Grapple Rake Grapple for my 555E

[GuglioLS]

Attached is a quickie Auto CAD drawing of your bracket. With some exact dimensions it could be quickly adjusted for a perfect fit.

Larry

 

[EddieWalker]

Alan,

Yes, I have all the pieces, I just need to figure out how to make them all work together.

I'm not going to weld it together myself. My skills are just not up to that level that I want out of the parts. The welder has everything, and he'll make sure it's all square and lined up. He's the same guy who took apart the bracket for my dump truck when the pin broke and half the bed came down, twisting the brackets. He took it apart, straightened it out and welded it up perfectly square. It's not cheap, but it will be right, so that's worth paying a little extra.

islandtractor,

When I drew the template, the first thing that I did was to coply the brackets that are on my loader bucket. I got the pin spacing and angle exact. Then I cut out the amoutn of steel around the pins.

With that drawing, I cut it out on another sheet of paper to fit the angles on the Quick Attachement part. It was pretty simple, but I still had to add paper to an area that I cut too short.

tlbuser,

I have a stack of stuff with the receipt in there somewhere, but right now, I don't have a clue what it cost. When I find that receipt, I'll be sure to update this thread.

wnsllc,

I'll have to check to see if I have a weight for the grapple some place. It's six feet wide, but other then that, I don't have a clue what it weighs. I have 4,000 pounds of lift on my loader, so the weight of the grapple isn't a concern.

Larry,

I finished off a job on Monday, so I took yesterday off, and brought the template, bushings and Quick Attach to the welder. They are also a machine shop, but mostly they are known for being a place that gets the job done and does it well.

I told them that I wanted it made out of 3/8's steel and then I asked what type of steel did they have? His reply was Stainless, Aluminum and Hot Rolled Steel. It was a no brainer. hahahaha

Thank you for the offer to help, it's very much appreciated. I already tried to talk Rob into making the grapple for me, but only jokingly as I know he has more then a few things going on already. Getting the two of you to help would be like winning the Lottery!!!!!!!

Once the welding is done, it should be a simple task of removing the bucket and instaling the QA Attachement. The hoses are maped out and I made a bracket to hold the switch this evening. I'm letting it cool down right now and tomorrow I'll prime and paint it. Then I'll take a few pics and post them

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

I made a bracket from some angle iron for the valve. I cut two pieces to fit on either side of it so that the hoses would fit and have good access. Then I spray painted it all black. I'm also going to create some sort of cover for it. I'm not sure if it's needed, but I figure it might be a good idea.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

To make operate the valve, I decided to use a button that already exists on my loader controler. The red button puts my transmission in neutral. I've never understood what this was for or where I would use it, so for the last five years, I've never used it.

Now it will switch the hydraulics from tilting the bucket, to operating the grapple. I just push the botton and then the controler will open and close it. I let go of the button, and it goes back to controlling the angle of the bucket.

Eddie

 

[redneckford]

Eddie that button is designed to disengage the trans when you run into a large pile of dirt etc. and you disengage the trans to give the hyd pump full power to lift the load quickly without the trans going into stall----sure saves a trans when using the loader for moving alot of piles of dirt into dump trucks etc.---read the op manual for some tips on using the red button---may save you a trans job!!!

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the info. That makes sense, though I wonder how you get a full load without the assistance of the tires helping out?

No biggy since I've never used it, and now that it's been disconected, I never will.

Every now and then I'll do a search on Ebay for my 555E and other equipment. I'm always hopeful of finding something like the Owners Manual or some other manual that I might need.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

The welder is done and the price came to $466 for the steel, cutting the plates, adding two support plates to each side and welding it all together. Unfortunately, out of four sets of bushings, my pin will only slide through one of them. Two are close and one is just a mess.

He'll get it back today and I'm back to the waiting game. The good news is that I'm booked up with work this weekend and there's no rush on when I'll have time to get to it anyway.

Eddie

 

[jmc]

Unfortunately, out of four sets of bushings, my pin will only slide through one of them. Two are close and one is just a mess.

Eddie,

PM me if you want some lathe help with those bushings. (I can't figure out how to PM someone else)


John

 

[EddieWalker]

Hey John,

Thanks for the help. I'm not sure what happened with the welder, or why he missed three out of four bushings, but they are also a machine shop with a really good reputation. I didn't have the new pins at the time, so it could be that they just didn't have any 1 1/2 inch pins and tried to use what they had on hand. I don't know, but they messed it up and they are the type of place that will make it right. It's one of the reasons I use them, they are the only welding shop in the area with a good reputation that I'm aware of.

In fact, I'm out the door right now to go see them.


Thanks,
Eddie

 

[jmc]

Eddie,

Ah! I just assumed the ID's were undersized and could be opened up. Sounds like something changed after welding? No lathe job, that!

Good Luck.

John