Forks QA Pallet fork design

[rkhpapa]

I wanted a set of QA pallet forks for my new L4400 and I already had a pair of old forks, so I did a little sketching and took them down to a welder friend (I can't weld worth a darn). I gave him the sketchs and asked him to be gentle on the price, hoping he could use steel he already had laying around.
He came up with the design in the attached pics which I thought was good enough to share.
He used 12" channel for the mating plates and 4" square tube on the diagonal to create a really strong cleat and a good place for the forks to rest against.
The hard part was scalloping out clearance for the locking arms, but as you can see, he's a talented guy.
He welded tubing under the hooks of the forks and used a cold rolled bar as the shaft. Good, strong, set up and it works like a charm.

 

[wedge40]

Nice set of forks. Did he start with a QA plate or do everything from scratch.

Wedge

 

[rkhpapa]

Nope...From scratch...two pieces of 12" channel and two pieces of 4" tubing. He just built it up from there.

 

[BrianA]

Where in NH is your welding friend location? Would he be interested in making the same setup for a Kubota 2710?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Ductape]

And does he work for beer? I got a couple things i need made too.

 

[J_J]

Nice clean design, Now, that is the kind of friend to have. Smart and knowledgeable.

If you bore a hole in the end of the forks, and put a 2 in ball there, you can move trailers and such..

 

[joes_427_vette]

A set of forks is very easy to combine with a frame. I used a short chunk of I beam for the base and a piece of 1/2" 4x4 angle for the top portion to attach the individual stops on the forks. Had to buy the channel on top as well as scraps of 2" tubing for the upper structure. The forks are rated at 5k and were $80.00 When I remove the forks ( slide them inwards and lift out ) I want to bolt on a 30" U shaped shield for moving small pine trees. The quick tach is the best feature I have come across.

Couldn't resist making the lift cage to go with the forks. Used them for scaffolding when putting shingles on the house ( 20' above ground ) Bolted some planks on the top of the cage which gave me 12' end to end.

 

[rkhpapa]

BrianA & Ductape...
He's located off 3A in Bow, NH (behind the power plant). If you guys are seriously interested, just drop me an email and I'll reply with his contact information.
Brian, does your tractor use the skid steer style QA?

 

[wedge40]

A set of forks is very easy to combine with a frame. I used a short chunk of I beam for the base and a piece of 1/2" 4x4 angle for the top portion to attach the individual stops on the forks. Had to buy the channel on top as well as scraps of 2" tubing for the upper structure. The forks are rated at 5k and were $80.00 When I remove the forks ( slide them inwards and lift out ) I want to bolt on a 30" U shaped shield for moving small pine trees. The quick tach is the best feature I have come across.

Couldn't resist making the lift cage to go with the forks. Used them for scaffolding when putting shingles on the house ( 20' above ground ) Bolted some planks on the top of the cage which gave me 12' end to end.

Joes_427_vette - Could you please post some more detailed photos of your setup? Front, sides and back. What kind of hookup do you have to your tractor?

Wedge