Grappling fun - A Picture Thread....

[TomSeller]

Any idea how much it weighs? You seem to get a very good sized load considering your loader's lift capacity.

 

[rswyan]

Any idea how much it weighs?

Well, I said I wasn't going to ... but here goes:

My guess would be somewhere around 450 - 475 lbs ... probably closer to 475.

That's based on a couple of things:

1. Some (very) rough calculations I did late in the design phase, before I actually started building it, and

2. Just manhandling it around, while I was working on it.

But that's just a guess and may be way off ...

Without the hydraulic cylinders mounted and the jaw closed, the grapple is bottom-heavy and will sit back at an angle on the QA plates.

I can lay it all the way over on it's back onto the floor and then stand it back up by myself ... barely ...

You seem to get a very good sized load considering your loader's lift capacity.

Factory spec for the relief on my loader is 1991 psi ... I have it set to around 2100 - 2200 psi IIRC ... so that may account for some of that.

 

[lostcreekranch]

We'll let rswyan decide where the weight pool should occur. I somehow missed that entire grapple building thread so just saw his grapple for the first time yesterday here.

I think it's over? Sorry!

 

[IslandTractor]

Any idea how much it weighs? You seem to get a very good sized load considering your loader's lift capacity.

Most of the loads he has been lifting are brush and single bigger trees. I was able to lift loads like those with my 1070lb capacity CK20 loader with a 300-325lb grapple. I'm sure he can lift more but until he decides some big boulders or much bigger tree trunks or stumps need lifting we won't know. Also, in practice we literally never lift a grapple load to full height so if he can lift a load 24" he still has a practical way of moving debris.

 

[rswyan]

I think it's over? Sorry!

Rick,

My guess is really that: just a W.A.G. ... I could be way off ...

If I am, I'm bettin' it will be in your direction ...

 

[lostcreekranch]

Ok RS, just PM me after you weigh it so I can win. I want to win IT's cash prize!

Your design and fab is excellent! I've followed your thread since you started it back in 1874. We all look forward to seeing it painted before you pre-test it to death!

I have a HD 84" dual lid Blue Diamond grapple and a 73" single lid EA Wicked Utility grapple which are nothing like your design. I envy your 55" opening. I bought the EA specifically for brush / limbs and 42" jaw opening.

Thanks for sharing your build!

 

[rswyan]

Ok RS, just PM me after you weigh it so I can win. I want to win IT's cash prize!

I'll get right on it then ...

Your design and fab is excellent!!

LOL ... Compared to what ?

I'd settle for it being merely serviceable ... :wink:

I've followed your thread since you started it back in 1874. !

Good one.

Lemme tell ya about the time I started to build a log splitter ...

:laughing:

We all look forward to seeing it painted before you pre-test it to death! !

Could be a while ... Got to get all them bugs worked out before we start going and purty-fying things ... :laughing:

I have a HD 84" dual lid Blue Diamond grapple and a 73" single lid EA Wicked Utility grapple ...!

The ones in the face-off pic right ?

Nice equipment.

... which are nothing like your design.!

LOL ...

Yeah, yours were designed and fabbed by actual professionals ...

I envy your 55" opening. I bought the EA specifically for brush / limbs and 42" jaw opening. !

How do you like it?

Thanks for sharing your build!

My pleasure ...

Hopefully it was of some use to someone out there ...

 

[Tomtint]

That's a real nice set up. Looks great

I really like how wide it opens, I spent a couple days working with mine last week and often wished it could take bigger bites into brush piles.

 

[rswyan]

Most of the loads he has been lifting are brush and single bigger trees. I was able to lift loads like those with my 1070lb capacity CK20 loader with a 300-325lb grapple. I'm sure he can lift more but until he decides some big boulders or much bigger tree trunks or stumps need lifting we won't know.

Yup.

Interestingly enough, I almost started pickin' some boulders day before yesterday. We have about a half dozen or so out in the circle in front of the house that are kinda submerged in the plants ... was thinking about relocating them to a better place in the landscaping but decided to wait until I had the big ballast block on, rather than just the box blade.

Also, in practice we literally never lift a grapple load to full height so if he can lift a load 24" he still has a practical way of moving debris.

Yeah ... I won't be lifting anything that's very heavy real high.

Surprisingly, I have had the grapple up a ways (4' or 5') while motoring around when it's empty and the tractor seems pretty stable ... which kinda makes me really wonder about how much it actually does weigh.

 

[rswyan]

I really like how wide it opens, I spent a couple days working with mine last week and often wished it could take bigger bites into brush piles.

That was something that I had read a number of comments on from various folks, along with IT's comments about width and I tried to take both into account when I came up with the final design.

So far it seems to be working out fairly well.

 

[rswyan]

Soooo ... I checked the tire pressures, greased the loader up, and went ahead and put the big ballast block on and decided to try a little rock pickin'.

This is the first one I tried ... couldn't lift it very far:

But one I got a little better pick point and rolled it back ... no problemo :

 

[rswyan]

Then did these:

No. 2:

No. 3:

Dad and I found the one above in the front yard ... there was about a softball-sized piece of it showing. We dug it out by hand and pulled it out of the hole with a chain and his old IH 444.

No. 4

 

[rswyan]

Somewhere along the way I tried this one ... couldn't lift it. Probably due to where it was laying. I have a basket made out of nylon webbing ... might try that to drage it up on the driveway where I can get a better shot at it:

There's still a few more left in the circle ... but I have to co-ordinate with The Woman and make sure sure I don't trample her peonies and dahlias ...

 

[IslandTractor]

That's actually a pretty good sized rock. Granite is 175lbs/ft3. I'd guess your rock is closer to 1000 than 750lbs. I'm not surprised you couldn't lift it higher. The LA402 loader only lifts 900lbs to full height after all. The physics work in your favor with the short bottom tines so the rock is close to the pivot pins. I doubt even with your standard bucket on that you could lift that rock much higher and you'd be a fool to do so anyways. I'd say that if you can lift that rock even a couple of feet off the ground to move it then functionally that's all you'd ever really want to do. I'm sticking with my 425lb guesstimate but if I'd seen that photo first I would have lowered it by 25-50lbs.

 

[Snowback]

There's still a few more left in the circle ... but I have to co-ordinate with The Woman and make sure sure I don't trample her peonies and dahlias ...

There are days I wish we had some more rocks/stones down here near the gulf coast... Useful for landscaping, blocking off access points, etc... Then I bring out the cutter in rough terrain, or start digging holes and I change my mind again. I cringe when I think about how folks down here pay big bucks to buy rocks when I spent most of my childhood picking rocks out of fields, off trails, and out of yards. (Yes I've spent money too...)

 

[rswyan]

That's actually a pretty good sized rock.

Which one ?

Granite is 175lbs/ft3. I'd guess your rock is closer to 1000 than 750lbs.

I wouldn't be be surprised ...

I'm not surprised you couldn't lift it higher. The LA402 loader only lifts 900lbs to full height after all. The physics work in your favor with the short bottom tines so the rock is close to the pivot pins.

Yup ...

I doubt even with your standard bucket on that you could lift that rock much higher and you'd be a fool to do so anyways. I'd say that if you can lift that rock even a couple of feet off the ground to move it then functionally that's all you'd ever really want to do.

Yeah ... generally I tend to keep things as low as I possibly can ... if 6 or 12 inches will do it, that works for me.

With rocks that's no problem ... but with long logs sometimes I have to raise them higher to clear obstructions.

I'm sticking with my 425lb guesstimate but if I'd seen that photo first I would have lowered it by 25-50lbs.

I might run down and scale it tomorrow ... it's supposed to rain anyways, so I probably won't be working outside.

 

[rswyan]

Got a little more cleared today:

 

[rswyan]

Did better than I thought it would with the stumps:

Biggest one so far (three pics):

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

490lbs! :confused3: And really nice work.

 

[rswyan]

This one weighed a few lbs ...

This one, not so much ...