Fork attachment build.

[Shield Arc]

Turned out nice.

The way you did the bar inside to beef up the heel is nice. Not what I was picturing based off what you were describing. I thought it was only going to be inside the horizontal and stop at the heel. What you did should.make that heel area a good bit stronger.

Thanks!
Let's hope it makes the heel stronger.

 

[LD1]

It will. Not as much as adding material outside the tube like I described, but a cleaner look.

Similar to adding material to the flanges vs web of a beam. What you did is the equivalent of adding to the web. Helps yes, just not as much as adding at the extremities

 

[Xfaxman]

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Not my design, I stole it from Ingersoll Rand. I just adapted it to mount on a tractor.

Slots in frame so the bar can move.
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Speaking of designs, I am posting this for future builders.

Note the slots in the 6' wide frame to allow the forks to set flat on uneven ground.

The center slot shows up well on the 4' frame that came with my V518.

I moved lots of trees with the forks.

 

[Shield Arc]

It will. Not as much as adding material outside the tube like I described, but a cleaner look.

Similar to adding material to the flanges vs web of a beam. What you did is the equivalent of adding to the web. Helps yes, just not as much as adding at the extremities

On the job, every once in a great while the engineers will require us to beef up the web of a beam, but not very often. Wish I had a dollar for every beam I've done this to. Or added flange to web stiffeners in a beam.

 

[LD1]

Web stiffiners help increase shear and prevent web buckling. Especially with high point loads or varying loads. See them alot around the bearing points, and on bridges with really long spans and really tall beams.

The flange reinforcement really increases the resistance to deflection and bending stress. I am sure this is much less common in the field especially new designs. Since steel is roughly the same cost per pound, it wouldn't make sense to pay the labor to weld up. Rather just secify a larger beam.

For retrofits or someone working with materials on hand, different story.

 

[Shield Arc]

The main reason we did this. All the construction companies I worked for, had huge yards full of beams. When we built false work for a concrete bridge, the beams on hand had to be beefed up to carry the concrete loads..

 

[crystallake]

Great job on build. Trying to figure how to do the same and what my needs are. I have a Kubota MX5100 and the loader has the skid steer attach with two pins going into the bottom of the frame and I also have a quick attach like shown above for the three point. I want to use both but cant figure out how to work out both the bottom pins on the skid steer mount and the three point at same time. Anyone seen this done before?

 

[aeblank]

skid steer attach ... quick attach like shown above for the three point. I want to use both but cant figure out how to work out both the bottom pins on the skid steer mount and the three point at same time. Anyone seen this done before?

That's a good point. I have seen where people make adapters (3-point to SSQA), but that's bulky and spendy.
I think I have CAD of a 3-point QA and of a SSQA plate. I should have a look at that sometime.

I can envision, off the top of my head, slots in the QA plate that lets a piece of plate swivel out that has a hole in it. So 4 things swivel out, put a pin through it, and that's the bottom links. Not perfect.....

Then again, maybe the 3-point features would "nestle" into the tractor-side SSQA such that it'd be ok. On Kubotas anyway, the way it notches in is curious...

 

[Xfaxman]

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I have a Kubota MX5100 and the loader has the skid steer attach with two pins going into the bottom of the frame and I also have a quick attach like shown above for the three point. I want to use both but cant figure out how to work out both the bottom pins on the skid steer mount and the three point at same time. Anyone seen this done before?

Just to be clear, this is a three point Quick Hitch.

This is a SSQA for a tractor.

Is this what you have?

 

[aeblank]

I took it as wanting to use on the front or the back. The build shown in this thread has a Euro (I think) mount AND 3-point tabs on it. So it can be used with either. Crystallake (nor I) have ever seen a similar setup only with SSQA and 3-point tabs.

 

[crystallake]

xfaxman--Yes this is my arrangement.

 

[Xfaxman]

I took it as wanting to use on the front or the back. The build shown in this thread has a Euro (I think) mount AND 3-point tabs on it. So it can be used with either. Crystallake (nor I) have ever seen a similar setup only with SSQA and 3-point tabs.

There have been some threads about home built fork frames that fit either end.

The one I have isn't pallet forks, it is a Speeco UltraFork, but the design would work for pallet forks.

 

[crystallake]

Thanks, that gets my brain moving.

 

[aeblank]

The one I have isn't pallet forks, it is a Speeco UltraFork, but the design would work for pallet forks.
View attachment 446362

Not quite QH compatible, but interesting none the less.

 

[Xfaxman]

Here is one by SSdoxie: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/286916-combination-ssqa-pallet-fork-qh.html

 

[aeblank]

I like it.

I have a set of (claimed to be) Bobcat brand forks. The visibility is AWFUL on them. Beyond that, the guarding is all bent up. I was planning on cutting it off and rebuilding the top guard section to be like EA's or Tomahawk's forks. This could be integrated in pretty easily, I think!

 

[crystallake]

Perfect ! time to fire up the Miller bobcat.

 

[arrow]

Building another fork attachment, this one is for my brother-n-law. I won't be going back to his place until next spring, so I have all the time in the world to finish it.:laughing:
It's the same design as mine, just a little bigger.
Tomorrow I'll weld up the taper to the tip of the forks. Then drill holes in the tips, and weld a piece of pipe in the holes.
This is all I have done so far.

It looks SA that you used heat to cut the tube stock for the taper. I do suppose this method gives the ability to run the cut using a guide bar. I would have had to use a piece of angle clamped to the bar stock and run my jig saw against the angle iron for such a relatively straight cut. More than likely, knowing my impatient self, I would have just scribed the lines and cut the thing by eye.

I made a set of forks using 3" channel thinking I was only using them to pick up slash from tree crowns. Even though I beefed up the channel, they were still not strong enough as we don't always adhere to our own rules.

I made my taper at the bottom such as yours as I am dragging ground to get under slash. I am wondering if picking up pallets, the taper might be better suited at the top?

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

I made my taper at the bottom such as yours as I am dragging ground to get under slash. I am wondering if picking up pallets, the taper might be better suited at the top?

The taper needs to stay on the bottom, especially for pallets. If the top were tapered, there wouldn't be a flat surface for the pallet to sit on and it would constantly rock and never sit solid.

 

[LD1]

Most forklift forks have taper on the bottom. It allows you to tilt (curl) down and not dig into the ground as bad.

With the taper on the top, even the slightest tilt down will want to bury itself into the ground.

But I like to live life on the edge. I have no taper on my pallet forks. Just a blunt open end of the 2x4x1/4" tube.