adding a hook to FEL

[Volfandt]

And another use of the lifting capabilities of an FEL w/ bucket hooks. Made a 2 or 3 man job an easy one man excursion /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[LBrown59]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I would add all three. )</font>

It's all 3 for me.

 

[LBrown59]

<font color="orange"> That said, I wish I had mine attached in the middle. I've been using my FEL to uproot small trees on a trail I'm clearing. Lifting with one side of the FEL causes a very uneven distribution of weight, which has lifted various rear wheels off the ground and precipitated several underwear changes on my part. </font>
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Hook a chain on each hook and attach the pull chain to the center of that chain

 

[twodogs]

WOW! Thanks folks! I am glad I checked in here before doing anything. You have given me a lot to think about, and helped me avoid a few errors. I noticed a few ideas that I hadn't thought of - like adding hooks to the rear drawbar & the front on the frame. You also convinced me to go with three hooks on the bucket, & to be sure to reinforce the bucket in the weaker areas. I am truly thankful!! I apologize if I posted a topic that has been covered. I did search prior to posting, but apparently in the wrong area of the forum. Thanks for the link to the past posting!

 

[Pks]

Your statement about cold rolled and hot rolled is backward. Cold rolled is stronger. That's because it's a slight forging operation which aligns the granular structure.

You can prove this to yourself by placing a piece of 1/2inch hot rolled round stock about 24 inches long in a vise. Clamp it so one end is in the vise and the other 20 inches or so acts like a handle. Now pull the free end: it will bend.

Next, try the same thing with an identical piece of cold rolled steel. You won't bend it.

 

[snal]

Interesting...I'll try that. I know it's harder for my press brake to bend HRS vs CRS. I suppose size and shape would play a big part in strength...tubing vs channel vs angle?

 

[dooleysm]

After the first time the rear wheel came off the ground, I immediately learned to hook in the middle for the bigger trees.

Then got to thinking...these small trees have pretty little root systems, I bet I can push them over and uproot them that way. Indeed I could, and it was alot more fun than climbing on/off the tractor to hook to each tree.

But I've been more certain to hook large loads with the weight in the middle of the 2 FEL hooks since then.

 

[valleydweller1]

Here is an overview of my 4 hooks.

 

[valleydweller1]

Here is my 4th hook, next to the tilt cylinder for heavy lifting.

 

[valleydweller1]

And remember, hooks are nice, but they're not always necessary (this is a 5' long cast-iron sink and countertop).

 

[proudestmonkey]

Your picture is very helpful. I do not have a welder, or anyone I know who has one. So, I went to Tractor Supply Co. and asked them for a bolt-on solution. They sold me something like one of your hooks, only a little bigger, with two 5/8 Bolts to hold it on. I am thinking about bolting it onto roughly where you have your center hook, through that thicker metal which holds the central cylinder onto the bucket. Do you think drilling two holes there would cause any loss in structural integrity?

 

[valleydweller1]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I am thinking about bolting it onto roughly where you have your center hook, through that thicker metal which holds the central cylinder onto the bucket. Do you think drilling two holes there would cause any loss in structural integrity? )</font>

Something you have to remember about BX FEL's: The hydraulics top out at somewhere around 500lb. Therefore, whenever you do something to your FEL, ask yourself, "will this be able to hold 500lb?". If it will, don't worry about it and do it.

I would think that would not cause enough structural loss to worry about.

 

[proudestmonkey]

Good point. Thanks for the reminder. I am not planning on doing much in the way of lifting with the FEL. Mostly its for pulling things. I have already managed to pull out about a dozen old fence posts that were part of a deteriorated barbed wire fence from when this property was still a farmstead. Now, I worry about my dogs getting tripped up. Last year, I dug out and pulled by hand over 25 fence posts and and 600-800 feet of barbed wire. That was a chore. The fence is mostly gone, and now its time to start thinking about pulling some dead trees and stumps out to where I can pick them up with the FEL and bring them down to the fire pit. There was apparently a fire here about 10 years before we bought the place. Now there are a few old growth trees, a lot of young trees, and many dead trunks and limbs lying around--just waiting to start another fire.

 

[puternerd]

Do those top hooks work ok with the ridge along the top of the bucket. I just bought a BX24 and wanted to put the hooks in the same position if it works behind the ridge.