Cub Cadet Homemade Front Loader Finished

[chevyzr2s10]

I just thought I should share some pictures of my front loader project that I recently finished. I got most of my ideas and information from the people on tractorbynet and appreciate all of the help.

The tractor is a 1985 Cub Cadet 1204 that I got for free with 600 hours on it. I got most of the hydraulics from the Surplus center. Most of the steel was from my own scrap collection except for a few pieces I had to purchase.

The hydraulic reservoir is built in to the main support of the loader arms and the pump is mounted directly to the front of the engine. The hydraulic lines are a combination of hard steel lines with compression fittings and Synflex thermoplastic hose. I used 3/8" hose because I got all of the hydraulics made for free at my work and that was the smallest that they had.

The loader works extremely well. I filled the tires with about 70lbs each of antifreeze and added a weight box filled with about 300lbs of steel scrap metal. I also have an additional 100lbs in wheel weights I will add later.

With the filled tires and weight box and a 250lb driver it can lift about 500lbs in the bucket. I have successfully tested it by scooping full buckets of gravel and dirt.

So far this has been very handy around my house. I have used it to move some firewood around as well as remove and reinstall a 4 cyl engine from my S10.

Some of the improvements for the future will be to add power steering and move the front axle forward by about 6 in to add more capacity. Also I would like to find some lug tires to give it more traction.

Please comment and ask any questions you like.

 

[chevyzr2s10]

More Pictures

 

[chevyzr2s10]

Still More Pictures

 

[bthomas]

Really enjoyed the pictures of the build. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Runner]

chevy,

That is an amazing project. Very nice work. I would someday like to be able to do metal work like that.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[whateg0]

Looks good! I have a question, though. More of a general FEL design than your's specifically. Why does everybody seem to build them so the bucket is so far from the front axle? It seems like it would be able to put more downforce (if needed) into the work if it was closer. It would also shorten the overall length. Is it just because it has to reach that far to get the height?

Dave

 

[mjncad]

Great job! I too was wondering about the bucket being that far out in front of the axle.

 

[dirt ditch]

That is a neat, well thought out project. I noticed in your shop you have both stick and mig welders. Just curious, is the mig 110 or 220 volt? If 110, how do you like it?

 

[allenr]

Nice work and thanks for the pictures.

Well equipped workshop too.

 

[jas67]

Great job! I too was wondering about the bucket being that far out in front of the axle.

Whatego & Mjncad,

I would guess that this is for height. I know that the Woods loader on my B7100 stuck out quite far, compared to the Kubota loader on my B7610. The Woods had a max height 15" higher, which I miss when trying to dump brush and other debris on the back of a truck (the forks are 42" long).

 

[jas67]

Nice work!

I like the "new" Cab Cadet colors too.

 

[Cooldmax]

It looks great. I'm a little curious how far the bucket will dump when the loader is raised all the way up. In one of the pictures it is raised all the way and looks like it is dumped all the way. Maybe just me.

 

[chevyzr2s10]

Looks good! I have a question, though. More of a general FEL design than your's specifically. Why does everybody seem to build them so the bucket is so far from the front axle? It seems like it would be able to put more downforce (if needed) into the work if it was closer. It would also shorten the overall length. Is it just because it has to reach that far to get the height?

I originally designed the loader so that I would be able to dump the bucket over the side of a truck bed without hitting the truck with the tractor grill. Therefore I designed it to what I thought should be the minimum reach needed to accomplish that. After testing the loader I think that I allowed for more reach than was necessary. I wish I would have went a little shorter to improve capacity. I plan to eventually move the front axle forward by about 6 inches to help improve the capacity.

 

[chevyzr2s10]

That is a neat, well thought out project. I noticed in your shop you have both stick and mig welders. Just curious, is the mig 110 or 220 volt? If 110, how do you like it?

The MIG is a 110v machine. It is very handy and I use it for 80% of all my welding projects. I use it mostly on steel that is 1/8" and less. The bucket is made from 11 gauge steel with 1/4" reinforcements and it was mostly welded with the 110v MIG. I had to use the Stick welder for the heavier steel on this project such as the main frame and arms of the loader and some parts of the bucket.

 

[chevyzr2s10]

Nice work!

I like the "new" Cab Cadet colors too.

I decided to paint it like the new Cubs because I like the look and I just happen to live in Pittsburgh and I am a huge Penguins and Steelers fan.

I also have some nice white Cub Cadet emblems to put on the loader arms when I get a chance.

 

[chevyzr2s10]

It looks great. I'm a little curious how far the bucket will dump when the loader is raised all the way up. In one of the pictures it is raised all the way and looks like it is dumped all the way. Maybe just me.

That picture is deceiving because the cylinders I used are so long. It has a 43 degree dump angle and max height which seems to work quite well. I have attached some of my drawings showing the dump and curl angles and Max and Min height.

 

[Cooldmax]

Those long cylinders are deceiving. Very nice job. The extra length will come in handy for dumping in a truck.

 

[Johndeere3720]

Nice loader, Now time for the backhoe and cab.

 

[GE222]

Nice progress pictures of the project as well as the loader in action.

Tom

 

[Arkaybee]

Question: In the pictures showing the finished FEL sitting near the stairs, what are the silver-looking things mounted on the backside of the bucket? In one picture they seem to be elongated from a mounting bolt toward the upper lip of the bucket. In another picture they appear to be reversed and pointing the long portion toward the bottom of the bucket. I am sure they are useful to the project but I can't figure out what they are Nice fabrication BTW.

Arkaybee