Front-End Loader Pallet fork bale spear project

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

So I came across this video on YouTube, sent it to a buddy of mine and asked him to fabricate it and weld it up for me.

Building a Bale Spear out of a John Deere Pallet Fork - YouTube



It still needs some paint but now I have forks that I can take the forks off and install the spear, don’t have to store separate attachments.

I know fork/spear combos exist but I wasn’t gonna buy a new set of forks just to get the spear.

The hole for the bushing was cut with a torch, the 4x4 tube steel was cut with a cutting wheel and not a sawzall like in this video, my forks aren’t skid steer forks so the fab was a bit different but ultimately it was the same as the video.

The spear and bushing was bought off amazon. Idk if this was the one but I bought a 49in 3000lb spear and bushing.

49" Square Hay Bale Spear 3lbs capacity 1 3/4" wide w/ nut and sleeve Conus 2 - Outdoor And Patio Products - Amazon.com

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Got the first order of hay for the season, Friday I’ll be loading up 10 round bales for a guy, I’ll have a 3pt spear and this spear on the FEL. I’ll take pics.

I fooled around with it on some bales I had at the house, it worked really well for that.

 

[wmonroe]

Looks good! I’m thinking about adapting my pallet forks/hay spear to also connect to the three point hitch. It would allow me to use them on my old ford tractor also.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I did the same thing on my pallet forks, they are not quick tach and I have to remove and install pins everytime I go from a bucket to the forks and I didn't want to have to do that for a bale spear. I did some modifying, fabricating and welding and ended up with a bushing in the middle, just slide the forks off, wrench the spear in and reverse when done.

 

[Btown]

The only issue you will have is the bale will spin on you if you don’t spear the hay right in the center, because you don’t have any stabilizing spears. They come in handy when stacking bales up. It allowed you to stab the bale near the bottom of the bale lifting it higher in the air than in the middle.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

The only issue you will have is the bale will spin on you if you don’t spear the hay right in the center, because you don’t have any stabilizing spears. They come in handy when stacking bales up. It allowed you to stab the bale near the bottom of the bale lifting it higher in the air than in the middle.

My loader will be enough to stack two high, that’s as high as I want to stack. Don’t have enough ballast to go higher.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Looks good! I’m thinking about adapting my pallet forks/hay spear to also connect to the three point hitch. It would allow me to use them on my old ford tractor also.

I have a 3pt spear also. Gathering bales in the field is faster two at a time lol.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I did the same thing on my pallet forks, they are not quick tach and I have to remove and install pins everytime I go from a bucket to the forks and I didn't want to have to do that for a bale spear. I did some modifying, fabricating and welding and ended up with a bushing in the middle, just slide the forks off, wrench the spear in and reverse when done.

It’s handy for sure. I would be fine with bolt on forks to be honest, owned my tractor two years now and never put the bucket on lol.