my loader 20/20 hindsight

[garnet]

Hi guys, the pictures you see are of my loader. Not too bad, if I do say so myself .But you know what they say - 20/20 vision is best in hind sight. As you browse through my work I will critic it for design flaws that I feel could be improved upon. Your input would be greatly appreciated. This site is teeming with a lot of talented and brilliant people.
Excuse me if I seem to be stating the obvious at times, I’m also doing this as documentation for my four sons.

 

[carpenter383]

Never seen a clear loader before, I bet it's easy to see what's in front of the bucket with this design! JK I'm guessing you accidentally posted the wrong pic! LOL

 

[garnet]

The main mounting bracket is ½” plate pipe, 3 ½ x ¼ OD tower mount, 3/16 x 4” plate. Mounting bolts are grade 8 fine thread 9/16 x 2”, the pin bushings are 1” ID x 1 ½ OD. All the holes were V’d prior to welding. (Except bushings, didn’t see the need.) To drill the holes I used Milwaukee brand hole saws - liked them the best lots of all. Sizes of saws to do the job are as follows 3 ½ “, 2 3/8 “, 1 ½. The 1 ½ cut approximately 60 holes and still looks ok. I bought a 1 1/64 reamer to enlarge my bushings to accommodate the 1”pins I made.

 

[garnet]

The towers are 3”x 4” x 3/16 square tubing 30” high. First tack welded together, then drilled all the holes - this kept everything copasetic. In fact this process was followed for all points that had to pivot. When I cut the face out (16”down) the tubing flexed inward, this is a common occurrence due to surface tension. To fix this, I cut a line in the center of the back face the full 16” with my angle grinder (not too deep), then filled in the groove and as the weld cooled it brought the tube back equally. (If there is an easier way – let me know)

 

[garnet]

I filled in the tower tube with a piece of plate to keep dirt and water out. I also drilled a couple of holes for moisture as well.

 

[garnet]

Here is the main loader made with 2”x 3” x 3/16 wall tube, gusset plate is the same 3/16”.

 

[garnet]

I feel that this distance could have been 10”- 12” closer. At this time, with no ballast, I can lift 590 lbs at its most outward position without tipping. (This is a BX1850 – how much ballast could I put on safely?)

 

[garnet]

Quick attach for attachments eg forks, bucket, quick spade…
I made it upside down gets dirt in it. Not bad just a pain in the ___ Oh well.

 

[garnet]

86” is a nice height, but without a ballast my center of gravity is too high.
(Any suggestions for a decent ballast weight?)

 

[garnet]

I made this bucket from 3/16 plate. It may be too heavy, would 1/8 have been better?