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