# My homebuilt Loader/Grapple



## Stein (Jan 5, 2009)

This didn't really fit in Large Equipment, so I put it here.

Several years ago, I built this little loader. It's an articulating loader with four hydraulic wheel drive motors. It was built from plans. It has always had a 48" bucket on it, but I wanted a way to handle logs, so this weekend I came up with this.

I can change from the bucket to the grapple in about five minutes. I don't know what the lifting capacity is, but it handled whatever I cut so far. It hangs down from the arms so I can reach in and load and unload the trailer without ever getting off of it. I can load up a bunch of 8' logs, then drive it back on and trailer everything home to unload. The only downside is by making it hang down to be able to unload the trailer, it no longer has enough height to be able to load a pickup truck box.


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## Butch(OH) (Jan 5, 2009)

Me like!


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## jgoodhart (Jan 5, 2009)

Nice


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## Big Snuce (Jan 5, 2009)

Nice Rig.


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## Philbert (Jan 5, 2009)

jgoodhart said:


> Nice



+1

Philbert


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## thejdman04 (Jan 5, 2009)

NIce looks good


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## Basso (Jan 5, 2009)

Hello,
That loader is a very cool piece of equipment.......you are very talented !!!!
Nice job !!!!!


Basso


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## projectsho89 (Jan 5, 2009)

Dang! That thing looks handier than a shirt pocket!

Wish I had a grapple thumb on my Bobcat's bucket....

Steve


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## irishcountry (Jan 5, 2009)

I seen that on cadplans a few years ago and you did a awesome job that is a nice looking rig!! How long did it take you to build it? What was the final cost and did you manage to scrounge up parts to save some $$$? Again great job wished I could weld!!!! thanks for the pics


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## Stein (Jan 5, 2009)

irishcountry said:


> I seen that on cadplans a few years ago and you did a awesome job that is a nice looking rig!! How long did it take you to build it? What was the final cost and did you manage to scrounge up parts to save some $$$? Again great job wished I could weld!!!! thanks for the pics




That's what it is. CADplans CADTrac. I didn't scrounge anything. I bought all new parts and a raw material kit from them with the exception of a new motor and new wheels/skid loader tires that I bought locally to save shipping. It was the easiest way to go, but not the cheapest. There isn't much fabwork to be done, but I was going to get killed buying shorts on all of the oddball steel needed so I bit the bullet and got their raw material kit as well. Heck, those wheel drive motors were $400 each, so that was $1600 right there. I think I have right at $7,000 into it. 

Time? It was one of my winter fab projects a couple years back. I do something like this every winter to keep from getting bored. I'd guess 40-50 hours total, probably more. It's been 5 years or so.

The nicest thing about it is you can sit in the lawn and turn 360's without harming it at all. Zero turf damage. It would be a great tool for arborists who take down trees in someone's backyard and need to haul them out without damaging a lawn.


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## jcappe (Jan 5, 2009)

Wow, that is one sweet piece of machinery! Looks like fun too! Nice Job


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## drmiller100 (Jan 5, 2009)

that thing is cool!!!


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## FJH (Jan 5, 2009)

Sweet unit!


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## savageactor7 (Jan 5, 2009)

Well that's pretty incredible Stein.


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## zh farms (Jan 5, 2009)

That would be great to have even if I didn't cut firewood for heat. That is a sweet piece of iron right there.

zh


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## Nailsbeats (Jan 5, 2009)

Wow, that's a neat little buggy you built there. Nice job.


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## Thechap (Jan 5, 2009)

I need 1 of those!!


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## Dan_IN_MN (Jan 5, 2009)

*Nice job!*

Nice job! 

Is the grapple going to be YELLOWto match the loader?....

or I think that RED would be a good color.

Did you do the welding?

Dan


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## Dan_IN_MN (Jan 5, 2009)

*Why settle for just one?*



Thechap said:


> I need 1 of those!!



Why settle for just one? LOL:greenchainsaw: 

Dan


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## wdchuck (Jan 5, 2009)

Very nice tool there, and building it yourself to boot.

Is there some extra weight in the rear that is out of the pics? Seems like it would help to have some rear ballast.

Love the idea of it, and be able to ride on the trailer with a load of logs.


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## November Wolf (Jan 5, 2009)

+1 from me. That is very nice. 

I was wondering about the weight in the rear also.


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## gink595 (Jan 5, 2009)

Thats how the Bobcat company got started!!!


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## Stein (Jan 5, 2009)

manyhobies said:


> Nice job!
> 
> Is the grapple going to be YELLOWto match the loader?....
> 
> ...



Thanks for the kind words all. Yes, it will be yellow, but I wanted to be sure I was done "modifying" it before painting. As I was just winging it on the grapple with no designs, I built it, used it until I broke it, reinforced it, tweaked it, reinforced it again. I think it is done now. I'll use it for a while and then a coat of Cat yellow paint. It's available at the local farm store. I sprayed it on the rest of the unit and it has held up well. Faded a bit in the last five years. It sits outside. Yes, I welded everything.

I did add a counterweight back when I built it. With a full load of dirt, the rear would get light. I filled the tires with fluid and added a 20" bar of 5" solid round to the rear. Can't see it in the pics.


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## KMB (Jan 5, 2009)

Stein, that would be the perfect machine for me. Good job and nice machine!  

Kevin


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## Coldfront (Jan 5, 2009)

Sweet machine. I was wondering the same thing about a counter weight in the back end. At work we have a J.D. dozer that has removable counter weights in the back you can add or remove as needed. If I had my camera I would show a picture.


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## Ductape (Jan 5, 2009)

*What The ................................... ?????????????*

That is friggin' AWESOME !!!


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## Stein (Jan 5, 2009)

Coldfront said:


> Sweet machine. I was wondering the same thing about a counter weight in the back end. At work we have a J.D. dozer that has removable counter weights in the back you can add or remove as needed. If I had my camera I would show a picture.



I bolted the counterweight on, but have never had a reason to remove it. Besides, then I need to lift it to put it back on. It's not that heavy, maybe 100 lbs, but it is awkward.


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## RAYINTOMBALL (Jan 5, 2009)

Great job Stein. That thing looks like it would save a lot of back breaking work. I've got to figure a way to get something like that for my firewood. I'm not getting any younger and something like that would come in very handy for all kind of chores. Give us an idea of what all you use that thing for.


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## Stein (Jan 5, 2009)

RAYINTOMBALL said:


> Give us an idea of what all you use that thing for.



Normally it has a 48" bucket on the front. I also have a 48" dozer blade for snow. Faster than using the bucket and wet snow doesn't build up inside.

I use the bucket for cleaning out the horse barn mostly. I have a tractor with a blade and a 2 1/2 yard hydraulic scraper, so for dirt moving, I go to the tractor. This is mostly a toy.

If I was an arborist or landscaper, I could think of all kinds of uses for this - moving dirt or mulch, carrying out wood chips after stump grinding, carrying wood, etc.

I have a 3-point mount log splitter in addition to the gas one. I have thought of making a mount for it to run it upside down. If I take the valve off of it to mount at the driver's seat, all it would be is a beam with a cylinder and wedge mounted on it. Mount inverted on the forks of the little loader and use the onboard hydraulics to split larger rounds that I don't want to lift for the horizontal splitter or jockey into place with it in the veritcal position. Just drive up to the rounds, set the splitter down on the round and split them in half. Then I can pick them up to finish them in the regular splitter. The only thing holding me back is the "power beyond" for the accessory hydraulics is 4GPM unless I buy a "power beyond" valve for the wheel drive motors. Then I could get 8GPM for accessory hydraulics. In either case, cycle would be long.

The other thought is to just use the grapple to load my horizontal splitter, but I would have to get someone to run the valve on the splitter or be jumping on and off all the time. In the meantime, I just cut wood that I can lift the rounds. I have plenty to cut so can be picky for now.


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## beerman6 (Jan 5, 2009)

That is nice!

Do you post on the Machine Builders Forums?


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## smokinj (Jan 5, 2009)

Very Sweeeet!


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## Mike Van (Jan 5, 2009)

Nice one stein - nothing beats keeping the logs clean -


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## ASEMASTER (Jan 5, 2009)

very nice piece of work do you weld for a living?


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## Stein (Jan 5, 2009)

beerman6 said:


> That is nice!
> 
> Do you post on the Machine Builders Forums?



Nope. Never heard of that one.


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## Mike Van (Jan 5, 2009)

Stein, here's a link http://www.machinebuilders.net/ The crowd over there would just go nuts over your loader too -


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## Stein (Jan 5, 2009)

ASEMASTER said:


> very nice piece of work do you weld for a living?



LOL, I'm a salesman.

Actually, I used to be a tool and die maker, now the sales manager for a CNC machining and plastic molding company.

I do love fab work though. Here is the winter project from the next year. Also all scratch built. This one was all hand coped joints and TIG welded.











It has a Kawwasaki 750 motor on it. Pretty fun project as well. I just noticed that you can see the little loader in the background.


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## November Wolf (Jan 5, 2009)

Man that is beautiful. I would, I mean my kids would love that.


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## husky455rancher (Jan 5, 2009)

nice stuff man, nothing beats building your own stuff like that. great job!


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## lfnh (Jan 6, 2009)

Nothing like a Tool & Die makers work.
Very nice fabrication.

I'd like to ask the dimensions of the tubing used and wall thickness ?

Any chance of getting some side and front pics of just the grapple (full frame) ? 

thanks for the thread!

Lee


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## skid row (Jan 6, 2009)

Awsome job stein!!    Now I want to build one too. I was looking into those italian made diesel powered pasquali 4x4 tractors to skid logs out of the woods. But building one of those might be a better option.

Great pics and thanks for sharing.


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## beerman6 (Jan 6, 2009)

Mike Van said:


> Stein, here's a link http://www.machinebuilders.net/ The crowd over there would just go nuts over your loader too -



 I really wish you wouldnt have mentioned that site...

That place gives me too many ideas and adds to my "want to do" list.


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## Stein (Jan 6, 2009)

lfnh said:


> Nothing like a Tool & Die makers work.
> Very nice fabrication.
> 
> I'd like to ask the dimensions of the tubing used and wall thickness ?
> ...



I can get some better pics for you. I have it off of the loader now(had to put the bucket on to clean the wife's horse shed), so pics will be easy.

Material is what I had on hand. 2" square tubing, 1/8" wall. Gussets are 1/4" x 2" material, as well as hinge plates. I had some 1" ID x 1 3/4" OD tubing for the hinge pin pivots. The cross braces are 1/4" x 2" angle iron. There are two pieces of 1"x1" solid bar stock that go into the open ends of the loader arm that support the load. There are two pieces of 1.5"x1.5" square tubing on each side of the hinge area that are welded together because my hinge pin ends of the loader are 3" wide.

If I was buying material, I would upsize the 2" tubing for durability, but it has been holding up now. Originally, the tips JUST came together when closed. After using it for a while, they would close to within 4". Yeah, I bent them. So, after gusseting the upper and lower arms, I added the plates to the end of the upper tubes to close most of the gap. Not that a 4" gap is bad, because you won't pick up anything that small. It's just dissapointing, as I had worked all the angles so that it just came together like a set of pinchers. Oh, well.

One other little project that I have thought of building for it is a tree shear. We have tons of wild red cedars in the pastures around here and they grow like weeds. If left unchecked, they can take over a pasture in a hurry. Because this loader articulates like a payloader, you can have one wheel 10" out of level with the other three, so rough ground isn't a problem. Much more comfortable than bouncing around in a skid steer. I have driven over 8" diameter logs while carrying wood out of the woodlot last weekend with no problems if you hit them at an angle. It crawls right over them.


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## wdchuck (Jan 6, 2009)

beerman6 said:


> I really wish you wouldnt have mentioned that site...
> 
> That place gives me too many ideas and adds to my "want to do" list.



:agree2: 

There's a steel salvage yard nearby, the shopping list has started. 

Nice buggy Stein, looks very clean.


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## lfnh (Jan 7, 2009)

Stein said:


> I can get some better pics for you. I have it off of the loader now(had to put the bucket on to clean the wife's horse shed), so pics will be easy.
> 
> Material is what I had on hand. 2" square tubing, 1/8" wall. Gussets are 1/4" x 2" material, as well as hinge plates. I had some 1" ID x 1 3/4" OD tubing for the hinge pin pivots. The cross braces are 1/4" x 2" angle iron. There are two pieces of 1"x1" solid bar stock that go into the open ends of the loader arm that support the load. There are two pieces of 1.5"x1.5" square tubing on each side of the hinge area that are welded together because my hinge pin ends of the loader are 3" wide.
> 
> ...




Thank you very much for the structural specsand suggestions. This is very helpful.

If you don't mind my asking, how did the tips end up bending (upper or lower or both) ?

I appreciate your time with these questions (I may some more).

Lee


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## grandpatractor (Jan 7, 2009)

Nice job, from a fellow fabricator!!!


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## Stein (Jan 7, 2009)

lfnh said:


> Thank you very much for the structural specsand suggestions. This is very helpful.
> 
> If you don't mind my asking, how did the tips end up bending (upper or lower or both) ?
> 
> ...



Both sprung outwards 6 degrees. I didn't have the 45 degree gussets originally on the uppers and lowers and they compressed the tubes that they were welded to.

I'm on the road now, but will get pics up in a few days.


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## Slvrmple72 (Jan 14, 2009)

Stein, I am impressed. I would like mine in cat yellow with a 3 cylinder diesel!


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