The Handiest Thing I ever Built (Manlift)

[Charlesaf3]

A thought on safety-ing cylinders if no ones mentioned it - something like this is stock on my m59. Put angle iron on top of the exposed cylinder, so if the hoses fail the FEL still can't move.

Problem with this is that it is not adjustable - once you've cut the angle iron there's your height etc, but I bet most people end up using more or less the same height each time, and even if the angle iron (or C channel?) is short, it'll limit the fall.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Message for the guy that said that a bucket with a guy in it is safer than say a load of bananas or dirt or some thing as the loader should handle it ok . You would think so but there is allways the unforseen factor. A friend of mie has a cat loader and just recently got the moter runnimg. To test every thing he loaded several trucks with gravel--- no problems. As he explaned it the old biddies at the museum in town wanted the branches cut of a large tree high up in the air. He climbed into the huge bucket with a running chainsaw and got his brother inlaw to lift him up. WWWWWWHHHAY up in tha air . His weight in the bucket added about as much weight as a fly on a flyswat. His brother in law lifted him right up to the cylanders hit the ed of the stroke and then probably held the lever as he was gasing up and out the window. This put a much heavier load on the hy than any load in the bucket. Of coure you know a hy line bust and down came man and running chainsaw. Soon the brother in law was running . All in all no body was injured very bad but the musium got a coat of hy oil. Like some body said that bucket didnt come down really fast but that was cold oil and may have been a lot faster with hot oil. You can allways figure out every thing in advance but there is allways the dum *** factor!

YES! A real good reason to dial the relief valve wa-a-y back when using the loader as a man lift....
larry

 

[Stampeder]

Thanks for the detailed pix.
My tractor has the skidsteer loader front end so mine will be a little different.
Question: Why did you offset the riser? Looks about 1/3 of the way forward?
Thanks again for posting them.

Glenn.

 

[FallbrookFarmer]

Great Project,
I was thinking about doing something similar, but using a
boom pole off the 3PT and hanging a basket/cage that would
swivel to stay vertical. Any thoughts/laughter about this?

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Great Project,
I was thinking about doing something similar, but using a
boom pole off the 3PT and hanging a basket/cage that would
swivel to stay vertical. Any thoughts/laughter about this?

Would you be able to get enough lift off the 3 pt. to make it worth doing?

 

[FallbrookFarmer]

Well,the wife doesn't weigh all that much. HEHE
Seriously though, I figure appx 250-300 lbs and
back about 10 ft from the 3pt, would be do-able.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Well,the wife doesn't weigh all that much. HEHE
Seriously though, I figure appx 250-300 lbs and
back about 10 ft from the 3pt, would be do-able.

Weight is not my concern. I was wondering if the difference between all the way up and all the way down would make it worth it. I'm thinking you'd either end up only 2 feet off the ground or you'd have to get a tall ladder to get you up that high to begin with and then the 3 pt. would lift you only the last 2 feet. Either way doesn't seem like it's worth it.

 

[FallbrookFarmer]

The end boom pole at rest is about 4 ft off the ground, fully raised it probably about 11 ft in the air, not super height
but helpful for picking those macadamias.

 

[jimgerken]

Thanks for the detailed pix.
My tractor has the skidsteer loader front end so mine will be a little different.
Question: Why did you offset the riser? Looks about 1/3 of the way forward?
Thanks again for posting them.

Glenn.

I guess that is a carry-over from the days of building it originally for a JD 4100. That tractor did not have as much mass as it needed for most jobs, and I tryed to keep the loads close to the tractor when possible. If building for a heavier tractor, like mine now at 4000 lbs with loader, I would not worry about that.

 

[o2batsea]

Nobody is thinking here, obviously. The reason this kind of contraption is unsafe does not lie in the hydraulic system, rather with the disconnect between the operator and the person in the lift. It's all well and good if you have good communication with the person driving and they know, literally, where you head's at. A cherry picker/manlift works because the operator in the bucket is manning the controls.
Personally I'd be kinda shaky about getting into something like this that someone else is driving. They may be the best operator on earth but they can't see what's happening from the vantage point of the "bucket's eye view". This is where it gets a little dicey. What if they go too high without realizing the amount of headroom needed and mush your melon against a beam or limb? Say you are working up there and they slip the clutch by mistake? ( I would hope the parking brake is on and the engine shut off) You just don't know.
I would wonder what the insurance company would say if you were injured using a home built thing like this that is explicitly warned against in every owner/operator manual ever printed? ( I know of no FEL vendor who would say that you should ever use it to lift people)
Whatever. You go on and do what you like, just don't become a statistic.

 

[bx24]

A while back I bought a fork lift mast off of eBay for a couple of hundred bucks. I had intended to modify it to work on the back of my BX24.

I got busy so I never got around to it, but then I came up with an idea for a manlift. Mounting it to the back of the tractor (using the tractor as a counterweight), I am now planning on using it with the forks like the attached picture from Gizmo2, but instead of mounting on the FEL, I will use the mast from the forklift.

Because the hydraulic cylinder is single acting and would drain the Kubota's tank of fluid, I plan on using a separate 12v single acting hydraulic pump. Not only does this solve the fluid issue, but it also enables the operator to control the vertical movement. Because of the weight of the mast, I am also planning on adding some sort of manual outriggers to keep the machine from popping a wheelie.

 

[Robert128]

That is Awesome! Great Idea and build!

 

[Stampeder]

o2batsea:
I do not nor will I ever use two people to operate my manlift. I either drive it and put it into position where I need it or I'm in it and it is parked in place. I understand your concern and I share it about the operator to manlift person communications.
One must use common sense (I'm not sure how much is out there anymore) to govern one's exposure to risk in such a venture.
I for one am very cautious and watchful whenever I am operating my tractor no matter what is on the end of the FEL.

That said, my manlift is indeed the handiest thing I have ever built. Although until it's raised about another 36 inches it's just a bit too short.

Glenn.

 

[tglass]

what I understand from OSHA the ruling is more from if the hyd fails without the built in safety valves to stop the cyl. from failing in case of breakage of hyd. lines etc. is the main concern where a cherry picker/manlift has this failsafe built in. A forklift with the proper OSHA aproved cage can be used with an operator in the seat. I'm sure someone knows quite abit more on the reasoning behind this.

 

[spo307]

I would like to mount a smaller man lift to a FEL boom, to get some more height

 

[Bedlam]

Awhile back (couple years) someone posted one on a pole and was immediately shot down as to safe to even have displayed.I would think it was pushing the safety factor a bit further. But to me if people assume the risk then, ...Same as standing in the bucket. What are the Odds??

 

[glastron23]

Man instead of the "HANDIEST THING I EVER BUILT" it should read the DEADLIEST THING I EVER BUILT. I build build,service and certify bucket trucks for the hydro/telephone companies here, we test to CSA225-00 and ANSI specs and it really makes me cringe when i see things like this.
Some one like jimgerken who is going to replace the 1" pins with 3/8 bolts??? are you NUTS, why not go and cut 5/8 of steel out of the the FEL arms and go and use it???
I,m happy to see MJNCAD saying that their should be lockouts on the joysticks in case something (a big branch you just cut, or that loose 2x4 you were trying to nail in place but you tried to use your finger for a nail) drops on the controls, **** it happens in my field when we have ALL the RIGHT safety items in place.
Or Stampeder saying that he keeps his equipment to top shape and that a "blown hose is WAY over blown"??? we were on a road call for a BLOWN hose in a boom truck and we sent the operator to go and get the replacement hoses while we removed the old ones, he went to one of the shops that use the largest suppliers of hydraulic hoses/ fittings in the world and had a set of hoses made to spec, we installed these NEW hoses and were testing the unit and adjusting the "HOLDING VALVES" (OH did i mention that it's REQUIRED to use these on ANY machine that is used for lifting a person in a basket)on the cylinder, the pressure just hit 2100 psi when the hose F**k off from the fitting, these hoses were rated for 3600 psi, thank god for the "HOLDING VALVES" on the cylinders. Except for 3 gallons of oil on the deck and some wet coveralls everyone was Ok. After a while we found out just what happened, the failure was caused by a worn set of crimping dies that the shop used to assembly the hoses, how worn less than .0015 of in inch???
Now lets talk about STABILITY and STABILITY FACTORS, or how about engineered stresses and safety factors on steel?? **** i don't have time or battery enough in me laptop!!!!
So people you can do what you want but when **** happens it's the widows and lawyers that take over.... Jim

 

[Kubota 2350]

Good job, that thing will come in very handy.

 

[GE222]

Without a pilot operated check valve in the hydraulic system, using a front end loader is asking for trouble. You may get away without one, but that doesn't justify the risk.

Riding in a raised bucket is just plain foolish.

 

[Mace Canute]

Where's OSHA when ya need em?