Well a guy asked me to make a root rake for his mini excavator, a Kubota KX71. I never did that before so I had to give it a try, this is what I came up with...
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20965/KIMG0245.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1511033136)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20965/KIMG0249.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1511033117)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20965/KIMG0250.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1511033079)
How thick are the tines? that looks great. Bet he will be very happy with it. I have been threatening to make one for my tractor.
The tines are made from 5/8 plate, would have liked to of had Hardox but as you guy's know I use what I got around at any given time ;)
I sure like you projects! Please keep posting as the projects keep coming.
Are you the one with the table mill? If so, your saw blade looked shop built, I was wondering how that was made.
Yes puffergas I have the "push bench" sawmill. That blade is just a solid tooth saw blade with every second tooth ground out. It makes it really easy to push the log like that. Some people around here used insert tooth blades and they would install every second tooth new and the next one an old one.
nice work
Bushmechanic, was the blade originally a sawmill blade or a buzz rig blade. Carbide tipped?
Thanks, makes me want to start welding but right now I am trying to clean the shop out by storing scrap metal in 55 gallon drum storage bins/racks.
😊
That was a circular saw blade originally not a cut off saw. No doubt it was old and from the earlier part of this century pre-inserts. I have a cousin's husband who is a saw filer that makes whatever we need. I can't clean up puffergas I won't have anything to use lol.
Came out nice, hand cut tines or CNC plasma?
Just to share some info, in the future its best to use a round tube up at the main joint where you have square tube. The lever length of those tines will generate tremendous torsion loads at the knuckle as they encounter rock and root. Round is the most efficient structural shape at transmitting and resisting torsional loads (hence why you only see round in driveshafts and torsion bars.)
In torsion loading, diameter matters more than wall thickness as long as you have sufficient wall thickness to resist impact denting. Its also typically cheaper than square especially with the prevalence of sched 40/80/120 job scraps at your local construction outfit or scrap yard. Also makes clocking the tine way easier. If tge machines stroke doesnt jive right with your angles you just break the tacks, rotate and reclock when using round. Takes only one center punch to locate correctly vs 4 to orient square shapes right. I love my hole saws.
Not pickin on ya, just some free info. Nice job.
That's just a little smaller than my MXR35 Mitsubishi, I hope those tines are tough enough. An excavator has a lot of hydraulic power, especially if just 1 or 2 tines grab a root or rock.
Thanks for the advice mike_belben. I didn't really know how to make it for sure. I only have limited tools so it was hand cut with acetelyene torch. If I ever make another one I'll go with some heavy wall pipe and I'd like to see some hardox for the tines.
What is this hardox you speak of? anything like tool steel?
I prefer mild steel for this kind of stuff. mostly for durability. You get to hard and it breaks. softer is more flexible and more durable because of that.
Grade 5 vs grade 8 debate :)
It's a hard plate that we use to line dump boxes, wear plates on excavator buckets, etc.
id do some gusseting on those fingers...
Excellent work!!!!
And a good box style, as it should be. Mike is also right on the round bar.
Had a quote on a root rake for my 30to excavator with a 1.25 inch thick wall 16" diam heavy duty pipe 7 foot wide and 5 shanks 2" thick hardox that a shop here almost fabricated, but i didn't get the job so they did not had to built it.
Was 10k :o
I think it looks very good. And it's going on a small excavator. It will stand it just fine
bushmechanic,
From a guy who's strengths are decent on the mechanical side, but tend to the production side; I never cease to be amazed at some of the projects you boys pull off. Heck of a job! smiley_beertoast
Quote from: Crusarius on November 19, 2017, 05:53:38 PM
I prefer mild steel for this kind of stuff. mostly for durability. You get to hard and it breaks. softer is more flexible and more durable because of that.
Grade 5 vs grade 8 debate :)
Right, but the mild steel is essentially grade 2 hardware, where the wear plating is more like grade 5.
It's tough, and weldable, not brittle like a snowplow cutting edge.
Nice work Bushy. :)
I always thought about making a ripper to put on my skidder blade, here in farm country when it gets a little wet it always looks worse then what it reaily is . And with the ripper I could rip it up which would be simular to a farmers chisel plow and over the winter it would freeze down and the farmer could go right into planting time with out delays.
Im impressed with how uniform the tines are for hand cut.
Little tip for hand torch cutting radius real fast. Take a piece of bailing wire, loop it around the torch tip a few times and extend a length of wire straight out. Clamp the correct length of the free end of the wire wherever you want the radius to originate from and swing your arc. The wire will locate the torch.
For large diameter full circles i drill a 1/4" pilot hole and anchor the wire around a bolt thru the hole then pinwheel around it. Small circles i just tack on a scrap of pipe to cut around.
Agree with snowstorm, itll work fine on a small ex.
Looks good. 👍
in my experience with rootrakes, it s actually alot easier to bend those tines sideways. our rake tines were made with 1.5 inch hardox 400 and they would bend regularly on a 15 ton machine.