DIY SSQA forks?

[paulsharvey]

The Vevor ssqa plate, as a review, for $121, I can't complain. It fits a bit loose, and has a bit of slop, but for the price, its a win.

 

[hojolabo]

Leveling forks to ground
When i attached my forks to the front of my bucket, in order to know when they were flat to the ground, I put tape on the bucket level rod for marking the forks.
I'll post a couple pics of how I currently attached to the used forks i bought ($75, marketplace) to the bucket, ( a 5-10 minute job) that has worked by tomorrow.
Quicker& better
This yr I will be fabing up a quick attached set-up, where I use the back of my bucket as my attachment plate, and not having to fabricate one up to attach to my roll cylinders, then refab the bucket to attach to it as well as the forks from the seat.
Pics of it will be posted as soon as winter leaves, another 3-4" by Wednesday they say

 

[hojolabo]

Assuming you have a bucket level indicator, how close to accurate is that with your fork set up?

Because mine would, if mounted straight like yours, would be close to max curl, and ground level for the forks to be level

Paint a fork level mark on the rod, worked for me.

 

[CoyPatton]

While I have not checked your prices, my impression is you will not get a ssqa plate that will be strong enough to support much more than your forks for $121. By the time you buy enough steel to reinforce that thin ssqa plate to do what you want, I think you will have more money in it than the import adjustable frame and forks.

 

[ZiggyD]

Yeah yeah, I expected some of that. Its a zero risk thing. Let's say a weld breaks, what, I drop some wood or scrap metal, and reweld it. It's not a crane, im not dropping a wall on a crew.

Murphy’s Law plays an important role here. Your setup will only fail catastrophically when the impact of the failure is maximized.

I’m late to this thread but this sounds like a terrible idea. You’ll be putting a tremendous amount of force on a crappy 1/4”’or 5/16” steel plate and a couple of 4” welds that’ll either penetrate, or not.

I agree that forks are way more useful than a bucket. I use mine probably 80% of the time.

 

[chim]

It's difficult for most people to realize the stress imposed on the tractor end of forks. Welding fork tines to the face of an SSQA plate alone is going to be a fail. Using a thick plate with good reinforcement could work.

 

[joea99]

See, I would think that, but in my area, its rare to see them under $750-1000, used and very used. When import ones are $650-800...

I'm sure you know, but FB Market Place is full of "Dreamers" (or con-artists) asking prices they HOPE to get. Once negotiations start, good things can happen. Or after weeks of no tickles, they can start dropping prices. It's a game. Worth a message or two.

Ebay still exists as well, for used stuff.

 

[walnutman]

I have been in the market for SSQA forks for a while, just not much less (generally more) used, then available from importers new. So, I have bolt on bucket forks (maybe $90?), and I though, Vevor sells SSQA blank plates for cheap ($121), why not cut the bolt on part off, and weld the bolt on forks to the SSQA plate? Just placed the order for the plate.

So, with that, im not going to be able to shift the forks side to side; they will be fixed in position. Should I just set them permanently at 48" OC?

I move mine around frequently

 

[scootr]

TBH this sounds like a bad idea. I have 3 sets of forks. All of them are super thick and strong. I don't think you can build something that is going to lift what real L forks lift.

 

[metalbender]

I built my own forks complete with an extra 16 inch hydraulic lift, forklift style. Needed the extra to lift stuff into the barn loft. 2x3x.188 rectangular tube forks, tapered at the ends. Lifted everything we needed to get up there. Did my own welding and have total faith in my work. Not done with a 120 volt glue gun. Miller 200 DX was used. Use them on my Massey 1742. It's not strong enough to break my welds.

 

[4570Man]

TBH this sounds like a bad idea. I have 3 sets of forks. All of them are super thick and strong. I don't think you can build something that is going to lift what real L forks lift.

I was kinda onboard at first. It could be done to work. But after I saw the OPs plan it’s never going to work.

 

[John_Mc]

I'm sure you know, but FB Market Place is full of "Dreamers" (or con-artists) asking prices they HOPE to get. Once negotiations start, good things can happen. Or after weeks of no tickles, they can start dropping prices. It's a game. Worth a message or two.

Ebay still exists as well, for used stuff.

And Craig's List, which is still very active in my area.

 

[mtretick]

I have been in the market for SSQA forks for a while, just not much less (generally more) used, then available from importers new. So, I have bolt on bucket forks (maybe $90?), and I though, Vevor sells SSQA blank plates for cheap ($121), why not cut the bolt on part off, and weld the bolt on forks to the SSQA plate? Just placed the order for the plate.

So, with that, im not going to be able to shift the forks side to side; they will be fixed in position. Should I just set them permanently at 48" OC?

I’m going to speak from experience. I bought bolt on Forks and found I couldn’t lift much of anything because of the distance from the pivot point. It really attacks your load capacity. Bought a cheap pair of SSQA Forks and I can do everything I need to do. If you have a big powerful tractor , bolt on may work for you, but my 35 hp could not deal with the extra length.

 

[scootr]

My neighbor got bolt on forks and bent his bucket. It's easy to do. Years ago I bought a set of forks on a rod made for a tractor bucket. (CL $150) This what we all used before the silly clamp on types emerged for the homeowner market.

 

[paulsharvey]

My neighbor got bolt on forks and bent his bucket. It's easy to do. Years ago I bought a set of forks on a rod made for a tractor bucket. (CL $150) This what we all used before the silly clamp on types emerged for the homeowner market.

This is the system ive seen on many commercial back hoes. They have "horns" on the top of the bucket, that hold the rod, but allow it to easily slip off when you take the weight off the bucket.

 

[scootr]

This is the system ive seen on many commercial back hoes. They have "horns" on the top of the bucket, that hold the rod, but allow it to easily slip off when you take the weight off the bucket.

Exactly. You simply drive up hook the fork bar, use it, then put the forks on the ground and roll the bucket down to release. The fork load is carried by the stronger top of the bucket and supported by the lower edge. This is the industry standard...not the toy slip on forks we see from China.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

My 48" forks on my 3 point are on a "rod" rated for 5,000 Lbs! They are not individually removable, but I can (barely!) slide them side to side ... Heavy!

 

[paulsharvey]

Exactly. You simply drive up hook the fork bar, use it, then put the forks on the ground and roll the bucket down to release. The fork load is carried by the stronger top of the bucket and supported by the lower edge. This is the industry standard...not the toy slip on forks we see from China.

Only thing ill point out, you see them less and less now, on newer TLBs. I probably haven't seen them on any TLBs, or new forks of this type, since maybe 2005 or so. Seems everyone is switching to the, better, dedicated forks, with proprietary mounts on TLBs

Edit: I either misspoke or said it in a confusing way; I dont think ive seen a TLB Made since around 2005, that used this style. I have seen plenty of older TLBs, from before that, that still use these. If that makes sense

 

[Shawn T. W.]

With quick attachment type hookups, it keeps the load closer to the "pins" which not only allows greater lifting weight, but a shorter tractor ... Than dangling off the end of a bucket edge.

 

[airbiscuit]

Off topic, but here's something that was on TBN about Poor Man's (light duty) debris forks.