FEL fork material/stock

[Chain Bender]

Tractor is B3200 with an LA524 FEL. Made a short set of forks several weeks ago, mounted them directly below the left arms on the cucket. They work great for what I made them for, picking up and loading logs onto a flat bed trailer.

I have found myself trying really har to use them as brush forks without much success. I did tear down and move a 80'X80' 5' high chain link hog pen with them yesterday, but can't do much dirt work or sapling up-rooting with the longer tines. They stick out 21" past the bucket.

SO, I'm gonna have some spare time this up-coming week before surgery and want something to do (build).

The exisitng tines (two) on my FEL are 2x2x.25" and will lift the front end or lift the back end if I hang even one under a root and really apply some lift to it. Neither has show any signs of bending.

Let me just throw for stock size out there and see what you think. First off, there will be about 14-15" of tine bolted under the box (front and back) and all tines will be welded into 2" or 3" pieces of flat part to prevent sideways movement/torque. Not looking for the tines to stick out past the bucket more than 14". Probably more like 12"., so carry length would be about 1.5" more than length past the bucket lip.

3X1.5X3/16
1.5X1.5X1/4
2x2x!/4
2X2X3/16

I won't be pushing on large stumps, mostly pushing around pine tops left by loggers and maybe trying to pop a few sapplings out of the ground.

Any suggestions from the above mentioned stock sizes?

CB

 

[LD1]

2x2x1/4 is the strongest you listed. Thats what I would go with:thumbsup:

 

[Chain Bender]

I am trying to go a little lighter if I can.

I'm leaning towards 1/5X1.5X.25 or 1.5X3X3/16

I haven't come close to bending either of the 21" forks that are 2X2X.25, so I'm thinking if I use times roughly 33% shorter and 5 or 6 of them, the odds of bending one is slim. Especially if I'm not "asleep at the wheel".

 

[Sodo]

NOTE: You will NEVER bend a 21" tine on 2x2x.250 sq. tube with a B3200! Maybe if you fell asleep and spread them by ramming a stump.

I have a BX24 which might be considered about 2/3 the power of a B3200. Here are some considerations for sizing your steel for a brush fork. After using my fork for a year, in land cleanup, it's my opinion that 2x1x.120 is PERFECT for a 3 foot tine on a little Kubota BX.

I made a brush fork with 5 tines, that extend 3 feet = 36 inches out. The material is basic rectangular steel tube, 2" x 1" x .120wall. I have bent the outside tine getting rough with it. For example ramming it into ground going forward, trying to dislodge the rootball of a bush. A more careful user would have no problems with 2x1x.120. I tried to bend it back straight and it scoots the rear wheels of the tractor rather than bend the steel. I got it straight but had to park the tractor between trees.

You mention using 21" forks on the B3200, this is 33% shorter than what I used, and maybe twice as strong, so I bet 2x1x.120 would be perfect. If you want 36" you can't go ramming it into the ground. But uprooting saplings = NO problem for 21".

It's a balance of weight .vs. strength. The .120 wall fork is OK to handle by hand, if it was .250, weight would double, I suppose to 140 lbs, would be difficult to quick-release and horse around. To add one benefit (strength) you will lose another. With .250 you will NOT be removing it often. Or adding it often, so you will lose versatility.

Here's a pic of my brush fork (it has mini-stick-rakes attached in this pic)