My homebuilt Loader/Grapple

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. :dizzy:

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 ?

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

thanks for the thread!

Lee

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

grandpatractor · Jan 7, 2009

Nice job, from a fellow fabricator!!! :cheers:

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) ?

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

Lee

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.