$92 worth of iron and a full day cutting, shaping, and welding. I can hook on or off from the tractor seat. I may attach chains at the bottom if I need to stab something and dump it over without the forks pivoting out. I made them about a foot below the bucket so I can see their position from the seat. Even with that the tractor hood is obstructing the view and I have to lean left or right to see them. I will probably have to get a bigger rod. I think the one I have is too small. Each fork is heavyyyy. It took me and my son together to carry each one separately. I can position each fork on either side of the J hook as needed, and since I took these pictures I welded more gussets on the sides of the forks for more strength. David
Nice job Dean
Great idea!!!! Instead of using the solid rod perhaps a larger tube would be good. Say 2" dia. x 1/4" wall??? This would be allot stronger with the same weight. It may even be strong enough that you could use a slip fit on the plate so you could adjust the fork width. Again Cool Idea!!!!!! Scott Fab Manager http://www.welders360.com/
I bought a set of these forks for my 953C track loader. A few hints from running this setup: 1. I would add 2 more bucket hooks 2. You will need a larger diameter bar, the set I have is 2" cold rolled and they still bend easily (obviously I am running them on a TL and picking up heavy items but I think you will need something more substantial) 3. I would beef up the size of the bucket hooks if you intend to pick up anything heavy. My $.02
Wow, thanks for the info. Adding 2 more hooks would be a pretty easy job. Maybe and hour tops. Thanks, David
Got it done. It actually took two hours. David
I have a set of Forks for my Case 580SE like CM1995 i have had them for about 15 years and they have been used on 3 TLB's over the years i have the Hooks made at a local Fab shop out of 3/4" plate, i will take a pic in the next day or so and post it so you can see the rod and end mounts
I had to search the forums but I found some pics from a few years ago of my 953C carrying RCP with the bucket over forks. The bucket hooks in the picture have since been changed to a "beefier" set. They work well in a pinch.
4 hooks and a 2" rod should be able to lift anything you want. or would want to attempt to lift...
I have found a set of forks in a tractor junk yard for $150 but they are bent. They use a solid 1 1/2" hot rolled steel. What material did you use for the forks? I like the way they extend below the bucket for visibility. What type of tlb do you have them mounted on?
After reading this post i went out to the pole barn today and fixed my fork mounts the center one was bent and would not hookup to the forks so i spent about 1 hours cutting off the old one welding on a new one. I always have a couple spares hooks around. The hardest part of putting a new hook on is lining up with the other 2 they have to be inline to work right. the hooks are 3/4" plate.
what kind of capacity do these units have? I was thinking of one for my 580
cat320, i have carried about 3000+-lbs and it still had lift. i just have 3 fork hooks on my 580SE if i where to carry more i would add another hook.
great ideas guys. i have been kicking the idea around for some time now.
collardcarpntry, I have those forks for my Case 580SE they make a pretty good forklift i use them maybe 1 or 2 times a month but worth every penny i have put into them. Like i have said, i keep a couple spare hooks around the shop just in case, I have them fab at a local shop for about $15 ec. they get bent alot LOL
Wow! 3/4" hooks and you bend them alot. I used 1/2" plate. I bet I don't have near enough steel on my bucket to lift a substantial load:Banghead I made this to unload some 600lb equipment I expect in a few weeks. It will work for that, but I need to be cautious if I get too ambitious and lift something really heavy. David
n175h, What i should have said, is they get bent when i use the loader bucket to load concrete slabs, use the loader bucket to push and if you notice on my machine they stick out about 3 - 4" in front of my bucket. I would not worry to much about 600lbs with your setup it should be fine.
they seem like something i wont use a lot, but when i do need them they will be priceless. i talked to a buddy with a plasma cutter and he said he will get started on my hooks. cant wait.
Here's a couple of pics of the forks I made. I bought a set of used forks (supposed to be off a 7,000 pound capacity forklift), then added to the top of them, to make them tall enough for bucket forks. I then welded slide collars on them, and use a piece of 1 1/2" heat treated bar. One of the forks has been bent once, where the bend is at the bottom (out of someones stupidity, trying to pry a cattleguard out of the ground), we heated it with a rosebud, straightened it, and havn't had any other problems with it. The hooks I make now are out of 1 1/2" plate. I tried 3/4" plate for the first set of hooks, and they got mangled rather quickly. I've since used 1 1/2" hooks on a 580 SK, 580 SL, and currently on a 580 M & 580 SM. I've lifted things with them, that I had to stretch the boom out behind the machine for counterweight, so they're pretty stout. I need to scrounge another set of forks, and make another set, so I'll have a set for both machines. I built them on February 18, 2001 ( I know this, because I was working on them when I was called and told that Dale Earnhardt had been killed ).
handtpipeline, could you put up a closeup pic of your hooks on the bucket, I would almost bet you could'nt bend them if you tried, have you had to replace any of them yet ?? Thanks
Yeppers, here are some pics of the hooks. If you notice, the inside hook on the right side IS bent. Nobody will fess up to bending it, and I really don't have a clue how it could have gotten bent. My only guess is maybe someone actually tracked into it with the trackhoe when blocking it in for the night. It normally either gets parked inside my shop everynight, or if I'm using it everyday, I'll just bring it home with me. But I did have it on a waterline job that took a couple of weeks, in a remote location that was locked everynight, so we just blocked it in with the trackhoe every day, and disabled both the trackhoe and the backhoe, instead of hauling it home everyday.
Thanks, handtpipeline. Those have to be the strongest fork hooks i have ever seen. did you cut them out yourself ?? makes my 3/4" hooks look kinda puny comparied to these.
well, it is incredible to me that you made this all by yourself!
Yes, I've got a template I made out of cardboard, I just use a paint marker to trace around the template, fire up the torch and go. I can cut all 4 hooks out in 15-20 minutes. This setup would be kind of overkill for a lot of people. I know a lot of people just use 3 hooks, and usually a lot lighter material, but I try to over-build things, instead of have to fix them later. If I'm doing a water or sewer line, I'll usually be on the trackhoe digging ditch, and have one of my hands on my backhoe, bringing pipe and bedding material. So I have to take into consideration that I usually don't have an operator with a lot of experience using the forks. I always tell them not to carry more than their comfortable with, and for the most part it works out. Every once in a while, you'll have someone that thinks they ought to be able to carry as many pieces of 8" ductile as they can 8" sdr35 plastic. That's when things get tested. I've had people ask why we always welded heavy 3/8" chain hooks on all the buckets when the backhoes were brand new. It's so someone doesn't hook or go around something with a chain that shouldn't be hooked to or gone around. Not everyone understands things like pinch points that can break a chain, causing a load to be dropped. You've got to do your best to make things idiot proof.
I know what you mean about the "idiot proofing" your equipment, I am mostly a 1 or 2 man operation. If you notice in my pics of the hooks on my backhoe they stick out about 3 or 4" in front of the bucket edge and they are just 3/4" so they do get bent but i am going to look into get some thicker hooks made up for the next time. Thanks,
This is a pic of my machine hooked up to the forks, and they are very hard to see when trying to pick up a pallet, almost always need a spotter :Banghead