Found a great use for bolt-on pallet forks.

[montelatici]

I bought a set of pretty heavy duty pallet forks for 120 bucks on Ebay. Hey the skid steer type start at $495, what a deal, right! Wrong.

When you start picking things up they don't stay straight even tightened done with a long bar for leverage.

But, they will be great to get the skid steer pallet forks off the delivery truck when I get around to buying them.

All kidding aside, you can pick up logs and heavy brush, but you have to work carefully and you still have to get off the tractor to loosen them and straighten them out quite often, so they will only do in a pinch.

Should have listened to the posters who recommended not to bother with them.

 

[k0ua]

I just converted mine to chain/on . also added a pipe in the pinch area, because it was out on the bevel of the bucket, and wanted it back on the flat just behind the bevel, but still on the thick part of the bucket.. much more sturdy, still use the bolt also, to keep them even tighter. yep as clamp on, not very satisfactory, expecially when you turn them straight down to dump brush off of them. Just took some chain and welding, and some small chain binders. found them for 25 a pair.. it was kinda fun to work on them.
James K0UA

 

[crazyal]

I bought a set of the clamp/ chain on forks and while they work good they do have some limitations. I have had to reapir them a couple of times. I've bent them because I've stuck them into the dirt while trying to pick up pallets with my BH.

I wish I had a Northern tool close by. I would like to make a set that can be used with my QA on my Kubota and 580k. They sell the Atlas forklift forks but truck shipping is too expensive.

 

[montelatici]

I just converted mine to chain/on . also added a pipe in the pinch area, because it was out on the bevel of the bucket, and wanted it back on the flat just behind the bevel, but still on the thick part of the bucket.. much more sturdy, still use the bolt also, to keep them even tighter. yep as clamp on, not very satisfactory, expecially when you turn them straight down to dump brush off of them. Just took some chain and welding, and some small chain binders. found them for 25 a pair.. it was kinda fun to work on them.
James K0UA

Mine came with the pipe welded on the pinch area, so they are tight on the edge, but the leverage on the end of the fork if you make a little mistake is just too much with only the bolts. I'll try to add a chain binder or a ratcheting tie down to see if it improves, but I think a skid steer pallet fork attachment might be the best bet at some point.

 

[k0ua]

the set I got off of ebay are not going to bend, they must 50-60 lbs each.. in fact they are a pain to carry around. I wish I had got the lightweight ones. I figured they would lie about the lifting capacity, but they didnt. 4x2 inch heavy wall steel, almost 3/16 inch thick.
James K0UA

 

[montelatici]

the set I got off of ebay are not going to bend, they must 50-60 lbs each.. in fact they are a pain to carry around. I wish I had got the lightweight ones. I figured they would lie about the lifting capacity, but they didnt. 4x2 inch heavy wall steel, almost 3/16 inch thick.
James K0UA

Yeah, mine are at least 60 lbs. each, real heavy duty.

 

[k0ua]

but I think a skid steer pallet fork attachment might be the best bet at some point.

No doubt. and would be what I would have, if it wasnt for the money.
but I dont have the QA bucket, and dont need forks all the time, so went the cheap way.. but they are much more sturdy, with the chains, and you can dump and reverse without worrying they will come off. Just making the best of a bad situation. I welded 7 chain links on the uprights that you would put a 2x4 into on each side, and being an odd number of links, the center link is horizontal. So the chain binder hooks up centered easily. Be carefull you can tighten too much and bend the bucket.
James K0UA

 

[montelatici]

No doubt. and would be what I would have, if it wasnt for the money.
but I dont have the QA bucket, and dont need forks all the time, so went the cheap way.. but they are much more sturdy, with the chains, and you can dump and reverse without worrying they will come off. Just making the best of a bad situation. I welded 7 chain links on the uprights that you would put a 2x4 into on each side, and being an odd number of links, the center link is horizontal. So the chain binder hooks up centered easily. Be carefull you can tighten too much and bend the bucket.
James K0UA

Thanks, I will be careful.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Loader Forks Bucket Skid Tractor Pallet Fork Deere - eBay (item 390243903176 end time Sep-30-10 20:07:59 PDT)

Found these 2 3/8" drill pipe forks to be strong enough for my full size backhoe. I agree the binders are key to making these low cost forks stable.

I had to add to the OEM chain due to my one yard bucket and did spread a cheap imported chain hook when trying to load a stack of plywood that made the pump bypass when trying to curl the bucket but no harm was done to the pipe forks.

Any cheap hack of a fork solution will have limitations but after giving ours a workout in a building project i would buy another set tomorrow if they came up missing.

 

[Cherokee180]

Good to know. My used BX came with a set. I know they won't lift real heavy pallets, but throught they would be useful in moving some stuff around the house.

 

[BigD23]

Loader Forks Bucket Skid Tractor Pallet Fork Deere - eBay (item 390243903176 end time Sep-30-10 20:07:59 PDT)

Found these 2 3/8" drill pipe forks to be strong enough for my full size backhoe. I agree the binders are key to making these low cost forks stable.

I had to add to the OEM chain due to my one yard bucket and did spread a cheap imported chain hook when trying to load a stack of plywood that made the pump bypass when trying to curl the bucket but no harm was done to the pipe forks.

Any cheap hack of a fork solution will have limitations but after giving ours a workout in a building project i would buy another set tomorrow if they came up missing.

Thanks for the link, Gale.

Don

 

[PeterK]

tractor bucket loader forks clamp on skid debris logger - eBay (item 220631073329 end time Sep-29-10 18:56:01 PDT)

I have these for my BX24 from groundworks. They are made extremely well and great for picking up and moving brush as well as a few logs at a time.

 

[Ezlivn]

Thanks a bunch for the e-Bay link...I just bought a set of these. Very useful to have around for the price.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I think having tall stakes in the loops is key to help judge the angle of the forks that you can not see.

The looks of the flat tubes I prefer over our 2 3/8" round ones but round will out function the flat tubes.

Each fork weighs about 30 lb on our round drill stem forks but get the same weight limits with the flatten tubes they weight 60 lb each. I do not want a set of forks that require a set of forks to handle.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Good to know. My used BX came with a set. I know they won't lift real heavy pallets, but throught they would be useful in moving some stuff around the house.

We are starting to build a collection of pallets when we clean up/organize things we put it on a pallet so we can move it if needed without manual labor.

 

[JJZ 109]

Be carefull you can tighten too much and bend the bucket.
James K0UA

True. I bought some 1/4 or 3/16 flat steel about an inch or 1 1/4" wide and bent it into a U shape so that it gets between the bucket and tightening bolt but wraps around the rest of the clamp area. Seems to do a fair decent job of saving the bucket bottom.

 

[check]

True. I bought some 1/4 or 3/16 flat steel about an inch or 1 1/4" wide and bent it into a U shape so that it gets between the bucket and tightening bolt but wraps around the rest of the clamp area. Seems to do a fair decent job of saving the bucket bottom.

try checking out the ones on BXpanded.com - they are just clamp-on and seem to be a great idea.:thumbsup:

 

[JJZ 109]

try checking out the ones on BXpanded.com - they are just clamp-on and seem to be a great idea.:thumbsup:

Wish I'd known about these before I ordered Payne's. I'd say that the only drawback is similar to any other clamp on is that you still can't see through the bucket when approaching your target. Other than that I like the mounting method much better than my current forks.

 

[jimcolt]

Theres a guy on NH Craigslist that makes very nicely built clamp on forks from 800lb rating to 2000lb, prices are the lowest I have seen. He uses a cnc plasma to custom cut the slot on the clamp assembly so that it fits the bucket, cantilevering the load between the slot and the underside of the bucket. The clamp screw is only there to hold the fork on, no load is on it. The lightest ones are made with 2 x 2 x 3/16" wall, 800lb rating, and only weigh 23 lbs each. Heaviest are 2 x 4 x 1/4" wall, rated for 2000lb, and are fairly heavy! Here are some pictures:

 

[KubotainNH]

I made pallet forks for my little tractor and the bucket is off when I use them. The tractor can only pick up a small amount so removing the bucket helps and you can see better. It only takes 10 mins to swap and man are they useful.