Welded some hooks on my FEL

gerard · Nov 12, 2002

Re: Welded or bolt?

Either way can work well. If I were going to weld I'd weld to a plate first and then weld the plate to avoid concentrating so much force at such on such a small surface area (Thats when you see the top of the bucket bent). If I have hooks I don't want to have to worry about applying too much force and bending something so I'd rather overbuild a little. I've attached a picture of what I did before I could weld. Just used some heavy anlge iron with slits cut in to act as chain dogs. Also spreads the force over the whole top of the bucket. Don't think I'll be bending any bucket top here!

GSS · Nov 12, 2002

Re: Welded or bolt?

My old IH 656 had those cut into the bucket in about the same place. I used them a few times and they really worked well. I'll have to see if that is an option on the Cub. Thanks for the memory jog!

Thomas · Nov 12, 2002

Re: Welded or bolt?

I welded my hook to 3/8" plate steel than,the the plate steel to the top of the bucket.
Also welded another piece of 3/8"steel plate under the top of the bucket for more stenght.

Width of the 3/8" steel plate..6 inches,lenght..5 inches.

Depending on the size of your hook and the area to work with..little over kill can save /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif's

reedfish1954 · Nov 12, 2002

Your welding looks great and your paint job is fabulous, but ...without hurting your feelings your hooks will pull out becase they are not hardened and I wouldn't take a chance they would straighten. Look at mine and see if you would rather stand under mine or yours. Mine are bolted and backplated top and bottom to 1/4 plate. Those are 10,000 pound tow hooks bought at TSC for 9.99 each.

em14 · Nov 12, 2002

I like your hooks .. I have been considering doing some like you did ... you have retained the strength of the hook and the bucket without possiblely performing some heat metallurgy on the bucket and the hook ... I would like to be able to hook a chain loop in the hook for connivance .... again that's well done
Leo

Elkoboy · Nov 13, 2002

Well, I certainly won't claim to be an expert, but the bendable links that he used here should logically be as strong as they are rated for as a chain link in this application, since they are essentially being used as chain link here.

Those links are made to be hammered closed but not welded. So if they are rated for a certain load, it shouldn't matter if they are hammered closed or not, since hammering them closed doesn't increase their load bearing capacity.

I suppose the heat from the welding may have reduced their weight bearing capacity somewhat, but I don't believe they're any more likely to bend open being used in this application than they would if used as a chain link.

Call me cautious, but I prefer to avoid standing under ANYTHING attached to my loader with chains, regardless of how the chains are attached to the loader.

gmason · Nov 13, 2002

Elkoboy, What makes you say that those <font color=blue> links are made to be hammered closed but not welded</font color=blue>. What is going to hold it together under stress then?

I've always put a tac or two on a link just to make sure it won't open back up.

A good weld shouldn't reduce the strength, a bad weld could.

gary

hazmat · Nov 13, 2002

<font color=blue>Well, I certainly won't claim to be an expert, but the bendable links that he used here should logically be as strong as they are rated for as a chain link in this application, since they are essentially being used as chain link here.</font color=blue>

Well, as a mechanical engineer I will claim to be somewhat of an expert here.

The links he used are designed to be used in tension only. Installed as bucket hooks, they now must also carry a bit of moment.

An exaggerated example is trying to break a yardstick by pulling it apart lengthwise vs. bending it.

Will the BX break the links? Probably not. Would I have picked different hooks to start with, yes. Would I cut them off and start over? maybe.

If it fails the vice grip test, definitely. Another test would be to see if you can compress it with a small C-clamp. Another test is to pick up that log again & see if you get any measureable movement. Ie measure the gap between the link & the bucket with & without the load.

It seems like most here are slamming your hooks, but I think it is well intentioned. If they break, you could injure yourself or someone else.

MossRoad · Nov 13, 2002

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/forumfiles/54-205402-towhook.jpg>I've seen those hooks before, on my tractor</A> /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Gfranklin · Nov 13, 2002

Keep in mind that the hooks are only carring part of the load. The bucket is carrying the rest of the load where the chain changes directions at the top of the bucket.

As a mechanical engineer, I agree with Hazmat, your hook is experiencing a moment and that spooks me. Addressing the moment is why the cross section of hooks are not round, they approach the look of an I-beam which is designed for moments. I always design using factors of safety and the anticipation of the worst possible scenario (which occurs more often than should).

There is no way to predict all the situations that these hooks will see. Essentially what you have here is the systems "weak link". Some situations where this may fail is no big deal, another may have significant ramifications. Impossible to predict...

Greg