Tractor FEL Crane *Update*

[jimgerken]

1. As said before, please don't curl bucket back and swing pipe onto your head.

2. Those turnbuckles appear to be extruded aluminum. If so, they are way too light for overhead lifting. Look for something forged steel.

3. That plastic coated cable has killed a few people. It must be stripped of plastic and clamped on the cable bare. The plastic will creep, and provides effective lubrication, so encourages it to slip.

4. Presentation is excellent!

 

[alchemysa]

I guess you've had fun building it but I think you've gone to a heap of effort and expense to achieve something thats pretty easy. The usual trick is to just hang them in position, upside down, then swing them upright as needed. Those trusses don't look heavy. It probably wouldnt take much more than an hour to hang them all up, spaced out, and ready to rotate. It takes two people of course but you'll likely need two people anyway. And I think your method is going to take a LOT longer.

 

[UltraFlame]

Got to give you props, it seems to work great but most importantly it looks like you had fun creating it. Great step by step pics.

 

[wldrbob]

all you needed to do was tilt your bucket ahead and you could get rid of those turnbuckles altogether .or better yet a chain and a hook on your bucket to adjust it with

 

[Gale Hawkins]

If you think this is scary, I have seen this done on a larger scale. By a crew that did it every day.

They used a crane jib like device, (no winch), attached to a large TLB FEL, lifting 40' trusses, for a 14' ceiling.

Ray some here just do not understand this is a daily activity. My BIL just welded a short piece of pipe onto the back of his bucket and slides a long pipe the next size larger over the stub welded to the bucket for his construction needs on a simple task like the pole barn in this tread.

 

[wldrbob]

using a rig like that is not a thing you want to use on a fulltime basis i sure wont work under it anyway.ive put up quite a few barns and steel buildings and none of my crew would be asked to work under or around that thing.

 

[PhilCase]

1. As said before, please don't curl bucket back and swing pipe onto your head.

2. Those turnbuckles appear to be extruded aluminum. If so, they are way too light for overhead lifting. Look for something forged steel.

3. That plastic coated cable has killed a few people. It must be stripped of plastic and clamped on the cable bare. The plastic will creep, and provides effective lubrication, so encourages it to slip.

4. Presentation is excellent!

Thanks Jim,

Yep, boom over-centering is a concern, to be managed via vigilance.

As mentioned earlier, the turnbuckles will be safety cabled during work for protection in the event of failure.

I appreciate your insight on the cables plastic sheathing and will strip the clamp points before work begins.

Thanks for the feedback!

Phil

 

[PhilCase]

PLEASE take into account of the hydraulic pressures that will be developed INSIDE the FEL cylinders as the weight is extended out from the bucket.....

Thanks Jim:

Initially I had the same concerns, but I now feel pretty good on this front. In load tests, with weights that are 2x truss weight, I'm still able to lift the load when fully extended.

The truss setting process will require a boom angle of ~55-60* in order to provide height required. Nowhere near fully extended.

 

[PhilCase]

I like the idea and especially the determination to find a way to do this by yourself!

Put as much weight as you can on the 3ph!

Was originally going to go with a mower, but movement restriction issues inside the footprint of the building dictated using the box blade. With 2x test loads, I found no problems with any tilting propensities, or loader hydraulics limitations.

Working (or not) videos next week.

 

[wldrbob]

YouTube - garys ginpole take a look at this one lol