Ponderwood
New member
Over the weekend, moving tree limbs with my new Titon forks, I noticed the left QA plate wasn't engaged in the forks. I stopped working and attempted to force it back into the locked position, but had no luck. It was late, so i parked it for the day. Monday after work, and some internet searches on this, I tried straightening it with what seems to be the accepted practice, Hydraulic pressure and a tree. After about an hour pushing a large oak with the front tires about a foot off the ground and making no headway, I decided to try bending the other side to match with a bottle jack, as shown in the pictures. While it lines em up, when I let off the jack the arm doesn't stay level. My plan is to remove the paint on the pipe between the QA plates, heat it with my torch and use the bottle jack again. I'd cut the pipe but I'm sure once I lined up the pads on the QA the two ends of the pipe wouldn't be close to lining up. Thinking the heat will allow the pipe to twist enough to line them up. Thoughts? anyone tried this? I searched the forum but didn't have much luck. I'm sure that's due to my newness here in using it. I plan to add a couple one inch straps to either side of the area I'll heat up, after getting the QA pads where they need to be, in order to restore it's strength.
Please let me know your thoughts/experience with similar issues?
Thanks
Larry