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Not my design but I copied the best of what I saw others do. These will be used for light loads only such as brush and long branches which typically tumble out of the bucket as I stack and relocate them. The local steel mill supply store said most people go with the channel vs the more expensive square tubing so I went with the 3 inch channelThey're about 90% complete. I've only ground the tops off the outside welds and plan on cutting several 1/4" x 4" flat steel gusset plates to reinforce the brace. Here's the rough template I'll use which will help support the forks and add strength to the angles. Most users recommend using chains on the uprights to wrap over the top of the bucket and support the load which keeps the bucket from bending. So far I have about $90 invested.
Old Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 MIG conversion Vulcan 220 Omnipro
Reply:I built a set of 48 forks a couple of years ago with 3 channel. I have lifted almost 1000# with them. One issue I see with your design is that the screws have to be backed up tight under the bottom of the bucket or the screws will punch a neat hole through the bucket. Dont ask how I know.
Reply:
Originally Posted by orezok
I built a set of 48 forks a couple of years ago with 3 channel. I have lifted almost 1000# with them. One issue I see with your design is that the screws have to be backed up tight under the bottom of the bucket or the screws will punch a neat hole through the bucket. Dont ask how I know.
Reply:use grade 8 bolts. it will keep them from mushrooming against the bucket.lincoln 125spmonkey wards 250 ac/dcmiller 211 w/spool gunahp 200 sx tiglotos ltp5000dof course duramax diesel
Reply:Why is there so much space between bucket inside and channel with bolts ? A closer fit would be better. I would add another piece of steel that the bolts would go against. Just slip between and tighten down on it. That's better than having two bolts on bucket. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:I'd taper the ends of the forks at about 60 deg. angle and weld a plate on the bottom even if it's only 8-12" long. It would allow the forks to slide under things without making a mess and leaving grooves behind. Think of picking something up on the lawn or a dirt/gravel area. A gusset from the back channel where your bolts are to the upright would give the most strength so the channel with the bolts doesn't bend. I agree with BD1, why so much space between the channel with the bolts and the bucket? From what I can see some of your welds may be suspect. The channel with the bolts needs a good weld on the bottom side as that's where the stress will be when lifting things. Another good reason to go put gussets from the back of the that channel up to the top of the uprights. The gusset you pictured wouldn't do much to stop the channel behind it from bending. I think a slight redesign is in order. Mostly lowering the channel with the bolts so there's only a 1/4" or so gap when it slides on the bucket. I'd also put a couple more good passes on the short upright channels. There's lots of stress there.
Reply:Thanks for the suggestions. These are 5/8 bolts that I had on hand and will probably upgrade to grade 8 once I'm ready to use them. The 4th picture I posted is a cardboard template I'll use to cut out 1/4" x 4x4 plate and weld over each side of the channel at the right angles for additional strength. The reason for the large gap between the upper and lower brace is because I need to have room for the lower end cap to clear when removing the fork. I can't simply slide it off without tilting the front of the fork up so the rear piece clears the cutting edge of the bucket.Here's a picture from a different angle that may help with what I'm trying to explain. I did try a smaller gap but found I could tilt the fork high enough to have that end clear and it barely clears now as it is. I'll probably taper the end too but right now I don't plan on scooping up pallets. Maybe in the future.
Old Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 MIG conversion Vulcan 220 Omnipro
Reply:
Originally Posted by Flyer58
Thanks for the suggestions. These are 5/8 bolts that I had on hand and will probably upgrade to grade 8 once I'm ready to use them. The 4th picture I posted is a cardboard template I'll use to cut out 1/4" x 4x4 plate and weld over each side of the channel at the right angles for additional strength. The reason for the large gap between the upper and lower brace is because I need to have room for the lower end cap to clear when removing the fork. I can't simply slide it off without tilting the front of the fork up so the rear piece clears the cutting edge of the bucket.Here's a picture from a different angle that may help with what I'm trying to explain. I did try a smaller gap but found I could tilt the fork high enough to have that end clear and it barely clears now as it is. I'll probably taper the end too but right now I don't plan on scooping up pallets. Maybe in the future.
Reply:
Originally Posted by Flyer58
Thanks for the suggestions. These are 5/8 bolts that I had on hand and will probably upgrade to grade 8 once I'm ready to use them. The 4th picture I posted is a cardboard template I'll use to cut out 1/4" x 4x4 plate and weld over each side of the channel at the right angles for additional strength. The reason for the large gap between the upper and lower brace is because I need to have room for the lower end cap to clear when removing the fork. I can't simply slide it off without tilting the front of the fork up so the rear piece clears the cutting edge of the bucket.Here's a picture from a different angle that may help with what I'm trying to explain. I did try a smaller gap but found I could tilt the fork high enough to have that end clear and it barely clears now as it is. I'll probably taper the end too but right now I don't plan on scooping up pallets. Maybe in the future.
Reply:Could you put the forks at the outside of the bucket and just swing them under the bucket, then slide them over to the spacing you want? That would allow to lower the channel with the bolts. Reinforcing the back of the bucket bottom is a good idea too.
Reply:
Originally Posted by Welder Dave
Could you put the forks at the outside of the bucket and just swing them under the bucket, then slide them over to the spacing you want? That would allow to lower the channel with the bolts. Reinforcing the back of the bucket bottom is a good idea too.
Reply:To the OP.....................You don't have a fail here, just a bit of not knowing what the stress points are.Forks are built using leverage, and resistance to bending. I think you have the bending thing down as well as it could be, considering the materials you're using.The problem, and I hope you see it, is the leverage.I don't have a set of forks like you've built. I made a set of forks that actually are pallet forks in the traditional sense. Salvaged some basics, and built what I needed.
If you look carefully at the load, and how the forks have to counteract the load, you'll see that the stress is at the top of the L shaped forks. They're trying to tear out of the mast. This is normal, and how all forks are made. The leverage is at the top. These forks are rated at about 4K as built.Your design, and all the other crappy designs (and I don't say this with malice), rely solely on the bucket floor to hold the load. It's actually not up to the strain. It's a bad design, but it's cheap, and it sells.One of the pictures you submitted shows that some bright designer knew the problem, and put a keyhole in for a chain brace. A chain that would go over the top of the bucket to brace the entire thing. See the pic I annotated...........
The eye is there to take a chain that goes over the top of the bucket. This is what actually keeps the forks from buckling the floor of the loader (up to a point), and keeping the forks actually on the loader. Look at it, and design your thing accordingly.........you'll be fine.
Reply:I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, or jerking your chain. The loader, pallet forks, and trailer, all come out of my shop. Been there, and done all this crap.
Reply:The lathe still sits comfortably in the shop, and K'kins is starting to learn to use it. She's a peach. This stuff will have meaning though the years for her. You'd be surprised at what she can do.
Reply:
Originally Posted by farmersammm
The lathe still sits comfortably in the shop, and K'kins is starting to learn to use it. She's a peach. This stuff will have meaning though the years for her. You'd be surprised at what she can do.
Reply:
Originally Posted by farmersammm
I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, or jerking your chain. The loader, pallet forks, and trailer, all come out of my shop. Been there, and done all this crap.
Reply:300# is nothing for a loader. Heck my little JD garden tractor can lift that all day long with the little johnson 12 workhorse loader.Lincoln, ESAB, Thermal Dynamics, Victor, Miller, Dewalt, Makita, Kalamzoo. Hand tools, power tools, welding and cutting tools.
Reply:
Originally Posted by N2 Welding
300# is nothing for a loader. Heck my little JD garden tractor can lift that all day long with the little johnson 12 workhorse loader.
Reply:Are you going to add some plate to the bolt ends so they don’t have as easy of a time of punching through? I have some AR450 plate that I have from a piece I cut off of my welding table. I could ship you a couple of pieces if you pay shipping. They would be about 3”x3” or 4”x4” and are about 1/2” thick. Let me know and I’ll see if I can find it and what the dimensions will be. USPS would be the cheapest flat rate box.Lincoln, ESAB, Thermal Dynamics, Victor, Miller, Dewalt, Makita, Kalamzoo. Hand tools, power tools, welding and cutting tools.
Reply:
Originally Posted by N2 Welding
Are you going to add some plate to the bolt ends so they don’t have as easy of a time of punching through? I have some AR450 plate that I have from a piece I cut off of my welding table. I could ship you a couple of pieces if you pay shipping. They would be about 3”x3” or 4”x4” and are about 1/2” thick. Let me know and I’ll see if I can find it and what the dimensions will be. USPS would be the cheapest flat rate box.
Reply:No biggie , offer still stand if you change your mind.Lincoln, ESAB, Thermal Dynamics, Victor, Miller, Dewalt, Makita, Kalamzoo. Hand tools, power tools, welding and cutting tools.
Reply:
Originally Posted by Flyer58
Thanks I appreciate the offer but I have several square pieces of 1/4 in mild steel and they should work. The AR450 plate would outlive me
These forks might get used several times a year so they won't get much wear.I was thinking about putting grade 8 nuts on the end of the bolts with a plate under the nut and then tighten them into place on the bucket. Then weld the nuts to the plate. This would give a bigger and stronger footprint for the bolt end to the plate.
Reply:A little update. I've been down with a virus the last week but thankfully it's not Covid and yes, I did get the vaccine.I cut and welded on the side plates where the majority of the weight will transfer to the bucket. The angled wedge is almost 3 inches long and sit on two hard steel cutting edges on the bucket. The forward bolt clamps on both wide blades plus the bucket material which total 1-3/8 inches thick. Used plenty of clamps to hold everything tight in position before tacking. More to follow.
Old Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 MIG conversion Vulcan 220 Omnipro
Reply:Almost would have been easier/better to make forks that replace the bucket. It's not a big machine and only 4 pins to remove. Would give more lift capacity and way better vision of the forks. It also looks like you need to change your gun angle on the fillet welds and the heat could be a little higher.Last edited by Welder Dave; 06-10-2021 at 06:59 PM.
Reply:Did you tap the channel or are there nuts below. If tapped, I would enlarge hole and tack extra heavy nuts to channel. Lots more thread with a nut. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Originally Posted by Welder Dave
Almost would have been easier/better to make forks that replace the bucket. It's not a big machine and only 4 pins to remove. Would give more lift capacity and way better vision of the forks. It also looks like you need to change your gun angle on the fillet welds and the heat could be a little higher.
Reply:Looking at heat marks and discoloration isn't a criteria for determining if a weld is sound but might show if equal thickness pieces received similar heat input. Why are the pins so hard to remove? Maybe that could have been modified?
Reply:I bought an older electric big joe walk behind fork lift for the steel and the forks for this same type of project but an old cooter talked me out of it as the forks are pretty heavy by them selves. Maybe some day Ill have a bigger tractor that I will be able to use the forks on. I would never have thought to make my own forks for lifting a lot of weight on these little tractors. Even though the weld bead strength is 60 to 70k lbs tensile strength that does not mean the other materials or fusion areas will hold up so I have not done it. Id hate to hurt Anyone or my equipment. I am following along to see how this turns out and see if I might want to take some ideas from it
Lincoln, ESAB, Thermal Dynamics, Victor, Miller, Dewalt, Makita, Kalamzoo. Hand tools, power tools, welding and cutting tools.
Reply:
Originally Posted by Welder Dave
Looking at heat marks and discoloration isn't a criteria for determining if a weld is sound but might show if equal thickness pieces received similar heat input. Why are the pins so hard to remove? Maybe that could have been modified?
Reply:Would be interesting to see how your bucket is attached. When I've took the bucket off my tractor loader it took about 5 minutes. Yours is a small tractor so you should be able to dump the bucket all the way and then move it a little by hand so the cylinder pins are loose and remove them. Then let the bucket fold under the arms so it's upside down. Put it down on the ground and relieve hyd. pressure and the arm pins should come out easy. You could also use the lift valve to make the pins looser if needed. Sounds like your bucket has shims too which seems a little odd? Trying to take the pins out with the bucket floor flat on the ground would be a PIA. Dumping the bucket everything is right in the open.Last edited by Welder Dave; 06-11-2021 at 04:11 PM.
Reply:Just found these On CL for $350. Rated for 1400 #
Lincoln, ESAB, Thermal Dynamics, Victor, Miller, Dewalt, Makita, Kalamzoo. Hand tools, power tools, welding and cutting tools.
Reply:
Originally Posted by Welder Dave
Would be interesting to see how your bucket is attached. When I've took the bucket off my tractor loader it took about 5 minutes. Yours is a small tractor so you should be able to dump the bucket all the way and then move it a little by hand so the cylinder pins are loose and remove them. Then let the bucket fold under the arms so it's upside down. Put it down on the ground and relieve hyd. pressure and the arm pins should come out easy. You could also use the lift valve to make the pins looser if needed. Sounds like your bucket has shims too which seems a little odd? Trying to take the pins out with the bucket floor flat on the ground would be a PIA. Dumping the bucket everything is right in the open. |
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发表于 2021-9-1 23:16:09