Easy On, Easy Off Bucket Forks

Easy On Easy Off Bucket Forks TRACTORS Loaders “I like to make things that are easy to attach and detach so I made two bolt-on tree forks for my loader bucket in order to handle big logs I can remove both forks by pulling two bolts and then quickly go back to using the bucket for other jobs ” says Harley Willmert Buffalo Center Iowa Willmert uses the home-built forks on his Deere 710J MFWD backhoe tractor equipped with an 8-ft wide bucket “I cut down a lot of trees to make firewood and to clear land The forks I made are similar to pallet forks but are spaced farther apart which makes it easier to balance a log ” he says The forks are made from 1/4-in thick box tubing and measure 5 in wide by 3 in deep They’re spaced about 7 ft apart and extend 30 in beyond the edge of the bucket The forks go all the way under the bucket and bolt onto its back side Willmert welded a short length of box tubing vertically on back of each fork which fits inside a pair of strap irons welded vertically to the back side of the bucket He drilled matching holes in the strap irons and box tubing He welded a 16-in long angle iron bracket at a perpendicular angle on front of each fork and just ahead of it he welded on a 10-in long 1/2-in thick steel “ramp” “The angle iron brackets fit tight against the bucket’s edge to keep the forks from sliding sideways and the ramps keep logs sliding smoothly into the bucket without getting caught on it ” says Willmert “I welded small steel bars onto both sides of the ramp to provide reinforcement ” He says the forks are very handy to use and so far have held up to anything his loader can lift “I can pick up an entire tree as long as it’s not too big for the bucket to handle ” says Willmert “In the past I had nothing to haul trees home after cutting them down so I had to cut them up where they fell The forks allow me to haul the tree home and cut it up later “By removing two bolts on back of the bucket I can quickly drop the forks off and use the bucket to move dirt etc A big advantage of placing the forks under the bucket instead of inside it is they don’t pick up as much dirt ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Harley Willmert 2208 500th St Buffalo Center Iowa 50424 cell ph 507 525-0490; willmert@hotmail com

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