probably get in the way of the other jobs, so a telescoping boom would seem ideal.

The only one I could track down through my local dealer was the HLA boom, which Zebrafive picked up, and it was special order so it would be a blind order.

The tube the inner section slides into is 3 1/2" square tubing 3/16" or .180 wall.

I found on the Horst website; total weight 320 lbs, capacity collapsed 3000 lbs, extend 1500 lbs.

You got a great deal - I was quoted over $1400 to buy that unit! I'm glad I finally got to see a real pic - it's more than the dealer could give me. It's more capacity than I need, more money than I hope to spend and I'd like to be able to use it with the strength of the 3PH at times.


So my questions:

1. AmericanTractorDrive - did you build your boom? Did you model it after the Horst boom?

2. Telescoping - any more examples of this? Would 2"X2" hitch style steel or the larger receiver steel provide enough strength for the telescoping portion - say a 6 foot extension (he asks knowing nothing about metalworking and steel)?

3. If it's telescoping then it would have an accessible square tube at the end, I am thinking that I could have different "ends" to plug in for the situation - kinda like the "bucket buddy" - anyone have examples - good or bad?

4. To get a straight vertical lift/drop, I am thinking a hoist/winch is necessary - I've seen a couple of mentions of a boom/winch combo but I haven't found any good pics on how the winch or pulleys were mounted. Suggestions?

5. Am I making this too complicated?

 

[Attono]

Like this one?

AgDealer.com - HLA Telescopic Boom Horst Boom Lift Boom Horst&startrow=1&Act=EQUIPVIEW&listpage=index.cfm