IslandTractor
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2005
- Messages
- 15,802
- Location
- Prudence Island, RI
- Tractor
- 2007 Kioti DK40se HST, Woods BH
"There is little if any benefit to dual grapple arms and it would be much simpler, less costly and less weight penalty to just build one 24-30 inch wide grapple arm"... I don't think so Island..I don't have a huge tractor,,and would like to be able to pull my fel up to a rock sitting on the ground,, and have the abillity to nug it into the bucket,,,not have to come down from above and squeeze the daylights out of it trying to pick it up...along with the ability to carry brush out of the woods..
Great Stuff JJ... I'm going to see if I can figure out the geomerty this weekend...
HR3, either you misunderstood my comment or I am not sure you understand how grapples work. I'm not trying to be confrontational I just feel from your statements that you have a false notion of what is involved. Take your example of picking up the rock. It does not involve "sqeezing the daylights" out of anything. One would simply place the grapple over the rock, close the grapple so it cupped the rock and then curl or lift. While the upper grapple arm can be used to crush brush etc it is mostly there simply to hold the load in place. If you are concerned about manuvering a large grapple in confined spaces then you and I share that concern. A narrow grapple, like JJ's, is much more versatile than a wide one. JJ's fabricated grapple would be excellent for getting such a rock as would almost any standard grapple. JJ can get that grapple anyplace he can drive his skidsteer. I can get my 48 inch grapple anywhere I can drive my tractor.
My point was simply that a basic "root" grapple, preferably about 48 inches wide with a single upper arm and weighing in at less than 400lbs about the most efficient type of grapple and best value in terms of bang for the buck. They can be purchased for around $900 delivered. JJ's homemade grapple would fit in this catagory as does my Millonzi and the Markham 48 light duty grapple. My first tractor was a 21hp Kioti CK20 (that is in my avatar) and when I added a QA adapter and a grapple I could still lift substantial loads. See photos below. You really don't need to try to invent a new "mousetrap" to get at rocks, stumps, brush, logs or just about anything else that you can touch with the grapple.
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IMG_0202 old stump lifted by grapple.JPG288.5 KB · Views: 173
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