Forks Pallet forks on E-Bay

[caddison]

Surfing the bay and came across these... forks If you are close might be a deal.....shipping might cause them to be less cost effective,

 

[JimR]

Wow, cheap enough I would say. There is a set near me for sale and the guy wants $190.00 for them.

 

[jim_wilson]

That is a very good price - and he has 12 dozen. At that price even with the shipping out to MA they are a pretty good deal - I might even get two sets.

 

[OrangeGuy]

I'd be careful. IMO it appears to be the forks only. You would still have to purchase the backframe.

OrangeGuy

 

[jim_wilson]

I just bought a BX23 a few weeks ago and one of the things I wanted to add onto the tractor before I even got it was some forks. After doing my research I realized that bucket forks were probably not the best way to go because they put the load too far out and added weight that brought the payload down. Seemed like having a dedicated backframe with forks was the best idea - until I started pricing it out. ATI makes a backframe that will fit my BX but when I priced out the backframe, forks, and the quick attach setup the dealer said I needed to have on the tractor to attach the ATI backframe it came out to $1000.00 ! . So at this point I started thinking well I guess I might as well get reaquainted with that TIG welder down in my basement I haven't used in a few years. Problem was all the solid forks I could find were expensive too - ATI wanted around $300 for theirs -and as JimR pointed out he found a set for $190 - which is not a bad deal from what I have seen. These $75.00 forks make my idea come together - I can probably build a backframe and fork setup now for the FEL on my tractor for a few hundred bucks. Now I have to go and find the local metal scrap yards in my area. I might even get two pairs of forks and build a pallet mover for the 3pt setup while I am at it.

Did I say thanks for posting the auction caddison? You just made my day.

 

[Henro]

Jim,

You may just want to make a light duty set of forks yourself using some channel or box tubing. The bx lift capacity is not much at something like 500 lbs probably, if you take the bucket off the loader arms...

That is only 250 lbs per fork. If you use something heavy duty like the ebay item, the forks alone could weigh 200 lbs for the pair, or maybe a bit less. This would impact the usefulness since you have to subtract the weight of what you end up from the lift capacity of the loader. Using forks like those would be very much overkill it looks to me...

Just a thought... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jim_wilson]

I thought about that - I wondered how much weight all this would add up to and how much resulting lift capacity I would have. According to the Kubota manual the LA210 FEL has a lift capacity of 463 pounds. It also says the bucket weighs in at 132 pounds. So I figure the FEL arms have a lifting capacity of 595 pounds without the bucket attached. Trying to figure out how much a forklift frame and forged forks would weigh I looked in the ATI catalog - they have a set of 42 inch forged forks weighing in at 92 lbs and 32 inch forged forks weighing in at 84 pounds. They also have a frame listed for the LA181 and LA211 loaders listed at 120 pounds. So using those numbers I figure a frame and fork assembly for this tractor is going to come in around 200 pounds or so - leaving me with a lift capacity of approximately 400 pounds when I am done. If this holds true it would be fine for what I want to do with it. I would use the forklift attachment for hauling lumber around, carrying cement bags, car parts etc. 400 pounds ought to be enough for me. I wanted to get forged forks so I could do stuff like pick up a load of plywood that was sitting on a 2x4 and stuff like that - if I use steel tubing I wont be able to do that. I figure if these forks are beefier than I really need I can probably carefully cut a little bit of meat off of them (make them narrower) to save some weight. I think there was another thread I read where somebody actually made a pair of forks by cutting one fork in half. I also planned on asking the guy who had the auction to send me the lightest duty forks he could find - he said he has 12 dozen so he must have a decent selection to pick thru.

 

[JerryG]

I made a set of bucket forks about 4 years ago. They are made from 2"x4"x 1/4" tube. I have lifted over a 1000 pounds lots of times with them. They have never bent or bowed or anything.

 

[caddison]

I was looking at another set on ebay and the price was $99.00 but the shipping from where they were located was a little salty. Based on 225 lbs the freight was going to be $400.00 plus via Fed Ex ground express...surely all truck freight isn't that high is it? There are some quick attach plates on ebay for $80.00 so if you can fabricate could have nice set of forks on the cheap.

 

[jim_wilson]

Do you know which auction has the quick attach plates? I would like to take a look at that.

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( According to the Kubota manual the LA210 FEL has a lift capacity of 463 pounds. It also says the bucket weighs in at 132 pounds. So I figure the FEL arms have a lifting capacity of 595 pounds without the bucket attached.)</font>
If the 463 pounds is at the pivot point where you would hook up the bucket, the bucket weight will be deducted from that not added. Then, anything else you hook up will be deducted. I'm not looking at the specs, but most of the time the lift capacity is measured without any bucket on, so it will not go up by the bucket weight, but down. John

 

[jim_wilson]

The manual does not specify whether or not it the load capacity is with or without bucket - it just says "ASAE rated lift capacity". Thanks for the info though - gives me more to think about. I suppose I could fill up the loader with weightlifting weights and see how much the thing will lift to get a better idea of what I am really dealing with. I think as long as I keep the backframe and forks combination weighing in around 150 pounds ( the bucket weighs 132) I will have more than enough lift capacity to do the things I need to do with it.

 

[Henro]

Jim,

I think the point I was trying to make was simply that the BX does not have the capacity to lift a whole lot. Not sure if this came across or not... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Whatever forks you end up with will only carry maybe 300 lbs max on each, maybe 500 lbs might be possible worst case on one...but usually the load is shared by both forks.

Forks from real forklifts are generally heavy and strong. MUCH stronger than needed for the bx lift capacity. So if one would use a pair of them, he would lose working capacity and not gain a whole lot, because the bx does not have the capacity to use the extra fork strength.

So one could probably make a pretty nice, and not too heavy, palet fork setup for a bx with commonly available local materials, maybe even find some scrap in a scrap yard that would do the trick...

The clamp on forks I have are made from rectangular tubing of some type, and they are rated for 500 lbs per fork.

By the way, I remember the thread you mentioned where a guy made a pretty nice set of palet forks using one forklift fork that he cut in half lengthwise...he did a great job, but what impressed me most was that he spent about 8 hours (or was it 12?) with a circular saw and abrasive blade, running it up and down the fork...before it was in two parts!!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

In my mind I gave him an A for his project, and an A++++ for his work ethic... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Cdash]

If you need light forks, you may want to look at hand truck producers. Like this http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/productdetail.jsp?xi=xi&ItemId=1611777338&ccitem=

Lighter duty and smaller forks, but still quality stuff. I found a pair at a scrap yard that were still attached to a setup like in the link. They only weigh about 30# each and are 30" long and 2.5" wide. I think they are perfect size for my loader. All I had to do is weld up a frame that fit my 410 loader and whala, forks with a capacity matched to my tractor (at least closer). I had a set made from 48", 4000# capacity and they were too big and heavy for the capacity of my loader.

Before I found them at the scrapyard I had inquired about buying a new set and remember it being under $200 new. Something else to think about....

 

[Henro]

BINGO! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[caddison]

Jim,

You are more than welcome......Always looking for a deal on stuff to add to the CUT! And like to share the finds....when there's mulitiples!

 

[caddison]

Here is the link for the, Quick attach plate, they raised the price a little!

 

[jim_wilson]

I appreciate the input Henro - I hadn't initially thought of the fact that these forks might be way overkill for what I want to do. I sent an email out to the guy with the auction to see if he maybe has any lighter duty forks in that 12 dozen. Some time this week I am going to load up my FEL bucket with some weighlifting weights and see how much it will really lift. I managed to get a couple of really big rocks into the FEL this weekend and carry them but I was not able to lift them off the ground. I came down a slope and got the rock into the bucket - then when I was on flat ground the bucket ended up being a foot or so off the ground and I was able to carry it that way. I am guessing that the actual lift capacity of the FEL with the bucket attached is around 400 pounds but I want to confirm it. This will give me a better idea of my target weight for the backframe and forks assembly. I had my heart set on forged forks for one reason - I operated forklifts for a number of years and learned that the thin front edges of a forged type fork have a number of advantages - you can get them under things much more easily than a tubular type fork. That being said if the weight disadvantage of a forged type fork is too much it would not be worth using one especially on the BX. Thanks also for the link to the handlifts Cdash - that is another option I had not thought of. If the guy on Ebay does not come thru I will have to start hunting thru the local metal scrap yards or something to find what I want.

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

good morning,
be careful with pallet forks that are for forklifts........ /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif they WILL add a lot of weight that will effect the lifting capacity of your cut....even tho' you can lift with a cut w/fel and do lots of work /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif......they are not fork lifts....no flame intended, just be careful /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif over the years of selling forklifts, i've seen just about everything possible with a forklift including tipovers and rollovers, most of the time due to overloading and operator abuse.....
just be safe /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

good luck,
bluebonnet2

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Some time this week I am going to load up my FEL bucket with some weighlifting weights and see how much it will really lift. )</font>
Keep in mind that the loader will acheive it's best lift when you have LOTS of rear weight on the tractor. Otherwise, not only are you lifting the loader, you're getting lift on the rearend of the tractor which adds weight to what you're trying to lift. You can easily test this by lifting moderately heavy weight with very little rear ballast and then add a lot more rear ballast. The loader won't give out as fast with heavier weight. John