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forks on backhoe bucket?

Started by LKasdorf, August 29, 2003, 10:40:45 AM

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LKasdorf

Somebody in an earlier post was talking about putting short forks on a backhoe bucket.

My backhoe came with a couple extra 24" buckets, one of which is in need of repair if ever to be used as a bucket again. So, it would not break my heart to weld some experimental forks on to this fella.

I guess the main question is- sticking out of the front (like long teeth) or the rear (off of the back of the bucet)? If they stuck out of the rear, it seems like they would be handier.  I figure I could weld a couple sections of heavy duty 3" box tube that I scrounged onto the side of the bucket. I'd cut a bevel on th ends to help it get under things.

I could actually have it stick out of the back and the front of the bucket, so I could use it either way.

I wonder if anybody has done somthing like this?

Jim_Rogers

I have forks on my backhoe bucket, but they're on the front bucket:

shown here  with a couple of timbers.
If you would like a closeup of the hooks that holds the pipe that the forks are hung from, let me know and I'll take one. Jim :)
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

Minnesota_boy

Cut the bevel on the bottom of the box tubing.  A friend cut his on the top and they are a real pain to get under stuff.  Can't tilt them down to get started under.
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

Jim_Rogers

These forks have a bolt on the back at the point where the fork meets the upright tube for a chain to be attached. Then the chain is wrapped around the back of the bucket to the top of the tubes where there is a key hole type slot for the chain to fit into. Attaching a chain and wrapping it around the back of the bucket and attaching it to the top will hold the forks up tight to the bucket's cutting edge for tilting down to slide under things, as you wish to.

In ten years of using these forks I never ever did this as most of the time I didn't need to do it.
I make my stacks of lumber level with the forks and use blocks four inches tall and just slide the forks in and away I go.

The weight of the forks help to hold them back against the edge and will tilt down quite a bit before they swing free, enough so it's easy to line up on things that you need to lift.

I do not move logs with these very often as the distance of the forks from the pivot point has limited my lifting capacity to about 1000 to 1200 lbs.(And I have a log truck for that). That's the disadvantage to this type of drive up and curl your bucket back, connection type of forks.

The advantage is this type of hanging forks is that you can just drive and and curl the bucket to attach, and to be able to reach both sides of a truck or trailer for loading from one side. Putting on a load of lumber from one side of a truck or tailer, can be much easier and faster than moving the truck/trailer to load the other side. And you can load evenly as you load.

These are just the ways I use these forks. Jim
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

UNCLEBUCK

Hi Jim, I sure would like to see some more pics of this quick tach bucket to forks when you get time , anything to help my poor welding . have a ford 4500 bucket I want to do this on,thanks  :P
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

Jim_Rogers

UncleBuck:
I took some photos this morning and will post them later today.
Jim
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

Jim_Rogers

UncleBuck:
Here are some shots of the hooks on the bucket:



Right side hook.



Center.


 Left side, with tape measure so you can see how big this is.

Do you need dimensions of these hooks?

Jim


Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

Jim_Rogers

UncleBuck:
Here are some shots of the fork tops:



This is the right hand side, as sitting on the backhoe driver's seat.



Left hand side.



Fork Bottom.

You can see in the top photo, of the right hand side, in the top of the fork a slot in the front edge. This is for the chain if you use one. You attach a chain from the hole in the fork bottom, shown in the last photo, and wrap it up around the back of the backhoe bucket and slide it into this slot. Then when you tip your bucket, as if you were dumping out a load of dirt, the fork will stay up tight against your cutting edge and tip down so that you can align them under the load you intend to pick up.
The forks hang so that the back of the upright tubes are against the top rolled edge of the bucket and the bottom of the tube is against the cutting edge of the bucket. In this position the forks are strong and don't swing with a load on. And you can tip the load back, a little, to carry it around.
If you need more pictures let me know.
I hope this helps you.
Jim

PS. you can see how the forks hang in the first photo I posted on 8/29 above.
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

UNCLEBUCK

Thanks Jim !  a picture is worth a thousand words and the more pics the better. This is a great idea and invention . I was going to rig up a 3 point round bale moving attachment to the bucket but it was not wide enough and was a bad idea. This quick tach way is great. Inever thought moving wood and stacking could be a problem but each board seems to get heavier after a hour of stacking. super cool invention ! thanks :P
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

Jim_Rogers

UncleBuck:
I bought these forks from my local backhoe dealer. They came with the hooks and I hired a welder to cut them to size and fit them to my bucket, back in '94. You should be able to buy these at a backhoe dealer if you don't want to try and make them yourself.
If you are going to make them yourself, then you should make them very strong.
Jim
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

UNCLEBUCK

hi jim ! here is a pic of my old oliver cletrac that i welded 2 steel prongs from a old corn cultivator to the bucket, works great and then there is the backhoe that i am going to be making the attachment for. I am going to get practice sending pics again, been a busy summer , hope this pic makes it, here goes ! :P

UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

Jim_Rogers

UncleBuck:
Looks like a nice couple of machines.
The backhoe I use is really a case 580 tractor that my father bought brand new in 1968. We had a Ford Fergerson before that.
The case was set up with a three point hitch for a mower and a York rake/scraper blade attachment.
I put a Kelly backhoe on in in the 80's when I was landscaping. it mounts on the three point hitch and runs of the front bucket hydraulics. in 68 the front bucket was an added attachment to this farm tractor.
It works for me, still.
The problem I have is that with these added forks being so far away from the pivot point of the front loader arms and the lack of a good heavy counter weight, I can only pick up 1000 to 1200 pounds of lumber. But I get by with it.
Thanks for the look at your machines.
Jim
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

UNCLEBUCK

I am inexperienced getting logs out of the woods but I spent 24$ for paint and atleast i made old wore out equipment look the part, everything i got is old and very inexpensive but it works, these pallet forks pictures are great because I am now having to deal with moving all the boards i get from sawing, they are heavy and a real bear to deal with, I took the end beater off a big old manure spreader and extended the sidewalls higher and park that at the end of the mill and the slabs can fling right into the old spreader then when its full I can haul slabs away and turn on the pto and it self unloads, I also can use same trailer to haul logs from the woods, thanks again for the pics of these neat forks ! :P
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

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