Forks lifted pretty good for home made ones

Lifted the back end of my 18 ft 1,780 lb Flat Bed Trailer sitting on the Trailer Jack with the Tips of the Forks. The 46" Forks are 3 inch Channel with 2 1/2 X 1/4 inch strap steel welded between the webs underneath. Mark H.

I was just thinking that with my 135 i wouldnt be able to lift much with the boom before the front lifted i would imagine.
how does she handle it?

Point being; I helped a nieghbor build his own 3 point disc, starting with an old wheel disc. It LOOKED plenty strong. He could pick it up and move it just fine. It even worked well, when he tried to disc his garden.

Then he took it out in the field....

He was discing a 15 acre cornfield. When he got it up to speed, and under a heavy load, the frame just folded like a wet noodle.....

You want the ultimate test? Give it to someone else to test. They won't baby it. They'll hammer the daylights out of it. From what I know about building something like that, You WANT it to be pushed beyond it's limits, just so you will see where those limits are.

I worked for Honda (HRC-raced motorcycles) They WANTED their stuff trashed. The object was to see what broke first, then upgrade that.

No matter what you say or do, someone will try to lift 10 times your "engineered limits". Safe may be 3 times it's intended limit. Practical will be 5 times. Reality will need 10 times that limit....John

My point is, are you just above your "saftey net" are is the forks limits substancially above that point.

I have 3 sets of TSC "carry-all's" that are wasted. (They were given to me for scrap steel) People buy them, with the understanding that they have a 400LB duty rating, then load them with 1000LBS, breaking them as soon as the tractor starts moving.

Just saying, use caution...Most buyers/users will destroy your product, then throw the blame at you. Test...Test again...Then go back and test once more. Don't set yourself up for a lawsuit. John

I"m with John on this. You need to put some real weight on the tips of the forks, and go make a few laps around the farm in road gear - aim for the gopher holes & dead furrows. See what happens. _That_ will test the forks. :)

A boom pole is generally used a little slower, but a fork lift will be used fast & hard & on the tips. Many folks are going to take a torch & blow a hole in 1 tip, hook wagons to it....

A fork lift gets hammered, you need to test the tip strength under shock (traveling, bouncing) load, not just a dead lift using the fork roots.

As always, don"t mean to be negative, just an opinion. :)

--->Paul

From the picture you posted, I don't see the forks at all, barely one tractor wheel. Mostly only see the trailer. :) So no idea where your lift point is.

I have a sissors 3pt bale spear, & a heavy duty bale fork for my cat 2 tractors.

Of course I have used the bale fork on both of my cat 1 tractors, lifting 2000# bales. Not good for the tractors, but do I want to dismount the planter or backhoe or snow blower to move 1 round bale????? :) Now 'lifting' is not really a good description, but they did lug the bales around.... Sell me those forks, & they will be hauling 2000# bales all day long - whatever common sense should be..... ;) My brother in law will borrow them & try to lift some iron he thinks is 800# or so, but I know he is off by 1/2.... Then he will pile RR ties on them, and he won't think about it & put as many out on the tip as in close to the tractor. Tractor wouldn't lift that load, but it will hold it up as the arms already were there. Then as he takes off, going to be a load for the end of those forks.....

I'm familiar with the equipment, and how it works, and how it gets abused. I've never compared your stuff to those angle iron carry-all frames. I happen to own 2 of those as well, one I bolted a tractor rock box to for my loader weight box, and the other I bolted 2x8x6' planks to for a nifty wood & many other things hauler platform. I'd not want to try to use those things for a fork lift, angle iron is only stable in 2 dimentions until it's bolted to something - even then it's still stronger in 2 planes than the other planes.....

A static test of fork lifts probably doesn't test much. Forks get a flexing, jarring load as you drive. Your forks (from the other picture where I could see them) look really good - I'm not saying they are weak. Just pointing out you need to actually _test_ them, not just lift something motionless. :) That's all. :)

I know you are getting some flack, & a lot of replies like mine seem negative. But that is what you are here for, to improve on things, right? :) Don't let it get you down. I wouldn't bother replying unless it was interesting or worthwhile..... .

It is possible to re-enforce the root of the forks if you used channel or box, without adding extra metal to the whole length of the fork. They will bend/ break near the root, so you can beef up a foot or 2, save the weight & expense on the rest of the fork. Of course, only if you need to add more to them. They may well be fine as is.

--->Paul

I see your point in what you are saying. Mild steel is not realy intended for jaring loads unless it is way thick and then it can still bend. It needs to be harden steel for that and they will bend but at least the will try to return to there shape if flexed. I am only making this one set up and not going to try to do forks unless they are harden steel ones. I know when I carry our big bales you sure can't drive 10 mph with my tractor if you intend to stop or turn much at all. You need spears to keep it from falling off in a turn at any speed. We get out 1,800 lb bales unloaded with a Case Backhoe and he has a hard time doing it and he can't go fast even with a tractor twice the size of mine. You can see the tips holding the load in this picture. Mark H.

I run my cat 2 bale forks (3000# rated I believe) on the back of my 7700 - 85 hp tractor most of the time. It has fluid in all 4 tires. I run up & down the road ditches, up and down the tarred road with it, picking up the 5x6 round bales. Can't say I ever went 'slow' with it. :) 7th or 8th gear most of the time. Pretty stable outfit, never lost a bale in 4 years..... This fall I moved 27 straw bales, 12 oats clipping bales. Had to go through a fresh plowed furrow with all of them, kinda land-locked myself. Worked at it from 10:00pn until 2am I think. Sure was a lot of jolting for the tractor, fork, & me, but what ya gonna do? I at least slowed down to 6th & pushed the clutch going through the rough spot. ;)

I really don't like the spear. My experience is fresh bales, the twine unravels & the bale falls apart. Old bales & the spear doesn't like to set in so very well.

I got the sissors bale spear this year, it allows me to just stack bales 2 high, or lift onto a rack or trailer. I figured with the sissors in it & the weight that much farther back, I would need to use the TW-20 on it for weight & stability. But, the 7700 worked it just fine. Again, with the fluiid all around, seems to be a pretty stable rig. I do have lots of hills too.

Need to operate with caution of course, and my bigger tractor & cat 2 setup really doesn't have much to do with your deal. :) Just conversing. :)

--->Paul

I think I could move the round bales on my forks a lot better that I move the big bales with now. My problem is the over hang on the sides of the forks it can tip off on a corner or being tilted sideways and hitting the brakes. These are the Bales I am talking about. This years are allmost a ton each! This is my strong set of forks. Mark H.

So, good luck in the next 5 1/2 days. ;)

--->Paul

If you have a strong bucket you can make clamp ons. They slip over the bucket floor & clamp down onto the floor. The fork root goes back to the rear of the buket underneath, and a arm goes over the top with a big set screw to clamp.

If your loader can lift a lot & the bucket floor/ lip is not so strong, the above can bend your bucket. Then there is a similar type, instead of the arm & big set screw, they have a chain that goes up from the fork root over the back of the bucket, down the front, & clamps with a load binder to the top of the fork in front of the loader lip. This places the weight on more points of the loader.

Or you can weld a pipe/ bar on the top of your loader bucket, and hang L forks from it. Works well, but the forks kind of 'dangle', you get no down-pressure/ control.

Versions of all are available for sale, or get out the welder. :)

Also have seen quicktach plate with 3pt frame (or sockets welded into the loader & top of bucket) and people just use 3pt forks, boom pole, etc. on the front of the loader.

--->Paul