my loader 20/20 hindsight

[David Devuono]

Trust me, you will need a brace. There will be way too much leverage at the frame. I had a brace going forward and although my Kubota does not have a frame like yours, I still managed to crack the bell housing. You can see in the picture I run a brace forward, and backward now.

 

[scarlo101]

Garnet,
Thanks for all the info. I am the proud owner of a BX1850 like yours. I am currently also building a FEL (about 1/4 completed). All the topics and concerns that you talk about I have had to deal with. I live in Ontario Canada and shop regularly at Princess Auto and agree with your comments about them.
I will be building a brace to the front and would strongly recomend it. I bought a new bucket from a dealer (was traded in for a quick attach) so I will not need to construct one. My height will be about 10" less and that is mostly due to the bucket only being 20" from the front. I will also be contructing a quick attach but not sure which type as yet. My plumbing will be steel lines and hoses. In addition to this loader I have a 60" kubota front blade, a front mount sweeper, a 3 pt hitch sprayer and of course the 54" deck. The broom, the blade and the hydraulic valve were all picked up in the US used last fall. My cylinders were also surplus.
What inside diameter are your cylinders? Also when your boom is fully raised and your bucket fully tilted what angle is your bucket relative to the ground? I am trying to get it to be 45 degrees. I have fully drawn this project in AutoCad and I find it is a great help.

Pics can be seen from the link below. I have not posted any recent pics but will in the near future.

 

[joes_427_vette]

Garnet;
I'm not going hoses and steel lines to cut costs. I would be less expensive to go all rubber hoses with Ts. I want it to look like a factory install only a little more on the heavy duty side. I like the light high strength steel JD uses but once you bend it... junk remains. The engineering is quite interesting also as the entire plan is in my head. I have compared others measurements to keep in a certain percentage of an engineered production model. I am already dreaming up a cab design for a later project. Cost savings is great but pride in design, performance, and durability remain much longer.
That is why this site is so great. So many interesting slants on the same idea. Also remember..... reengineering is part of the engineering, I spent a week there one nite !

 

[joes_427_vette]

I hand bent these lines. As long as they stayed on one side of the loader arm I was satisfied. Still waiting for a couple fittings from hose to the Ts. It should be ready for a test run when they arrive.