C Channel for Bracing FEL in Up Position?

[ovrszd]

I think you are building an excellent prop!!! Not sure I'd even bother with rubber. The factory prop on my old For TLB doesn't have any.

Nice work!!! Looking forward to pics of the finished product!!!

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Thanks for the support. Here is what I have right now.

I haven't tried it out yet. I have never used one of these things, so I don't know whether it was necessary to pad the ends. I figured it was the safe approach.

Today while gluing the pads on, I learned that "5-minute epoxy" takes at least an hour to set and doesn't cure for a full day, so I won't be trying the brace out until tomorrow.

 

[ovrszd]

Very nice. Give us an update when you use it.

 

[rScotty]

I think you are building an excellent prop!!! Not sure I'd even bother with rubber. The factory prop on my old For TLB doesn't have any.

Nice work!!! Looking forward to pics of the finished product!!!

Neither do either of mine. It's just steel on steel, and the angles are only approximently correct. So I let the loader arms down slowly until the prop takes the load. More important are some secure 3/8" pins that trap the prop against the cylinder rod so that the prop can't pop out of position.
rScotty
rScotty

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Don't you have problems with the brace digging into the tractor?

 

[rScotty]

Don't you have problems with the brace digging into the tractor?

Not a bit. Wait.... are we talking the same thing? The brace I've been discussing doesn't touch the tractor at all. It fits around the nearly-extended rod portion of the left hand FEL lift arm cylinder and prevents that cylinder from shortening (closing) any farther.

With the brace in place, since that cylinder cannot move from its mostly extended postion, the FEL is held up. It cannot fall. Then when comes time to remove it, you raise the lift arm a little so that it lets go of the brace, pull the pins out, and just store it somewhere.

All the pressure and wear is between the eye of the cylinder rod and the end of the cylinder. You do want to miss the seal area on the end of the cylinder, but the rest is just steel on steel.
rScotty

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Today I tried to put the brace on the tractor, and I found out I had made a cut on the opposite side of where it needed to be. I had to cut the end off the brace and redo it. Now it works, but I want it to be longer so it holds the loader up higher.

I learned this: epoxy does not bond metal and leather well. One pad peeled off from heat when I used a big angle grinder to cut the end shield off, and that was to be expected, but the other one is also coming off. It has to be the glue. I prepped the surfaces well and did everything right.

I'm going to make another brace. It will be about two inches longer than this one. It's a fun project. Lots of helpful welding, cutting, and grinding practice.



I still have a problem. I didn't think about the hydraulics on the bucket. If they leak down like the other two cylinders, the brush forks will come down, and that's no good. It's easy to prevent a cylinder from retracting, but I don't know anything about preventing them from extending.

 

[Smokeydog]

That’s nice and simple. I rarely ever get right the first time too.

Your loader design is different than both M59 or B26 with the loader cylinder lift rods down instead of up. Can’t tell if there would be enough room if the prop was hinged to the lower pin to be stored folded to the loader frame?

I imagine the loader prop for the M59 could take the full loader hydraulic down pressure if accidentally done without damage to loader or prop. There are lots of things we use everyday that have been improved idiot proof by design. A consideration for any piece of equipment.

The bucket cylinders can held together with a load strap? Weld hooks and a piece of chain? Rod into eyelets? Take static or dynamic load? Failure point, weak link, potential energy?

Encourage you to find creative solutions for your application.

 

[Fallon]

Today I tried to put the brace on the tractor, and I found out I had made a cut on the opposite side of where it needed to be. I had to cut the end off the brace and redo it. Now it works, but I want it to be longer so it holds the loader up higher.

I learned this: epoxy does not bond metal and leather well. One pad peeled off from heat when I used a big angle grinder to cut the end shield off, and that was to be expected, but the other one is also coming off. It has to be the glue. I prepped the surfaces well and did everything right.

I'm going to make another brace. It will be about two inches longer than this one. It's a fun project. Lots of helpful welding, cutting, and grinding practice.

View attachment 621850

I still have a problem. I didn't think about the hydraulics on the bucket. If they leak down like the other two cylinders, the brush forks will come down, and that's no good. It's easy to prevent a cylinder from retracting, but I don't know anything about preventing them from extending.

A chain... Not that much more engineering there compared to the other supports. Just chain the top of the bucket/impliment to somewhere on the loader arms.

Also if 5 minute epoxy is taking significantly more than 5 minutes, either your ratios are off, tempatures are wrong or it's bad. Bad ratios are usually the culperate. Good scuffing of both materials helps adhesion.