Clamp on or stand alone pallet forks ?

[Griff93]

This is the set I purchased a few years ago for $169...
Very strong and well made...
I really like the receivers at the back of the forks for adding a 2x4...
Works very well for brush and logs...
The pros and cons are well presented in this thread...
I like mine a lot...
A very good low cost alternative...

I have these as well. They are better than not having forks at all but I can't get them to stay put and have managed to bend my bucket with them. I'll be doing something else at some point with my EX3200. I'm pretty sure I'm going to put a SSQA on my loader. Having used this setup with a bobcat, I'm not messing with pins. I do occasionally use my tractor for my tree service so I would like to be able to swap back and forth quickly. Having the ability to make up pallets that I can dump would be great. I've been selling firewood this year so it would take a lot of the work out of moving it around and figuring out how much I have on hand.

 

[PhysAssist]

Those are the projects that I hope to start with, in addition to just welding scraps together as practice.

However, because the scrap welding quickly triggers my ADD or whatever it is that gets me bored when doing BS vs. productive tasks, I think that for me, the best practice will end up being putting useful things together instead.

Stay safe,
Thomas

In the same boat I would imagine as you on welding proficiency, as I haven't really welded since a few limited hands on classes in college as part of an engineering degree. But it was fun. There are several projects though on my mind where a failure of a weld would not be catastrophic but just embarrassing.

 

[Griff93]

Welding really takes some learning time focusing on technique to get it right. That's not to say you can't make useful stuff while doing this but it shouldn't be structurally critical. BTW there's some really good videos on youtube by welding tips and tricks.

 

[PhysAssist]

Hi Griff,

Thanks for the totally appropriate concern.

My intention, as Dragoneggs had said, would only be to practice on noncritical welds, not on load bearing or life affecting things if failure occurred.

I just know that for me, if I can't use whatever I'm burning on, I feel like I' m wasting time welding on it.

But it should be ok for things like tool racks, stock holders, amd other light duty welds, and fortunately I have a new barn to make organizers for now.

I also get the weekly (approx.) emails from the welding web, which have some great video pointers, and which have helped me learn to see the bead better than I could at first with my beginner's eyes.

Thomas

Welding really takes some learning time focusing on technique to get it right. That's not to say you can't make useful stuff while doing this but it shouldn't be structurally critical. BTW there's some really good videos on youtube by welding tips and tricks.

 

[Griff93]

Sounds like you are on the right track. I've seen to many times where people have jumped into a project without have the welding skill required to safely accomplish the task. I was guilty of this when I was younger myself. Lot's of community colleges and tech schools offer a basic welding class that certainly can't hurt for beginners. I wish I had been able to take one myself earlier than I did. Having someone that really knows what they are doing watch you weld can help a huge amount and keep bad habits from developing. Even things as simple as clipping off the ball on the end of a mig wire every time can improve the quality of your welds. Anyway, enough welding stuff. Sorry to derail from forks.

 

[PhysAssist]

I forgot to mention that my wife's brother was a production welder for a couple of different companies for a couple of decades, making among other things, racing car and cart frames, and bodies. He has been a great source of critical evaluation, tips, and general techniques.

In fact, he gave me the AC Tombstone welder I am practicing with, in addition to the HF special 110V Flux-core welder I bought before talking to him about it or reading about them here.

Sounds like you are on the right track. I've seen to many times where people have jumped into a project without have the welding skill required to safely accomplish the task. I was guilty of this when I was younger myself. Lot's of community colleges and tech schools offer a basic welding class that certainly can't hurt for beginners. I wish I had been able to take one myself earlier than I did. Having someone that really knows what they are doing watch you weld can help a huge amount and keep bad habits from developing. Even things as simple as clipping off the ball on the end of a mig wire every time can improve the quality of your welds. Anyway, enough welding stuff. Sorry to derail from forks.

 

[caver]

Horst Welding QA forks and at 3700lb you will mangle loader before you hurt the forks. When I traded up tractors (for more loader capacity) this was one item I didn't know how I got along without it.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I have these as well. They are better than not having forks at all but I can't get them to stay put and have managed to bend my bucket with them. I'll be doing something else at some point with my EX3200. I'm pretty sure I'm going to put a SSQA on my loader. Having used this setup with a bobcat, I'm not messing with pins. I do occasionally use my tractor for my tree service so I would like to be able to swap back and forth quickly. Having the ability to make up pallets that I can dump would be great. I've been selling firewood this year so it would take a lot of the work out of moving it around and figuring out how much I have on hand.

I agree that they are not as good as quick attach forks...
But...
I have yet to bend my bucket...
Plus I don't have the quick attach bucket on my loader either...
My FEL was aftermarket...
I do have access to another tractor that has a much higher lift capacity...
For really heavy objects my little Ford will not handle I can use those forks with it...
No more than I use the forks I could just not justify the additional cost of the quick attach...
No doubt they are better...