torchroadster
Member
With inspiration and thanks to Sodo
I built a set of brush forks for my New Holland TC29D:
The material is all 2"x 2" x 3/16" square steel tube. I purchased 36' feet of material and used almost all of it. The forks are just short of 4' long and they fit inside my 5' bucket width . All welding was done with a Craftsman 105 Amp, 120 Volt, MIG Welder with 75/25 CO2/Argon mix, and .035 wire. This material was pretty much at the limit of my little welder but I think the welds came out to be acceptable.
Material cut and ready for welding
My Rockwell Jawhorse with the welding adapter worked great to hold the material in place for welding
A couple example welds
I cut the ends of the forks at 45 degrees and welded plates to cover
I measured, marked and drilled the bucket for the holes for the attachment pins
I decided to weld a 1/4" reinforcing plate at the rear pin location.
After paint and final installation
View attachment 391129
Last but not least, in action!
What I would do different the next time:
1. The material I used is probably overkill for the capability of my tractor. The forks are too heavy to lift by myself and I doubt my tractor would ever be able to bend them.
2. I should've fab'd a drill guide to make sure my holes drilled from the outside of the bucket through the forks were straight and symmetrical from side to side. They aren't even close, despite my careful efforts.
I hope this helps others who want to build their own brush forks. Questions and suggestions are very welcome!
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/321435-50-inch-brush-fork-build.html I built a set of brush forks for my New Holland TC29D:
The material is all 2"x 2" x 3/16" square steel tube. I purchased 36' feet of material and used almost all of it. The forks are just short of 4' long and they fit inside my 5' bucket width . All welding was done with a Craftsman 105 Amp, 120 Volt, MIG Welder with 75/25 CO2/Argon mix, and .035 wire. This material was pretty much at the limit of my little welder but I think the welds came out to be acceptable.
Material cut and ready for welding
My Rockwell Jawhorse with the welding adapter worked great to hold the material in place for welding
A couple example welds
I cut the ends of the forks at 45 degrees and welded plates to cover
I measured, marked and drilled the bucket for the holes for the attachment pins
I decided to weld a 1/4" reinforcing plate at the rear pin location.
After paint and final installation
View attachment 391129Last but not least, in action!
What I would do different the next time:
1. The material I used is probably overkill for the capability of my tractor. The forks are too heavy to lift by myself and I doubt my tractor would ever be able to bend them.
2. I should've fab'd a drill guide to make sure my holes drilled from the outside of the bucket through the forks were straight and symmetrical from side to side. They aren't even close, despite my careful efforts.
I hope this helps others who want to build their own brush forks. Questions and suggestions are very welcome!
