Thumb grapple install need help

[Walkin Horse]

I got my thumb grapple today. I have sitting on the bucket c clamped to 6" of blocking. I have some questions about the install. Does the height look rite for my bucket. I have some 6" angle to sit it on if this looks good. Next question is the hydraulics. The rear remotes have a pic of a cylinder shaft out and shaft in. I'm guessing the hose that's plugged in to shaft out remote goes to the top of the cylinder. Shaft in goes to the port where the cylinder comes out. What is the 3rd port for.

Does anybody have pics of hose routing and mounting. The NH dealer said I needed 16' feet of hose. I measured it at 20'. When I was playing with routing the hose it looks like I'm 4' short, especially for the bottom hose. It really takes up the hose when I curl down.

The first pic is the 3 ports on the cylinder. Second one is the diagram at the remotes. Third is the grapple waiting for approval. Thanks for any advice. This is my first hydraulic project.

 

[Marveltone]

I'm not going to address the hydraulics issue, as that's not one of my strong points. The height of your thumb, OTOH, looks pretty good. I like the tip of the thumb to meet the cutting edge of my bucket. I had some metal risers fabricated to make this happen. I planned it out with wood blocks, just as you're doing.

Joe

 

[Stonehaller]

It is your preference for the remote ports as to whether you pull or push the remote lever to open or close the grapple. Just swap the connections if you want to swap the direction of the lever.

Use whatever port on the front of the cylinder gives you the best hose routing. Make sure the other port has a steel plug and not just a plastic shipping plug.

 

[nybirdman]

Looks like you should have purchased a shorter version;it can be made to work,you want it to fully close on the bottom of your bucket.With mine I just had to roll an angle iron a couple inches.
You also should make the final connection by bolting on;then it can be removed if needed.

 

[J_J]

Your shaft out, should go to the bottom of the cyl as that is the extend mode.

Your mounting position looks good.

The two ports on one end is for convenience. Use whichever suits your needs.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I have a bunch of 6x6x1/2 angle I am going to use. I am thinking I want it square to the top of the bucket. Is there any advantage to rolling it. I am going to put the hoses on and make sure I have the clylinder travel right before I weld anything. I bought the longest one with the intentions of building the bottom part of a grapple when I get time. I figure I can use it on the bucket then I can see exactly how it works good and make the changes when I build the bottom. The routing of the hoses seems like a pia. With the loader hoses they only move in one place. With grapple it also moves with the curl. Has any body built a bracket with a spring to hang the hoses from?

 

[Walkin Horse]

Your shaft out, should go to the bottom of the cyl as that is the extend mode.

Ok thanks that is exactly opposite of what I thought. If you hook them up wrong, do they just not work or does something explode?

 

[nybirdman]

You want the cylinder fully extended and touching the bottom of the bucket,closes tight.You will find the stroke a little short(doesn't open wide like a full grapple).
At the same time I installed a tooth-bar,the combo works great for brush,logs ect.
Look closer at my first picture in other post.
The only change I made is to replace the front cylinder pin with a bolt,I was forever losing the pins in brush piles.

 

[davrow]

When I was playing with routing the hose it looks like I'm 4' short...

Are you running all the way to the Thumb, or are you running to a bulkhead with quick connects?

Also, those spring hangers to hold the hose up out of the way are commercially available (BXpanded? EA? I don't remember)

If you hook them up wrong, do they just not work or does something explode?

No problem reversing the hoses. You can try it either way, decide which way you like the control to move to operate the Thumb.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I have a bunch of 6x6x1/2 angle I am going to use. I am thinking I want it square to the top of the bucket. Is there any advantage to rolling it. I am going to put the hoses on and make sure I have the clylinder travel right before I weld anything. I bought the longest one with the intentions of building the bottom part of a grapple when I get time. I figure I can use it on the bucket then I can see exactly how it works good and make the changes when I build the bottom. The routing of the hoses seems like a pia. With the loader hoses they only move in one place. With grapple it also moves with the curl. Has any body built a bracket with a spring to hang the hoses from?

This is smart and very important.
Remember the sides of your bucket act as the other jaw. When the grapple is closed you want the tine ends or tips to close with your cutting edge but you also want to have some room to hold stuff above that. You don't want it to close with the bucket sides like a pair of long nose pliers you want it to close more like a clam shell. Or I should say I would like it like that. Imagine grabbing a big diameter bolt with a pair of long nose pliers - The bolt will want to slip out. To make it open wide like a clam shell means moving the hinge point forward and rolling the jaw down or adding to the tines to make them close at the cutting edge.

I modified mine quite a bit before I was happy with it.

You will love your grapple :thumbsup:

Edit: initially I had hose from the rear remotes. I put Rt angle fittings on the quik connects then the hose. I used garden hose to run the route and check the length I needed. I use bungees for the slack control but have heard of using screen door spring also.

gg

 

[Walkin Horse]

Thanks for all the help. I am running all the way with out bulkhead fittings. I may mount the quik connects on the torque tube and use the extra 4' hose to the cylinder. I guess it's ok to weld a bracket on the torque tube.

By the way. The dealer told me when I bought the tractor he would sell me hose and fittings at cost. Guess what. I checked the prices at TSC and they were cheaper on the premade hose.

 

[kneedeep]

You might need a disconnect at the front so if you want to remove the grapple all you have to do is disconnect 3-4 feet of hose and not the full run to the back of the tractor.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I will mount qds on the torque tube.

 

[George2615]

Check out mine I posted a while back. I bought two base mounts and put one on the forks and one on the bucket. I ran 14' of 1/2" hose from the rear remotes to quick connect fittings in front then a 3' and 4' length of 3/8" hose to the cylinder.


http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/313144-added-thumb.html?highlight=

 

[Walkin Horse]

Thanks George. I was just looking thru your profile thinking that was your post. For me routing the lines and staying on it is the hardest part. You did a nice looking job. What was the route at the back of the tractor?

 

[George2615]

I came off the remotes with 90* fittings. Ran the hoses so they won't touch the 3 pt. lift arms and under the right side of cab where the other hyd. lines run. Went between the HST pedals (you have to be careful here so pedals don't rub on hoses when pushing them) then up the front of cab by the loader hose connections and followed the loader arms to the front. I also used the ready made hose from TSC. I did use 1/2" but 3/8" would work and be easier to run. I originally installed a mount bracket I bought at TSC that holds the hyd fittings but found it too hard to use so removed and let last couple feet of hose hang free. Zip tied every foot or so to keep hoses from moving. The 14' was just enough to get the hose to where you see it on the loader. I also used inline restrictors from GreensMachine at the cylinder end. It can be used without them, just moves faster.

 

[Underdog57]

I just bought a Thumb and extra mounting plate also. I just started the install on my Titan Pallet Forks and will be putting it on the bucket later, will have some pics soon. I got a lot of ideas from George2615, thanks George!! Question for George, is your bucket a 6' ? It looks the same size as mine and I'm planning to install mine the same way you did yours. Sorry for the Hi-jack.

Here is a link to my thread about routing my Hyd. Lines

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/ls-tractors/324994-ideas-hydraulic-line-routing-ls.html

 

[George2615]

Bucket is 66"

 

[Walkin Horse]

I got my thumb hooked up this morning. Finished welding it on and tried it. Here's some pics of the install. I'm going to get a clamp to tidy up the qds on the torque tube. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[k0ua]

I put a set of QD"s just before the hoses get to the loader tower. Just right where the OEM hoses for the loader connect up. So I have 6 hoses in that location instead of 4. Makes it easy when you want to take your loader completely off. I just use a bungee cord for hose control. it seems to work well. I tie-wrapped one end of the bungee to the hoses mid span, and the other end goes up to a fitting on the loader, an holds everything clear. I used a home made (pieces of metal off of a kubota) bracket welded to the cover that goes over the torque tube. Of course I took it off to weld and paint.