My FEL Forks

[AbDaBu]

So I had Columbus Day off and needed a project. I've been planning these for a while and this was my first chance to get something done. The idea was to make FEL forks for my BX2350. I don't need to haul heavy loads, so I drew up a simple design that lets me adjust the width of the forks.
I've already put grab hooks and a 2" hitch receiver on my bucket, so I needed to plan around those things, too.

 

[AbDaBu]

I cut all my pieces at the same time, after careful measure and triple checking the angle from the hitch to level ground.

 

[AbDaBu]

The forks are made from some leftover 2x4 tubing. I tapered the fronts to make it easier to stab the pallets and capped the heels with some angle to catch the lip of the bucket.

 

[AbDaBu]

The bar is just some scrap black pipe cut to 36" and welded into a hole in the 2" attachment. I also welded some HF pipe clamp ends over holes drilled into the fork uprights. These are so I can quickly adjust the width but have them stay put where they're set. You can see how the forks sort of hang on the pipe, but the heels rest on the lip of the bucket.

 

[AbDaBu]

Side view shows how its all assembled.
First test run with an empty pallet was a success.
Finally, after dark, I gave it a stealthy black paint job and installed the standard security system.

 

[nedly05]

Very nice, I built a set of forks for our 444-H loader at work, the work well but are very heavy. Mine clamp on to the bucket. Your design is better!!

 

[Egon]

Nice job.

I just bolt several old truck springs to the bottom of my reinforced bucket.

 

[SkunkWerX]

It looks good, but I'm curious about something?

What carries the load, Is it the top bar that is in the 2" receiver?
I saw how you welded the flange/lips at the back/bottoms of the forks, but that appears to go underneath the bucket? Is that correct?


Only reason i ask is that all the forks I have seen rest on the cutting edge, or inside the bucket for support.
You could easily add another flange so the load also rests on the bucket lip.

perhaps I am not seeing it correctly.

 

[dbdartman]

Lots nicer than the quick & dirty forks I made a few weeks ago...

 

[nedly05]

Cheap yet effective, gotta love it!!