Homemade Tree / Post Puller

[JustBob]

After 3 years of wanting one, I finally decided to buy one. That is until I figured I really couldnt afford it, so i am building my own. I designed it based on my grapple frame, and 3 others I saw online.

So I went shopping and picked this up from a local machine shop, Snow's Machine & Welding.

1- 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 3/8 square tubing, 6.5' long
2- 4" x 2" x 3/8 tube, 48" long
2- 2" x 2" x 5/16 square tubing




I already had the 3/4 plate, so I cut out the 8" x 24" sides for the main frame using some 2" angle for a straight edge.






I cut out the holes in the side plates for the crossmembers, then assembled to tack it together... except I somehow cut the cord on my grinder.






Still have a lot more to do tomorrow after a short trip for some more oxygen, and another power cord for the grinder, lol.

 

[creekbend]

Keep us informed of your progress and how effective it is after completion. Thanks for posting. :thumbsup:

 

[chopped]

Thanks for posting sounds like a good project to follow.. And a litle solder on the grinder wires and some tape and it should be good to go. Just shows your like us all..lol

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Lookin' forward to see this come together!!!

Bill

 

[Agent Blue]

"I somehow cut the cord to my grinder "

I can relate to this. Brand new Milwaukee grinder, piece of steel I cut hit the floor and severed the electrical cord to the grinder. Well I guess they are not new very long... and it could have been much worse. Now I am much more aware of my electrical connections.

 

[ametcalf]

Thanks for posting. Anxious to watch your progress.
ametcalf

 

[JustBob]

Thanks everyone,

Not much to update, but I did finish welding the main frame until I get the brackets on. I used what I could find, but I think it is a little too heavy duty, lol. The frame weighs in at 200 lbs! I'm not sure but I think total weight will be between 400-500lbs. The bushings I ordered for the hinged jaw has been delayed, so I will be using it for now without them with the grade 8 3/4 bolts for the hinge.

In my little shop welding...






I dropped off the prints for the jaw tooth plate yesterday, hopefully I will hear back from the machine shop today...



Also, I will be adding 3 point attachments to the rear so it can be used with or without a loader. I will have to decide on cat 1 or cat 2 ?

Will have more updates later today.

 

[davedj1]

Looks like a good start! I must have lead a sheltered life as I had to google what a tree puller looked like LOL
Happy welding :thumbsup:

 

[J_J]

3/4 is not enough metal left in the bottom of the V cut.

If you grab something at the end and apply force, you stand a chance of bending the unit.

1 in teeth should be sufficient for grabbing and pulling, and that will give you more metal on the backside.

 

[JustBob]

3/4 is not enough metal left in the bottom of the V cut.

If you grab something at the end and apply force, you stand a chance of bending the unit.

1 in teeth should be sufficient for grabbing and pulling, and that will give you more metal on the backside.

Well now you tell me! Just kidding

The machine shop has already started, so it is to late to change the edge from 3/4 to 1 inch. Since the teeth are cut from 3/4 plate and will be welded full length, would the thickness between the teeth (3/4" vs 1") make much difference in the strength of the teeth against bending? Just curious.

 

[J_J]

I mean the height of the teeth, and that would give you more backbone for the force you might apply.

No , I didn't make any of those, but I have the material to make one like the last pic or one like this so I could change out the grabbing teeth for a cutting blade.

Do you have a full drawing, as I might be thinking to much on this especially if you will be backing up the teeth rails with something solid as in the pictures..

 

[ovrszd]

The 3/4" teeth plate is plenty strong if braced properly. I made mine with 5/8" and have never had a problem. Where the critical strength is needed is in the hinged jaw. Not sure how the OP is going to build that but it needs to have a triangulated hinge, braced out to the center of the swinging jaw. A lot of forces come into play in that area. I also overkilled the bracing of my fixed jaw. Figured it it stayed in place that would relieve some stress from the swinging jaw.

Sorry for the distraction, don't want to distract from the OP's project. I've attached a couple pics of my jaws for clarity.

Some advice in construction. The last thing I did was add the notched teeth. I completed the puller including installation of the cylinder. Closed the jaws with a 4" space between them. Turned the puller upside down and welded a 8"x24"x5/8" to the bottom of the jaws. Then cut the Z line between the jaws with a torch. Then added the triangulated braces. Then you don't have to worry about the teeth not coordinating.

You are gonna love this attachment. I use mine more than my tree shear. No messy stump to deal with in the end. :thumbsup:

 

[ovrszd]

Oh, and for the doubters of a puller's capability I include these pics.

 

[ovrszd]

I mean the height of the teeth, and that would give you more backbone for the force you might apply.

No , I didn't make any of those, but I have the material to make one like the last pic or one like this so I could change out the grabbing teeth for a cutting blade.

Do you have a full drawing, as I might be thinking to much on this especially if you will be backing up the teeth rails with something solid as in the pictures..

The device pictured in this post is a cutter, not a puller JJ. A puller needs to be designed with blunt, rounded teeth. Anything sharper will simply cut the tree rather than grip it. I used a 3"x8" cylinder and can cut small trees if I grip them too hard. My teeth have a torch cut width gap between them. Sometimes wish it was a hair wider. Should have used a dull torch....

Also the teeth need to be as open as possible to allow accumulated dirt to fall off. The design with two rows of teeth on each side would be horrible about that.

I use my puller to take out old fence as well. The ability to have a soft bite saves the steel posts from destruction.

 

[oldbones]

I built one similar to the second picture in JJ's first reply. I learned a few things when I took it out for the maiden voyage. If I think it's built stout enough, take the safe road and use bigger steel. I built mine out of 2x2x1/4 tubing and used a 4x8 cylinder. Found out soon that the steel was too light for the cylinder. Cut, straightened, rewelded, beefed up with
1/2x2 flat welded to tubing. Still not enough. Went to 2x8 cylinder. Should have done that right off. Small cylinder holds trees fine. I'm going to start over with 3x3 tubing after crops get planted. That is if it ever quits raining long enough to dry out.
Yours looks like it might have enough beef to begin with.

 

[Artisan]

Sub'd!

Do a You Tube of it when done! Looks good!

 

[meanmerc]

Very nice project, looks good and thanks for all the good hints!:thumbsup:

 

[ovrszd]

I built one similar to the second picture in JJ's first reply. I learned a few things when I took it out for the maiden voyage. If I think it's built stout enough, take the safe road and use bigger steel. I built mine out of 2x2x1/4 tubing and used a 4x8 cylinder. Found out soon that the steel was too light for the cylinder. Cut, straightened, rewelded, beefed up with
1/2x2 flat welded to tubing. Still not enough. Went to 2x8 cylinder. Should have done that right off. Small cylinder holds trees fine. I'm going to start over with 3x3 tubing after crops get planted. That is if it ever quits raining long enough to dry out.
Yours looks like it might have enough beef to begin with.

I was very paranoid about having the same results you had. So I overkilled from the beginning. I had my hinged arm complete without the top swivel and brace. Talked to a buddy that runs a machine shop and he said you better add the top brace or you'll tear the swivel pin out of the square tubing. He convinced me so I added it before I ever used it. I also added the horizontal angle and vertical angle bracing to the fixed arm before the maiden voyage. I'm glad I did.

The cylinder issue is very important as well. I used a 3x8 cylinder because I had it laying around. My friend said I should use a 2x8. I would agree. My cylinder is overkill that's not necessary.

I've used my puller several days without any failure issues. My Brother has a T300 Bobcat and he's used it quite a bit too. With almost twice the lift capacity as my Kubota, he stresses it more than I do. Nothing uglier than having to repair a failure. Go big and go once.

You guys have had more rain than us so I'm sure you are ready for some sunshine. Our weather looks good clear thru next week. Hopefully you'll get some of that up there. I'm six miles into Missouri just off I35 hiway.

 

[JustBob]

J.J. - I dont have a full drawing yet, I have not figured sketchup out yet, especially in 3d.

I made my design a combination of the 3 pictured at the bottom. It will be braced triangularly with sleave bearings as mentioned above. I am having a bit of a delay since the machine shop screwed up my jaw teeth, when I went to pick them up they said they cut it by hand and it was not to specs. Thats not what I was wanting so i am going to get another shop to do it.

I changed my design of the teeth to a more rounded design on the tooth ends as ovrszd mentioned... What do you think of the new design?

 

[J_J]

ovrszd, Nice looking puller you built. Looks heavy duty.


JustBob, Looks good. Are you going to weld what you have in the drawing to some square tubing at least 1/4, maybe even 3/8, and brace it like ovrszd did.

Here is the JAWZ version of a grabber/puller.

Star Hill JAWZ - Mini JAWZ Specs, Standard JAWZ Specs, Super JAWZ Specs

Star Hill JAWZ - Brush, Tree & Invasive Plant Removal - YouTube