Wood pallet forks for BX2200

[3v0]

I have been debating pallet forks and have been suffering from sticker shock on the combined price of forks + a quick attach system. Knowing that I was not going to figure out what I wanted soon I came up with a set to use now. It would help me decide on if I would be happy with fixed width forks.

They are constructed of NOS twisted construction grade 2x4's glued with lots of polyurethane. I jointed most of the glue surfaces flat. They are not centered because I did not want to remove the level indicator on the bucket.




Pros
I have maxed out the lift capacity of the loader using them without breaking.
The are attached to the loader using 2 pipe clamps and can be attached or detached in a minute or two per side.

Cons
Butt ugly but I was not going for looks.
Do not like the forks in front of the bucket idea.
The forks are too tall to go into most pallets. I plan to plane them down a bit.

 

[IC Smoke]

Here is a idea for you. cheap enough and they are on/off in seconds Just find a set of pallet forks and shorten them up or add too them. a little bar stock (I would recommend solid stock as you can see in my photo mine is bent) and some plate steel. Some cash to a fabricator and you'll be in business!

I have hooks on both loaders B2400 and BX24

 

[3v0]

If I were to go this route I would get the set from bxpaned or similar. I need to get a real set as I want to make a man cage to help with thinning and picking our peach tree, doing electrical wiring in the shop etc. Word has it the the quick change and forks from the newer BX's fit the BX2200. I will either go that route or with mytractortoys.

 

[racerboy832]

$169 with shipping from palletforks.com. 1500lb capacity

 

[3v0]

Must be clamp on forks at that price. I do not want another set of clamp on's. I really do not see where they would be any better then the ones I made.

 

[s219]

I did something similar for my B when I needed forks ASAP on our house job site. They have worked great. I plan to beef them up with angle iron when I get a minute.

 

[3v0]

Yours look nicer. I built mine as a way to explore my use of forks prior to buying. I planned to trim off the longer boards with the band saw but it is just looks. I tested mine past what the tractor could lift. No problem with strength.

I have been building a pond in the back yard and setting railroad ties along the edge. The quick on/off thing with the 2 pipe clamps makes it a no brainer to install and remove as needed. Still I want a basket like set of forks and a quick change some time. This one is good enough for now.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I tried something like that before. Didn't work out too good in the end. Forks kept falling off.

 

[3v0]

I tried something like that before. Didn't work out too good in the end. Forks kept falling off.

LOL what can I say. Maybe you should have glued them to the bucket It took a little head scratching to figure out this attachment method. So far it is rock solid. For the forks to come loose it would have to rip the lip off the top of the bucket for about a foot on each side.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

LOL what can I say. Maybe you should have glued them to the bucket It took a little head scratching to figure out this attachment method. So far it is rock solid. For the forks to come loose it would have to rip the lip off the top of the bucket for about a foot on each side.

Yours are way better built than mine:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/203629-low-cost-brush-forks.html

As you can see, they were just attached with clamps.

 

[3v0]

Chuckle. Now tell me how it is that you have yet to wear the paint off your bucket ?

I intended these to be throw away, I am am more of a woodworker. The weakest part of mine are the forks. Need narrow then a bit so they fit in pallets better and laminate another cut down 2x4 to get the strength back.