My first tractor grapple

[MarcusCarr]

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[MarcusCarr]

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[MarcusCarr]

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[MarcusCarr]

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[MarcusCarr]

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[MadReferee]

The price you paid for that single Silver & Deming drill bit was way, way way overpriced, even if it was USA made which it isn't (USA made for $15.95 at Enco). You can get a complete set of 8 Silver & Deming bits (9/16" thru 1") from Enco on sale for $21.95. I have this set (it's made in Poland), along with several others, and they work just fine for non-production use.

Never, ever buy any machine tooling from Sears or any other box store. You can always get the same or better stuff for less from an industrial machine tool supplier like KBC Tools or Enco.

KBC Tools
Enco

Also, you will ruin that bit by drilling the entire hole in one cut. You must step the hole up, say 3/8" then 9/16" then 3/4" then 1". The larger drill bits are not designed to cut the entire hole at once.

 

[MarcusCarr]

dang it....oh well, live and learn... I will check those sites for a full set of bits.

Marcus

 

[PineRidge]

Be careful when you start drilling those larger holes. I blew the gears out of my favorite Milwaukee 1/2" drill when we were drilling ours for the grapple.

(bit caught as it was just about to go through the side of the bucket) /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[MarcusCarr]

I took it nice and slow while drilling the 1" holes. The bit worked great. I kept it lubed and cooled with mineral oil. It took about 10 minutes to get through a 1/4" of steel. I drilled a total of 10 holes.

I also did the grinding and tacked the thing together with a new 100amp mig welder. I will have a neighbor do the final welding as he has both experience and a more powerful welder to handle the 1/2 inch stuff.

I should also have the part for the hydraulics on Wednesday. I will post more pictures as I have them. The grapple pictures here and the hydraulics picture in the My First Grapple - Hydraulics thread.

Marcus

 

[MarcusCarr]

Here are a couple of pictures of the grapple after I tacked it together.

A few observations...

The mounting brackets on either end of the long bar, cause the long bar to sit about 1/2 inch above the bucket. I can't put bolts through that and the brackets may not be strong enough. My solution will be to cut the ends of the long bar off so the long bar sits flat on the bucket, between the welds at either end of the bucket. I will then use six 1/2" bolts to mount it, rather than the four that I had originally planned.

I was very happy to see that the tip of the grapple will come about 1/16" from the cutting edge of the bucket when the cylinder is fully extended. I can move this around a little to create a zero clearance if I need to.

As always, any comments or observations are welcome.

Marcus

 

[MarcusCarr]

from the front

 

[MarcusCarr]

I received the cylinder and the website showed the wrong schematic for it. The schematic shows pin to pin of 10"-16". It turn out that this cylinder is more like 18"-24". Rats. So I took to modifying the grapple, which was already fully welded. I finally finished the changed to allow for this cylinder...about 3 hours of work.

Lessons learned.

Woodworking - measure twice, cut once.
Metalworking - measure thrice, have your wife and neighbor each measure and verify, measure it one more time, tack it in place, measure it again....then weld

Lesson 2

Don't weld anything unless you have all the parts on hand and know they will fit.

I will take some pictures of what it look like tonight.

 

[EddieWalker]

There's some good advice there. I'll add another.

Don't rely on your memory of what the plan is.

I put a piece of steel in a place I thought it went without checking my plans and realized after it was done and didn't work that I did that one piece backwards. Half a day to redo it and get it back together the correct way. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Have you figured out what it's costing you in materials to make your grapple? Steel, cylinder, pins, hoses, valves and disconnects?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[MarcusCarr]

I am saving the receipts as I go. Once I finish it, I will post pictures, observations and a cost breakdown of the whole project.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks,

One of the things I've always heard is that you can't build a trailer for what you can buy a brand new one for. I sort of wonder if it's the same, or close with a grapple.

Did you price what a new one would cost of similar design versus what your materials will add up to?

Thanks, it's looking really good and I'm enjoying your posts,
Eddie

 

[MrJimi]

I would rather build my own but I will look at whats out there and try to improve on the designs, I have a grapple in my future but it won't be real fancy, it will be very functional!
I have most tools and still needing more.
I need some 3/8" plate cut and its $25 per cut ( 12 cuts ) at the metal shop? The Milwaukee saw that will do the job is $263 , I will buy the saw and have it for next time.
I have been following your project also and the best of luck
Jim /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MarcusCarr]

So far...

$68 - Steel, all cut to length
$69 - Cylinder
$16 - Four 1" pins
$10 - Six each (bolts, nuts, washer, lock washer)

Total - $163

I used a flux core 100amp welder, 1/2" drill bit, 1" drill bit, drill press, angle grinder.

I still need the hydraulic parts which will include the following:

3 male quick connects
3 female quick connects
open center, sping center valve
about 20' of 1/2" hose
misc connectors to attach hose to valve, quick connects and cylinder

The nice thing about this design is that I can quickly move the cylinder from the front grapple to the back top link for any 3 point devices. Two birds with one stone.

-Marcus

 

[kossetx]

Experience is priceless. It can give you immense knowledge, like when to buy /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif and when to build /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. That being said, I'm going to build a rake/grapple.

 

[Ronbo]

The only ones saying that are the people that sell trailers.
I just built trailer for my 2 waverunners. Cost was about $450
Same trailer would have cost me about $2500.

Built a trailer to carry my Corvette behind my motorhome. Had a motorized ramp. Cost was about $900. Would have cost about $4500 to have build.

Once you have the tools, the rest is just your time and materials

Ron

 

[JustGary]

I agree about price. Our Boy Scout Troop built this in my driveway for about $2300, including custom shelves and lighting inside. We did get paint donated for the fenders and frame, but it's still much cheaper than a comparable trailer would have cost. Cheapest dealer quote was $3500 without any custom interior.

- Just Gary