Where to find Hyd Cyl Prefabbed Cross tubes or...

[Artisan]

Guys I have searched till I am blue in the face and thought I would ask the pros...

I am making a log grapple and I need some bushings.

I would do well with some hydraulic cylinder crosstubes that are;

1- Predrilled w/ zert threads.

2- I need SHORT, I can find these down to 2.5" long. I need a LOT shorter.

3- Bonus points if the zert holes have a tube protector welded around them.

4- How short? What ya got?

5- 1.5" OD x 1.015 ID" ( I am using 1" diameter pins, probably shoulder bolts, or I may have to make my own out of 1" Solid Bar)

6- I a open to bushing stock if I have to, but close as I can find to it is 1.5"OD x 1"ID DOM Tube. Where to buy 1.5"OD x 1.015" ID tube?

Sumarry;

WHERE TO BUY SHORT PREFABED CROSS TUBES
WHERE TO BUY 1.015" ID tube?

THANK YOU!

 

[wdchyd]

I make them with left over hyd rod stock (CR1045).....don't use hot-rolled steel.....use CR1018 cold-rolled steel min

If you buy the 1.00" ID then bore them out to 1.015" on a metal lathe and trim to length

Cross Tubes

 

[Brad_Blazer]

A shaft collar is probably the closest thing to a pre-made bushing you can get.
McMaster-Carr
McMaster also sells 5/16-24 zerks that will fit the set screw hole. Just be careful not to weld the hole shut if you are welding them on.

 

[davedj1]

That's a really good idea Brad! I can use some of these in a project forthcoming.

 

[Farmerford]

Make the pins from 25mm rod and use DOM tube with 1 inch ID. 25mm is about 15 thousandths under 1 inch. The tight tolerance rod is more expensive, but is usually not more than 10 thousandths undersized at the most, and gives a maximum clearance of 25 thousandths. I tried some 25mm phosphor bronze rod for the pins on FEL forks for a 24hp tractor and it seems to hold up as well as 1018 steel; and I think it will wear before the welded on bushings.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Artisan,

How you do this depends on your metal working equipment. I use shaft couplings w/o the groove for weld in bushings as they are thick wall and do not distort when welded. I cut them to the length needed. They are available in small QTY on Amazon. As the grapple will see little wear I would drill and tap a hole within and inch pin the one end, then drill and tap for a zerk. Drill several small holes through the pin intersecting the longitudal hole to distribute grease. Drill a matching hole through the pin and the bushing on end of the pin opposite the zerk for a bolt to hold the pin in, same arrangement as your BX FEL. That is my first thought. Amen on using cold rolled stock for the pins as it is perfectly round and harder material.

Ron

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Would it be possible for you to say what a lot shorter is? How long do you need the pins? How many of each size do you need? How much additional work are you willing to do? :confused3:

 

[davo727]

On my grapple I just bought a couple foot piece of DOM steel tubing, 1.5 inch OD and the ID is a tiny bit less than 1 inch and then I bought a drill bit that is 1 inch + 1/64 to drill out the sections of tubing that I cut for my grapple bushings. The inch and 1/64 drill hole works good with 1 inch ag pins.

 

[Beau]

Prefabbed cross tubes are available here: Cross Tubes