Grappling fun - A Picture Thread....

[IslandTractor]

It is 1/4" and it's fixed, likely better than new. Steve, the welder, showed me the voids in the original welds. He grou

Glad to hear that it’s been fixed. Should be good for at least 25 years of grappling!

Not sure I’d blame the original welds though even if there was some porosity. It looked like base metal was just ripped as the edges were quite ragged. We all make mistakes and I’d say accidental “operator error” was more likely the root cause. Don’t worry, we’ve all done stuff like that. Just be glad it could be fixed with a simple weld repair.

 

[fruitcakesa]

Glad to hear that it’s been fixed. Should be good for at least 25 years of grappling!

Not sure I’d blame the original welds though even if there was some porosity. It looked like base metal was just ripped as the edges were quite ragged. We all make mistakes and I’d say accidental “operator error” was more likely the root cause. Don’t worry, we’ve all done stuff like that. Just be glad it could be fixed with a simple weld repair.

yes

 

[Gordon Gould]

Glad you got fixed up and can go again. Maybe that fix will last for a long time but this is my thinking on what happened - Those original welds held fine it was the 1/4 tube that got ripped apart. Every time you close on something the force from the cylinder ram pushes on the tops of those lugs which puts a forward twisting force on the cross member. Pushing the lugs forward against a stop will rip them out at the base. The same happens when you put an upward force on the top jaw by bashing around. The upward force on the jaws tries to rip the lugs out of the tube. That is what I think happened. The 1/4 tube was stronger at the welds because it was effectively thicker (stronger) due to the weld material so the ripping force concentrated around the edge of the welds and that is where the tube failed. If it were mine I would make those lugs larger and triangular so they could be welded onto the cross tube and also welded to that center tube 90* to it. Giving a bigger area to spread the stress. But that's just me.

gg

 

[IslandTractor]

Glad you got fixed up and can go again. Maybe that fix will last for a long time but this is my thinking on what happened - Those original welds held fine it was the 1/4 tube that got ripped apart. Every time you close on something the force from the cylinder ram pushes on the tops of those lugs which puts a forward twisting force on the cross member. Pushing the lugs forward against a stop will rip them out at the base. The same happens when you put an upward force on the top jaw by bashing around. The upward force on the jaws tries to rip the lugs out of the tube. That is what I think happened. The 1/4 tube was stronger at the welds because it was effectively thicker (stronger) due to the weld material so the ripping force concentrated around the edge of the welds and that is where the tube failed. If it were mine I would make those lugs larger and triangular so they could be welded onto the cross tube and also welded to that center tube 90* to it. Giving a bigger area to spread the stress. But that's just me.

gg

Good point but the real issue is simply that grapple arms are simply not engineered to have anything pushing against them when open. The closing force is easily calculated because you can figure the geometry and hydraulic cylinder force but if the jaw is open and a tractor is moving or pressing against a large immobile object, then you can quickly exceed the design parameters. Lots of grapples get injured pushing against a tree with the upper arm in contact when open. Analogous to using your own hand. You can grip something as tightly as possible and you don't hurt your fingers, but if you have your hand open and bend the fingers backwards you injure yourself pretty easily especially if you are moving.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'll stand behind my original statement about that grapple repair; if it's iron it's going to break. That's why we have welders.

Glad that he got it fixed, although I still would put a bushing in that gap where the cylinder pin connects.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I have been using it again and of course it works fine, but this operator will be paying more attention to operation.

 

[sdarnold09]

Took a while to move these. First job with the new workmaster!

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^^

Nice looking setup. :thumbsup:

 

[goeduck]

I will push brush with my closed grapple lid to get more surface area against the brush, but I never push anything solid with the lid. For that I open the grapple and push with the bottom tips. Just remember a tractor FEL is not a dozer so be careful not to damage things.

 

[davedj1]

I guess I can add to this thread now
Picked this up off of marketplace the other day.
I already had the hydraulic kit sitting in the garage for the Kubota

I had to convert it to quick attach

I would like nothing more than to have some action shots but I don't have anything here to work with If we get a cooler weekend I will run up to camp and try it out