DIY SSQA forks?

[paulsharvey]

Please post pics of the build

Will do, as long as it turns out ok. If it turns out as a disaster... maybe not

 

[paulsharvey]

Work in progress. Decided on 26" OC spacing, after measuring some pallets. It could be a mistake, as thats really close for "general" lifting, but right for the pallets I have.

Second, a design choice, that is going to make my life significantly harder... I decided I want the forks level with the ground, at the same point as the bucket would be, IE bucket level indicator will be accurate with the forks. Well, that means the forks must be horizontal, while the plate is leaning forward. Would have been Far easier to mount forks at 90 degrees from plate, but that doesnt leave much curl left at the ground.

3rd, ive got some cutting to do on the screw bracket part, welding, and without a doubt, I will need to make a pieces that runs vertical, from the forks when horizontal, to the top of the plate.

4th, I actually ordered the 1/4" ssqa, Vevor you got to be careful, not that they sell you other than what you order, but you change, say color, and dont realize the thickness selection changes as well.

5th, im an idiot... as always, get home from work, "eh, no need to change, ill just fit this up quick and do the heavy work later, no need to change", and now my clean work shirt has burn holes in it...

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Those look quite short, how far are they gonna stick into a pallet?

 

[paulsharvey]

Those look quite short, how far are they gonna stick into a pallet?

Once I trim the the small vertical part, the distance from the plate to the tip is 42.5". Its going to loose about 3.5" when I add a new vertical from forks to top of plate, for approx 39" of usable length.

 

[airbiscuit]

I had a couple of pieces of scrap angle iron and made bolt on Debris Forks.

 

[paulsharvey]

I had a couple of pieces of scrap angle iron and made bolt on Debris Forks.

View attachment 5197859

Assuming you have a bucket level indicator, how close to accurate is that with your fork set up?

Because mine would, if mounted straight like yours, would be close to max curl, and ground level for the forks to be level

 

[airbiscuit]

Fork level is not the same as the bucket, so level indicator is off. Still has enough curl motion.

 

[4570Man]

I would weld the forks straight on the back plate. It’s going to be much harder to get a good weld job the way you have that tacked up plus there’s really no benefit. Every set of forks I have the back frame is 90 degrees to the bottom. There’s no real need for a bunch of rollback angle at ground level. I would also adjust it so the back frame doesn’t protrude under the bottom of the forks.

 

[airbiscuit]

Are looking to preserve the clamp on protuberance? If not you could cut that off and recover some fork length.

Probably shutting the barn door after the cows are out but ...

I would have kept the forks perpendicular to the frame
I would have cut a hole in the frame, slid the forks through about 2 12" and welded a vertical upright to the fork and mount (if it didn't interfere with the SSQA locking mechanism)

 

[paulsharvey]

Are looking to preserve the clamp on protuberance? If not you could cut that off and recover some fork length.

Probably shutting the barn door after the cows are out but ...

I would have kept the forks perpendicular to the frame
I would have cut a hole in the frame, slid the forks through about 2 12" and welded a vertical upright to the fork and mount (if it didn't interfere with the SSQA locking mechanism)

Im cutting them off. I have a love-hate relationship with cordless grinder. Super handy, but dang it every time you get to really working, battery is dead again

 

[hslogger]

You can always build or buy cheaper. I bought my land pride forks many years ago and never regretted it. Quality matters

 

[sandman2234]

See, I would think that, but in my area, its rare to see them under $750-1000, used and very used. When import ones are $650-800...

I would think that I am "in your area". I mowed some property up the street and they also wanted me to clean up some of the junk laying around. One of the things that I hauled off was a set of forks that fit a skid steer. NO CHARGE! Since I already had a set rated at 4k that came with my Kubota, I offered them to a couple of my friends "on loan" in case I ever broke my original set. No takers, so now I am looking for an adapter to change the JD2555 over to SSQA so that I can use a set of forks on two tractors at the same time. Seems moving sheds around here has become a common thing to do, and pays pretty well to me.
David from jax

 

[BlueKnife]

See, I would think that, but in my area, its rare to see them under $750-1000, used and very used. When import ones are $650-800...

Facebook If you pick up a set of these, you can make them adjustable width.

 

[BlueKnife]

You can always build or buy cheaper. I bought my land pride forks many years ago and never regretted it. Quality matters

I build my own attachments because I can build better quality, stronger, with the features I want, sometimes lighter and usually (but not always) cheaper. Obviously that does require a certain skillset and tools though.

 

[BlueKnife]

Well, that means the forks must be horizontal, while the plate is leaning forward. Would have been Far easier to mount forks at 90 degrees from plate, but that doesnt leave much curl left at the ground.

It also means that you'll have significantly reduced capacity, since you're moving the load farther away from the machine.

 

[Xfaxman]

Every set of forks I have the back frame is 90 degrees to the bottom. There’s no real need for a bunch of rollback angle at ground level. I would also adjust it so the back frame doesn’t protrude under the bottom of the forks.

Rollback angle in the frame:

 

[sd455dan]

Yep, they need a roll back angle if it is not included in the QA FEL side itself. Get it wrong and the curl suffers at either full lift or lowest position.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, did some quick playing around this morning, and found a flaw. The welds hold fine, but the 1/4" ssqa plate is too easy to bend. So, im going to have to add reinforcement, not for the welds, but to spread the load to a larger surface area of the plate.

 

[BlueKnife]

So, did some quick playing around this morning, and found a flaw. The welds hold fine, but the 1/4" ssqa plate is too easy to bend. So, im going to have to add reinforcement, not for the welds, but to spread the load to a larger surface area of the plate.

Good time to cut those off and re-do them at a 90. With a bucket, you use that extra curl back to keep loose material from falling out of the bucket when it's down low. That's not an issue with forks. You don't need to curl them back that far.

 

[sd455dan]

So, did some quick playing around this morning, and found a flaw. The welds hold fine, but the 1/4" ssqa plate is too easy to bend. So, im going to have to add reinforcement, not for the welds, but to spread the load to a larger surface area of the plate.

Don't feel bad.

I bent the QA adapters for the first time yesterday after years of use using the 10' home built scraper I made for the FEL to get rock out of the 20 foot trailer.

My mistake was going out in the dark and did not notice how much down force I was putting on the lower section and then caught the trailer transition from wood to steel,- bowed both sides and popped the pin completely out of the left QA side. Had to spend an hour on the hydraulic press last night after removing the pins.

All back together and freshly fully greased so I guess there is that.

Probably another reason I like older equipment, If I break it just build it back up, had I done that to a new 50K machine would be ticked at myself for weeks.