FEL attachment to stand poles in holes

[jimgerken]

I am looking for ideas for something that could be fabricated and added to the bucket of the FEL, which would "grip" or lock onto 6" square poles to pick them up and set them nicely into holes. I would like to pick them up, and stand them vertically, lowering them into the holes. Has anyone seen such a device or have any ideas for a design? Thanks!

 

[Boondox]

I must be missing something here. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Why not carry the poles around in your bucket till you get to the hole, get off the tractor, drag one out of the bucket and stick it in the hole? Or do you mean this device would pound the stake into the ground as well? Fill me in. pb

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[Harv]

Jim -

You might want to check out this homemade grapple made by Mike Maisto:

The discussion can be found in the this message and this thread.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A pair of ice tongs hanging from a chain ought to work real well.

 

[jimgerken]

"carry in bucket and get off and drag them into the holes"
Well, cause the poles are 16 feet long. And the holes are 12" diameter and 4.5 feet deep. So theres no way they will fall into the holes till they are almost vertical. So I have to hook onto them and lift them to standing position somehow. I'd prefer to have a good hold on them somehow for safety. My loader only lifts about half as high as the pole is tall, so I need to grab it about at the center. My backup plan is the old chain method, but I was hoping someone had a brainstorm.
I like the looks of the GRAPPLE. I will have to give that some thought, the complication may be justifiable for brush-handling reasons. Thanks for any and all ideas!

 

[Woodbeef]

If you want a low cost method. Get a skidder choker,and hook it too your loader.

 

[jimgerken]

Where can I see a picture of a skidder choker? Baileys sell them maybe?

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

Jim,

Take a look at this one Ekim's Creation
Al

 

[patrickg]

If this is not something you will do hundreds of times making it worthwhile to "gear up" for the task then consider:

4 "C" clamps, 4 "U" bolts, 1 HD bolt with washers and either a nylock nut or two nuts for double nuting (HD= say 3/4 inch or larger) and a couple pieces of channel iron (say 4 inch or larger), one at least a couple feet longer than the other. One of them must be shorter than the width of your FEL bucket. You need a 1/2 to 3/4 inch long 4 inch or larger scrap of pipe or square tubing or...

Size two "C" clamps for clamping onto the FEL blade. Size two "C" clamps for holding the post. The clamps on the blade must carry the post and the Rube Goldberg contraption being described. Size the "U" bolts for connecting the middle of the "C" clamps to the channel iron. You may need a length of rope (no more than 25 ft.)

This assumes you don't weld. If you weld then read the whole description and simplify as you wish by welding.

Use the "U" bolts to connect the "C" clamps to the channel iron at each end. Drill a hole in the center of each channel to accept the HD bolt. Use the scrap of pipe or whatever as a spacer to separate the two pieces of channel so when the two pieces of channel rotate with respect to each other the "U" bolts wont hit.

Clamp one channel to the FEL bucket using the two "C" clamps sized to fit the bucket and clamp the other channel to the post with the "C" clamps sized to fit the post (near the center of the post. Lift the post and have your helper hold the heavy end off the ground while you position the post. Tie the rope to the light end of the post to pull it down and aim the short/light end (assumes minimum lift height with your FEL) at the hole.

W H A T ?? No helper!!! Drill two holes in the channel that holds the post. 90 degrees of rotation apart. Drill a single matching hole in the other channel. Use a spare bolt or pin or ... to pin the two channels to hold the post near horizontal. Position the post. Prop up the heavy end. Pull the rope to take the force off the pin and pull the pin. Pull the rope and grab the short end of the post. Pull the post down till it is vertical and pin it there. Now manuever until you are over the hole. Loosen the "C" clamps holding the post.

For better control of the post you could make a frame of angle iron to contain the post (held by the "C" clamps) This would ensure the post could slip down vertically as you loosen the "C" clamps but not allow the post to fall sideways.

Feel free to ask any questions or to send private email if you are afraid we will bore the masses discussing this.

Patrick

 

[hayden]

I had some success with this approach. I had a 16', 4" steel pipe with a 300 lb cement footing (about 2'x2'x4") on one end and a rack of solar panels on the other end. I was able to reach *just* above the center of gravity with my loader.

I used two choker chains, each with the choke around the pole, and the chain end on my bucket hooks. The choker gripped the pipe just fine, and the two of them hooked to each end of the bucket kept the pipe centered and prevented side to side movement.

It worked, but it was VERY precarious. I nearly soiled my armor on several occations. The biggest problem was keeping the choke point above the center of gravity. If it gets below, then the pipe will fall and in my case it would easily have tipped over the tractor since the whole assembly weighed 600-700lbs.

What ever you do, proceed VERY carefully.

Chokers, by the way, are just chains with essentially a ring on one end. You wrap it around the log and thread the chain through the loop just like a choke collar. The harder you pull the tighter it grips. Real logging chokers have more of a C shape to the ring (it's not a complete circle) so you can hook it over the chain rather than have to thread it all the way through.