Grappling fun - A Picture Thread....

[Tomtint]

Sure, wide open:

View attachment 465344
Works pretty good for raking too:

View attachment 465346

Jaw opening, tip to tip = 55 1/4"

Jaw height from ground when open, with lower jaw/frame oriented vertical = 54"

The one below is of it closed ... BEFORE I cut off some metal on the upper jaw arms (where it was contacting the bottom of the hydraulic cylinders and preventing it from closing further) and lengthened the hydraulic cylinders by 1/2".

It closes a little further now - the tips of the upper jaw are probably within an inch or so of the slots in the root rake:

View attachment 465345

Sorry ... don't have any current side view pics of closed in it's current config. If I can remember I'll snap some later today ...


Sounds good to me ... :thumbsup:

:laughing:

That's a real nice set up. Looks great

 

[rswyan]

dragoneggs and Tomtint,

Thanks to both of you for your kind comments.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Good job rswyan. That grapple looks like a real worker !!!

gg

 

[rswyan]

gg,

Thanks.

My next door neighbor has a Bobcat 763 that's currently over at his son's ... I'd be curious to see what it could do on that, although I'm not sure it would mount, given the way I tied the QA plate in.

The Bobcat probably has nearly 3x the lift capacity of my little Kubota and a few more ponies under the hood ...

 

[IslandTractor]

Rswyan, have you weighed your grapple yet? If you haven't then let's start a pool to guess the weight. I'm in for 425lbs.

It really looks great. I'm trying to imagine the practical pros and cons of your design. It does appear to be pretty heavy and is certainly stout. I'd imagine that a traditional clamshell would hold a single small log more securely for bucking but that yours would do that job as well as any standard root grapple (like mine). Your grapple will certainly hold more brush than a regular clamshell too because it doesn't have the scissor joint. Yours would be much more efficient than either a standard clamshell or open bottom type grapple at collecting scattered tree branches. I'm guessing that the relatively short bottom tines would be a disadvantage in levering and popping roots with the FEL but the stout design would permit lots of pushing.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Rswyan, have you weighed your grapple yet? If you haven't then let's start a pool to guess the weight. I'm in for 425lbs.
.

Or maybe start the weight pool here?

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320507

 

[Xfaxman]

Rswyan, have you weighed your grapple yet? If you haven't then let's start a pool to guess the weight. I'm in for 425lbs.

-------------------------------------

My guess is 395lbs.

 

[IslandTractor]

Or maybe start the weight pool here?

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/320507-root-rake-grapple-kubota-b2910.html

We'll let rswyan decide where the weight pool should occur. I somehow missed that entire grapple building thread so just saw his grapple for the first time yesterday here.

 

[rswyan]

Jaws closed as far as they will go, as they currently are, after I made the mods I mentioned previously:

 

[rswyan]

Rswyan, have you weighed your grapple yet?

Nope, not yet.

If you haven't then let's start a pool to guess the weight. I'm in for 425lbs.

LOL ... great idea !

Since I'm the one that will be providing the answer, I'll recuse myself from offering a guess

It really looks great.

Thanks again.

I'm trying to image the practical pros and cons of your design. It does appear to be pretty heavy and is certainly stout. I'd imagine that a traditional clamshell would hold a single small log more securely for bucking but that yours would do that job as well as any standard root grapple (like mine).

Likely true.

Your grapple will certainly hold more brush than a regular clamshell too because it doesn't have the scissor joint.

I think that may be the case ... but I haven't tried to put it to the test, until I get some expanded metal to cover the lower frame.

Something that recently moved up the "priorities" scale:

Yours would be much more efficient than either a standard clamshell or open bottom type grapple at collecting scattered tree branches.

Having used neither of those you mention I couldn't say for sure, but it seems to be working pretty good so far.

I'm guessing that the relatively short bottom tines would be a disadvantage in levering and popping roots with the FEL ...

I have less of a lever ... but (theoretically) more of a mechanical advantage I believe, because the lever is shorter.

...but the stout design would permit lots of pushing.

The limitation appears to be the stoutness of the FEL arms ... not the grapple ...

I'm trying to be pretty careful in using it, because I don't want to screw up or break something. Our tractor is fairly small and light ... 30 hp/1700 lbs (?) without the FEL or anything hangin' on the 3PH.

But to your point, it does seem to do pretty decent with roots ...assuming they aren't too large or tough.

I was kinda surprised when it popped this one today: