My Home built Loader

[rhamer]

A few people here have been very helpful with answering various questions about my FEL project, so I thought I would post a few pictures of the work so far.

Normally I like to complete the project, then show it to the world, that way if it is a complete disaster, I can toss it in the corner with all the other disasters and know one has to know

However I thought I would be a bit different this time and post as I go. Of course it could still be a disaster, but I hope not.

When deciding to build my own loader, the main reason was because I wanted to. I also thought it would be cheaper, but that is yet to be proven.

I built the loader arms out of 75mm x 125mm x 6mm tube. I cut a wedge out of each side and welded them back up to taper them (because all the pro built ones have tapered arms so I'd better do it also). They are currently still in 4 pieces, as I needed to build the bucket to work out the spacing and angles and so fourth.

The bucket is primarily made out of 6mm plate, but will be appropriately reinforced as needed. It has been quite a challenge to work out the geometry of the 4 in 1 as I've only got pictures from the internet of various other buckets to get ideas from. At first I thought they would all be much the same, but every manufacturer does it differently. So I just made it up. It looks so far like it will work ok, but time will tell. I had previously built a 900mm wide bucket and a quick hitch for my backhoe, which was a walk in the park compared to this one, even though it was curved.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the work so far.... Be gentle, it's my first time

Cheers

Rohan

 

[rhamer]

Here are a few more pictures of the Bucket as I progress.

Of course it's only lightly tacked together for now, until I'm happy that it will all work as it should.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[Egon]

Tell us a little about the welding table. It looks a little different!

It's always nice to see pictures of work in progress.

 

[R W]

What size tractor is it going on?

 

[apprentice]

rhamer

Thats some nice work so far. Hope it all goes well for you.
I'm also from Victoria Australia. I'm a little up north of you.
Keep up the great work

apprentice.

 

[kennyd]

Excellent fabrication Rohan!

 

[rhamer]

Tell us a little about the welding table. It looks a little different!

It's always nice to see pictures of work in progress.

The Table is made from 32mm laminated particle board that I aquired a while ago.
The story goes like this, the company I was working for at the time, was moving offices and they were clearing out the old floorspace and trashing the desks etc. I couldn't bear to see it thrown away, so my wife and I did about half a dozen trips at 1.5 hours each way and brought as much stuff home as I could. Of course all the other office folk laughed at me and thought I was stupid, but I have been making stuff out of it ever since.

I made a frame with retractable wheels out of 50mm square tube and fitted the various desk panels to the top. I then covered it in a cement sheet to protect it a bit.

It is low, so that it can be used for building on, and is rock solid when on it's feet. I have built a whole trailer on it then just popped it up on it's wheels and pushed it out under my gantry and lifted it off.

I actually thought I had some photos of it when I first made it, but I couldn't find them.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[rhamer]

What size tractor is it going on?

Here is a picture of the tractor, its a kubota L1802DT and yes it's red.

And just for good measure a couple of others of the trailer that I made as well.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[tinkertoys]

That is a good looking trailer. Will be interested in you loader pictures.

 

[Egon]

Thanks for the information rhamer.

Life without a little scrounging would be dull.

 

[Matt_Jr]

Taking on the challenge of building a 4in1 bucket let alone the whole loader is goin' to give you huge amounts of braggin' rights. Makes the hooks I welded onto my bucket look like child's play. Thanks for posting!

 

[rhamer]

Thank's for all the positive comments.

Hopefully it will all work out as I have about 90 tones of dirt to move and I dont fancy using a wheelbarrow

Next weekend is a long one here (4 days in fact) so I'm hoping to make some real progress then.

I'll try and keep up the photos.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[Bedlam]

great job I always get excited when I see the words 'Home Made"

 

[rhett]

hi rhamer,

You build looks great, I would just like to share some of my previous build woes, weight.

When I built my first front end loader for a 22hp Belarus Tractor, I used 4.75mm plate for the bucket wanting heavy duty, I regretted its weight after the build. The manual steering was horrible with undue stress on the front end, also rear ballast was needed to make a lift over 90 kilos. If I do it again, I would use 2mm or 3mm plate, thin walled tubing, placing stiffeners at structural points allowing lighter construction weight. The cutting edge and mount/pivot points is where strength is needed the most.

May I suggest during your construction, consider making the unit easily "Removable and Replaceable". You will find that carrying the weight at unneeded times is unproductive.

All I am trying to say is that my first build was more than twice the weight needed. Probably 3 or 4 times over weight.

Great Work, you will love your loader!
Rhett

 

[rhamer]

Thanks Rhett, I do plan on making the bucket removable, for exactly that reason. I was going to make a standard SkidSteer QA plate but it won't quite fit (the bucket is only 1200mm wide overall), so I'll just make a smaller version.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[David Devuono]

Here is a couple of pictures of a loader I built for my 12hp Kubota B4200. It has down pressure and will lift about 350 lbs. A rear counter weight is a must at my tractor has no power steering.

 

[rbutterfield]

Nice work Rohan,
Keep the photos of your progress coming.
Regards-
Rick

 

[rhamer]

I haven't got any more to show for the moment, as my planned 4 day long weekend loader build turned into a 4 day car fix/rebuild instead

I really hate working on modern cars, never any room to get at anything.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get back to it this weekend, and finish tacking up the bucket.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[rhamer]

Ok, I got some time this weekend and although it looks much the same, there is a lot of little things done..... including scratching my head a lot.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[rhamer]

And a couple more just for good measure.

Cheers

Rohan