my loader 20/20 hindsight

[garnet]

Hi guys, the pictures you see are of my loader. Not too bad, if I do say so myself .But you know what they say - 20/20 vision is best in hind sight. As you browse through my work I will critic it for design flaws that I feel could be improved upon. Your input would be greatly appreciated. This site is teeming with a lot of talented and brilliant people.
Excuse me if I seem to be stating the obvious at times, I’m also doing this as documentation for my four sons.

 

[carpenter383]

Never seen a clear loader before, I bet it's easy to see what's in front of the bucket with this design! JK I'm guessing you accidentally posted the wrong pic! LOL

 

[garnet]

The main mounting bracket is ½” plate pipe, 3 ½ x ¼ OD tower mount, 3/16 x 4” plate. Mounting bolts are grade 8 fine thread 9/16 x 2”, the pin bushings are 1” ID x 1 ½ OD. All the holes were V’d prior to welding. (Except bushings, didn’t see the need.) To drill the holes I used Milwaukee brand hole saws - liked them the best lots of all. Sizes of saws to do the job are as follows 3 ½ “, 2 3/8 “, 1 ½. The 1 ½ cut approximately 60 holes and still looks ok. I bought a 1 1/64 reamer to enlarge my bushings to accommodate the 1”pins I made.

 

[garnet]

The towers are 3”x 4” x 3/16 square tubing 30” high. First tack welded together, then drilled all the holes - this kept everything copasetic. In fact this process was followed for all points that had to pivot. When I cut the face out (16”down) the tubing flexed inward, this is a common occurrence due to surface tension. To fix this, I cut a line in the center of the back face the full 16” with my angle grinder (not too deep), then filled in the groove and as the weld cooled it brought the tube back equally. (If there is an easier way – let me know)

 

[garnet]

I filled in the tower tube with a piece of plate to keep dirt and water out. I also drilled a couple of holes for moisture as well.

 

[garnet]

Here is the main loader made with 2”x 3” x 3/16 wall tube, gusset plate is the same 3/16”.

 

[garnet]

I feel that this distance could have been 10”- 12” closer. At this time, with no ballast, I can lift 590 lbs at its most outward position without tipping. (This is a BX1850 – how much ballast could I put on safely?)

 

[garnet]

Quick attach for attachments eg forks, bucket, quick spade…
I made it upside down gets dirt in it. Not bad just a pain in the ___ Oh well.

 

[garnet]

86” is a nice height, but without a ballast my center of gravity is too high.
(Any suggestions for a decent ballast weight?)

 

[garnet]

I made this bucket from 3/16 plate. It may be too heavy, would 1/8 have been better?

 

[garnet]

Here it is in its dismounted position.

 

[garnet]

Still need ballast!

 

[garnet]

You might think that building a loader is rewarding.
But nothing is as rewarding as my family!

 

[sandman2234]

Nice job with the family and also the loader! Loader buckets are better if the strength is engineered into them, instead of fabricated into them (using heavier steel)
David from jax

 

[alchemysa]

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Nice work. 86" height is excellent for a small tractor. Just be careful with it.

The pics are small but it looks like you don't have a support running between the posts and the chassis. On mine they run from the post to the front grille guard (which in turn is bolted to the chassis). I think you'll see something like this on most loaders.


Hmmm, just looking at more pics of loaders, and it seems like the support bar from the towers to the chassis is not as common as I thought. But its quite common on older loaders, especially the heavier duty ones. But the newer loaders that dont have the bar sure do have heavy duty tower brackets bolted to the chassis. And most of them appear to have the ram mounted lower on the tower, which would also help to reduce stress on the tower brackets.

 

[have_blue]

You might think that building a loader is rewarding.
But nothing is as rewarding as my family!

"I love my family! (Except the boy, he drives me crazy!)

-=Homer Simpson=-

You mentioned plate thickness and weight. That's always a balancing act. Thicker/stronger is better as long as the weight does not limit you in some way.

Store bought loaders aren't what they used to be. The manufacturers are using steel that is too thin or alloys that are too weak on "homeowner" grade loaders. Ideally, loaders should be manufactured from slightly thinner steel made from a tough alloy that won't bend so easily. Last summer I walked through my Kubota dealer's garage, and eyeballed 3 loader buckets on used tractors. All 3 were bowed. It made me want to build my own loader. Nice work, by the way!

 

[JDeerekid]

Very nice job!! But could you make the pictures a little larger so we all can see them a little better??

 

[jimmer2880]

Looks very nice. But - like others said - need bigger pics

 

[garnet]

dissapointed myself with the pics and will try to rectify that tonight, like the critiques with better pictures you guys can be a critical as you want, all is good P.S. this is my first time posting pictures ever so any advice would be greatful. hahaha i like my job

 

[joes_427_vette]

Nice design, looks great. I see you used one piece hoses for your hydraulic plumbing. How did it work out ? I was at the hydraulic place today getting prices on steel tubing plus hoses. They said tubing is cheaper and from their component prices I didn't think either was affordable. The metal work is complete on my loader, just have to make a decision and get going on the plumbing.