FEL Clamp-on Forks

[RichT]

Many thx to Madreferee for his plans and help. Trip to local steel yard snared the 3x1.5 bar channel for $20, had everything else. I reduced the overall size just slightly to save a few pounds for my bota BX22. Also added some clamp pads as Madreferee suggested in his plans, with a welded nut to enable removal of the clamp bolt.

Good workout for my Miller 175, using .030 wire with 75/25 gas. Finished the forks off with POR15 grey followed by POR15 black top coat. Took me a day to do all the cutting, welding, then coating.

Did some testing today for bucket capacity using the forks with a pallet. Able to lift about 400lbs with my BX, about what I figured given the 460lbs spec. First job will be to remove 400lbs vertical compressor from trailer and place in barn/workshop.

 

[RichT]

Underside pic

 

[RichT]

Closeup of clamp rod showing clamp pad

 

[RichT]

Final pic - capacity test using some Chrysler hardware.

 

[MadReferee]

Nice job.

I just finished making the 6th set of forks to come out of my shop. I still have to make a set for myself. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I have updated my plans to reflect a few things I have changed in the construction process. As always plans are free, just PM me and give me your REAL email address.

 

[RichT]

First (BIG) test of the clamp ons - lifting a 450lbs vertical compressor off my trailer and moving it into my barn/workshop. Equally big test of my BX22 which was up to the task.

 

[RichT]

Moving it to the barn. These clamp-on forks already paid for themselves, saving me $100 delivery charge on the compressor. Folks, thats nearly 500lbs in the air which probably doesn't impress most of you with bigger tracs, but it impressed my neighbor who owns a Deere 410 backhoe.

 

[jtfx6552]

The "original" plans looked great!

I just sent a PM asking for the latest planx.

The original plan refers to a roll stop. I'm a little thick here and wasn't sure exactly what was meant by that.

Do the new plans elaborate on that at all?

thanks in advance,


JT

 

[MadReferee]

The roll stop can be an 18" or so section of bar channel that would take the place of the front riser. Roll stops would be helpful if you are planning on carrying stuff like logs and not pallets. They keep stuff from rolling back into the bucket.

When I build a set for myself I will update the plans to reflect what I did.

 

[LBrown59]

<font color="red"> added some clamp pads as Madreferee suggested in his plans, with a welded nut to enable removal of the clamp bolt.
</font>

*****************
Like the pads
Was thinking of adding pads before I came across this thread.

2 things I don't like about the clamp bolts.
A - You can't place the forks the entire width of the bucket apart because the handles hit the end of the bucket.
B - The handles on the clamp bolts are to short making it more difficult to get the forks tight enough to keep them from twisting from side to side. Also makes it hard to loosen the clamp bolts to remove the forks.

<font color="brown">
I plan to resolve these 2 issues by replacing the clamp bolts with regular bolts and using a 1/2 inch drive socket wrench for the handle </font>

 

[BigDogues]

Just be careful, your top plate may end up with an unintentional bend in it. You can generate a tremendous amount of force with a screw, especially if you add some leverage to it.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Yep, especially when proding under brush and logs. My 1/2" x 2" clamp bars bent just enough to loosen tightly clamped bolts after rooting brush and shaking it off in the burn pile. I have since bolted my brush forks on via the trailer ball hole in my bucket cutting edge.

 

[MadReferee]

If your forks are twisting side to side then you have other issues. Based on what my customers have told me, there is no need to torque those clamp screws down to the point of bending the 3/8" steel top plate. The feet plus the fact that the front bottom pad edge should be as close as possible to the cutting edge lip should be enough to eliminate almost all twisting.

If your application is causing the forks to twist while clamped then I suggest you take a hard look at what you are doing with the forks and re-evaluate if you really need forks and not something else. My design is not intended to be a digger/mover, only a lifter/holder of items.

Like someone once said, "get the right tool for the job".

 

[drmiller100]

those don't look very stable to me.
if you pick something up, and get on an uneven surface to where one side of the rear of the tractor is not level wiht the other, the whole thing will go sliding off sideways.
A simple, easy solution to weld a plate to the bottom of the forks under the bucket. this will keep the forks parallel AND straight.

When welding, pay a LOT of attention to where the top plate welds to the spacer, and the spacer to teh fork steel. Pretty good tension loads right there, and if you welds are not VERY good, you will have problems.

 

[MadReferee]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( those don't look very stable to me.
if you pick something up, and get on an uneven surface to where one side of the rear of the tractor is not level wiht the other, the whole thing will go sliding off sideways.
A simple, easy solution to weld a plate to the bottom of the forks under the bucket. this will keep the forks parallel AND straight. )</font>

I have yet to hear a complaint regarding this. Commercially available forks, Payne's for example, mount identical to my design.

Welding a plate to the bottom of the forks to hold them parallel will not keep them from sliding around in the bucket. It will just keep them parallel. It also limits the distance between the forks which may or may not decrease the flexibility of the forks to pickup certain things, like different width pallets.

 

[RichT]

After moving the 450lbs compressor with the forks, I noticed the 3/8in top plate bowed a bit. I cut a couple pieces from 3/8 plate and welded perpendicular to reinforce top plate. Something to think about if you're lifting heavy stuff.

 

[MadReferee]

Now that's a good idea. It's amazing how much a small 3/8" piece of flat bar that's only about a foot long will bend even when it is welded up for the first 3 inches. In your modification, it's the webbing effect that gives it strength.

 

[Jagmandave]

Why not just use an upside down piece of channel for the top plate, that would be really strong...........

 

[htiek126]

Like these? They are made from 5" channel, and they work fine. The rebar on top allows for a strap over the top of the bucket, but I have never needed to use it...

 

[George2615]

The first set I made many years ago had thick flat steel on the top like yours. I remembered they bowed or bent with a lot of weight on the forks. I gave them away as scrap when I sold a previous tractor I had. When I saw Madref's pics I remembered my first set bending, so I used channel top and bottom. I've had a lot of weight on this set. The attached (pic of my forks only) picked up the front and rear of a datsun 280z (with no engine) to jockey it around to load onto a trailer. When it lined up with the trailer I picked up the rear end of the car off the ground and pushed it up onto the trailer (estimate 1500#). I've also used them to pick up the back of my 20' trailer so the wheels are off the ground for brake service / inspection (trailer weighs 2500#). Thats more than my tractor is supposed to lift. Oops!!