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Homemade Attachments for Forklifts Skidsteers and Other Equipment

I fucked up and ordered the wrong plate. They fucked up and sent me the wrong plate. Instead of an unfinished plate they sent me a painted receiver. :laughing: Good news is I won't have any problem selling this one if I can find someone local with a dingo.

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Or pick up another normal sized plate and weld that one to it giving yourself a receiver attachment...
If you complain they might send you a refund and not want it back...

Aaron Z
 
Find an equipment dismantler and buy a manual coupler from a skid loader. Adapt to fit your machine.

We used some aftermarket parts to build a coupler for our old Case 480. After the bucket fell off 4 or 5 times we finally figured out the problem. They way the ebay/amazon plates are built puts the lock pin too far back from the coupler face which results in the tapered pin not engaging very far into the attachment. I will try to get a pic that shows the difference next week.
 
The new, correct plate was delivered today.

I honestly don't know how these guys can make and ship these things for under $100 - between the cnc plasma, bending and a little welding they can't be making much on them.

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Threw the adapters on to see how they fit. It's been a while since I've used a skid steer so I can't remember what kind of tolerances these should have. Should the bottom of the adapters be the same angle and mating with the bottom lip of the plate? Let's play "guess which Chinese part is out of tolerance!" :laughing:

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Basically I plan to cut the old brackets off my bucket and make and mount them to the adapter plates. I'll have to make a couple cross bars for the middle mount since my loader only has a single tilt cylinder in the middle.

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I slightly regret getting the 1/4" plate as it's heavier gauge than anything on the bucket and it'll just add unnecessary weight. I may keep it for another implement I have in mind and order a 3/16" plate for the bucket....although I guess it's only 20 or so lbs difference so that's really not going to affect much.

Another option is to get these and just weld them on the bottom of the bucket (with a little reinforcing) and a piece of flat bar or angle on the top to form the lip. That'd save a good 50-60 lbs.
 
bgaidan said:
The new, correct plate was delivered today.

I honestly don't know how these guys can make and ship these things for under $100 - between the cnc plasma, bending and a little welding they can't be making much on them.



Threw the adapters on to see how they fit. It's been a while since I've used a skid steer so I can't remember what kind of tolerances these should have. Should the bottom of the adapters be the same angle and mating with the bottom lip of the plate? Let's play "guess which Chinese part is out of tolerance!" :laughing:





Basically I plan to cut the old brackets off my bucket and make and mount them to the adapter plates. I'll have to make a couple cross bars for the middle mount since my loader only has a single tilt cylinder in the middle.

1628026777891.png



I slightly regret getting the 1/4" plate as it's heavier gauge than anything on the bucket and it'll just add unnecessary weight. I may keep it for another implement I have in mind and order a 3/16" plate for the bucket....although I guess it's only 20 or so lbs difference so that's really not going to affect much.

Another option is to get these and just weld them on the bottom of the bucket (with a little reinforcing) and a piece of flat bar or angle on the top to form the lip. That'd save a good 50-60 lbs.
Click to expand...
I'd be in for a few of those plates up here for that price. Stoopid Canada.

Looking at the geometry of that cylinder...wow.
Deere really traded off some serious stress and tension in order to get a large degree of roll out of that bucket.

If you're planning on making the tractor side of the quick attach at the same angle as the back of that bucket, you're gonna have to be fully curled back just to get the forks level, and with that shitty cylinder geometry you're gonna go to relief without much weight on the forks.

Also won't be able to curl forks up much if at all.
 
Muckin_Slusher said:
I'd be in for a few of those plates up here for that price. Stoopid Canada.

Looking at the geometry of that cylinder...wow.
Deere really traded off some serious stress and tension in order to get a large degree of roll out of that bucket.
Click to expand...
It's actually a Woods LS84....aftermarket setup. I'm not super impressed with it, but I'm also probably asking too much out of my 30hp tractor. :laughing: Don't know that the Deere loader for this machine is a whole lot stronger. I'm working on picking up another machine, which is why I'm converting to quick attach so I can share buckets and forks.
 
You have those connectors backwards, the handles should be on the inside, not the outside.

Rat_Power_78 said:
Find an equipment dismantler and buy a manual coupler from a skid loader. Adapt to fit your machine.

We used some aftermarket parts to build a coupler for our old Case 480. After the bucket fell off 4 or 5 times we finally figured out the problem. They way the ebay/amazon plates are built puts the lock pin too far back from the coupler face which results in the tapered pin not engaging very far into the attachment. I will try to get a pic that shows the difference next week.
Click to expand...
I would be interested in pictures, we have a Case 480 and I am wondering about putting a SSQA on it, but was worried about the bucket coming off.

Aaron Z
 
bgaidan said:
Threw the adapters on to see how they fit. It's been a while since I've used a skid steer so I can't remember what kind of tolerances these should have. Should the bottom of the adapters be the same angle and mating with the bottom lip of the plate? Let's play "guess which Chinese part is out of tolerance!" :laughing:
Click to expand...
measured my forks for you, from the kink in the plate of the bend on the bottom to the very tippy top of the point on top should be 16"
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Good thread, I had been meaning to start one about homemade cranes, but this covers it.

I have a 2,000 lb Warn I mounted to a 2” hitch extension, and planned to use it with a tractor boom pole to make a crane for a pickup bed and ideally my zero turn.


Thought is to make a frame/cradle that drops into the turnover ball gooseneck hole with mounts that allow the lower link pins to pivot. Mount the winch to the boom pole via a 2” receiver and hang a snatch block from the pole loops, and have a small come along connected from the upper link mount to the cradle. Use the winch to lift the load, use the come along to lift the boom vertical enough for it to set on the bed. Probably < 500 lb load. On the zero turn the come along could be replaced by a piece of chain as you wouldn’t need to move the boom, just raise and lower the load with the winch.
 
aczlan said:
You have those connectors backwards, the handles should be on the inside, not the outside.


I would be interested in pictures, we have a Case 480 and I am wondering about putting a SSQA on it, but was worried about the bucket coming off.

Aaron Z
Click to expand...
You're right.

I was thinking I wanted the backing plates in that orientation to help distribute the load better, but the more I look at it, I'm going to want the wide, open area of the backing plate to be on the inside so I can weld my cross brace to it.

Just found this pic. This is effectively what I'll need to do. Just need to put a tape on it and see what's going to require the least amount of booty fab fuckery.

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Honestly, the more I look at the adapters out there, starting again I'd probably just order the handle and hardware kit and build it from scratch. The top angle is just a piece of 2" angle and I could easily do the bottom bend in my little press brake.

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[486] said:
measured my forks for you, from the kink in the plate of the bend on the bottom to the very tippy top of the point on top should be 16"
20210718_150504.jpeg
Click to expand...
Thanks. That'll be a good reference to check against. How does that bottom angled plate look on yours when attached? Is there a big gap between the machine side and implement like in my pic?
 
bgaidan said:
How does that bottom angled plate look on yours when attached? Is there a big gap between the machine side and implement like in my pic?
Click to expand...
No, should be tight. It'll loosen up by itself, no need to add extra looseness.

When there's a gap there and you're using downpressure, it allows the upper wedge to slide down, causing all the wear to happen on the pointy tip.

Andrew Camarada bought an implement and it was sloppy like yours. Thing kept popping off.




If you'd like, I have a root grapple, two sets of forks and a bucket I can measure to confirm 486's measurements.

I'm off to the shop now, will post measurements when I get back.

I'll also measure the angle between the forks and quick attach angle.
 
I just upgraded from a subcompact tractor with a bucket rated for 400lbs to a larger machine rated for 1700. The little machine had 2 cylinders for the curl, the new machine has 1. The new machine is far weaker comparatively speaking to the old one when curling, and its very frustrating. I want to eventually convert to 2 longer cylinders for the curl , change my geometry for a larger range of motion, and a quick disconnect setup. If you are unhappy with your single cylinder geometry maybe you should thinking about adding a 2nd cylinder and in the process improving the strength and geometry.
 
First pic is the gap at the bottom of my forks, 1/2 inch of slop.

Next pics are the bucket and the forks measured from the point at the top (there's an extra plate so I'm able to put the measuring tape right to the point).

I'm seeing 15 3/4 inches from tip to the bend at the bottom.

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Here's the Q/A on the machine. Again, measures 15 3/4.

So, even with the attachment and the machine showing the same measurement, I still have 1/2 inch of slop when hooked up.

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Standard forks, as purchased. The forks are level, the Q/A angle is about 15 degrees.

So, with the fork's 15 degrees and my machine full curl 15 degrees the forks should be at about 30 degrees when the machine is at full curl.

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while you're at it, don't forget to incorporate a 2 inch receiver on the tractor side of things.

It's wonderful being able to move trailers without anything in the way (like forks or buckets). This setup also puts the ball as close to the machine as possible, so tongue weight isn't such a factor. Probably a big deal on a little tractor like yours.

P8041445.jpg
 
my forks are a little loose and they do pop off when you're doing the stupid like using them to transplant trees, so I like his 15 3/4" dimension a lot better
you do want them to be tight as possible, the angles are there for dismounting clearance

BTW thread related: don't get a tree spade for your skidsteer, just set the forks somewhat close together and lift the root ball from three sides, then pick the tree from the fourth
works great
 
Good stuff. I'll compare that to my "new" parts tonight.

Just from a quick google search, the consensus seems to be 16" for the vertical dimensions....though I did see a few strays that were 16.25 and up to 16.5". And even one as low as 15-5/8"

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I did plan on putting a receiver on the adapter if it'll fit. Though I keep a 3 pt receiver on the back 95% of the time when I'm not using another implement. Probably one of the most useful implements I have. The spot where I park my trailers is really hard to back them in to or pull them out with the truck but I can slide them right in and out with the tractor.
 
So my plate measures right around 16" as best as I could measure it. I don't think the gap at the bottom is going to be an issue. Worst case, I'll tak a couple 1/4 plate pads on the bottom of the mounts to close the gap a little bit. I don't plan on doing anything stupid with this tractor so I doubt it'll be an issue.
 
Finally got a picture of the bucket. Probably just gonna try to inset the plate into it rather than stick it on the back since I'll use less steel that way.

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Finally getting around to making my adapter. I cut the bucket off 2 weeks ago and have been slowly pecking away at it.


I kind of wish I would have just made new mounts from scratch instead of cutting them off the old bucket. Now I really need to finish this thing so I can have my bucket back. :laughing:


Original plan was to weld the old bucket brackets directly on the adapters and keep them as close as possible to the pins. Unfortunately the bottom angle plate of the skid steer attachments was going to interfere. I had this 2x4 box tube laying around so I became spacers. I still had to trim about an inch off the bottom "wings" of the adapters to get full lock to luck rotation. Still a wee bit of grinding to do to ensure I'm hitting the stops on the loader arms and not binding on anything.
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Had to notch about an inch an a half of the box to clear the loader arm and get full rotation.
VTF4pzoBl_fS004WPIIOL9PFXu=w660-h880-no?authuser=0.jpg


Since my curl only has a single center cylinder, I still need to make a cross bar to it to the plates. My whole intent was to keep this as light as possible so the 1/4" wall 2x2 or 2x4 I have laying around would probably be majorly overkill. I think I have some 3/16 wall 1.5x3 down in the barn that may do the trick. Otherwise, it may mean a visit to Alro.

Also planning to integrate a receiver tube in to those horizontal bars. Hoping there's enough room that I can actually just permanently mount a ball in there and not have to install a hitch when I want to use it.

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Ultimately I need to end up with something similar to this:
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Sorry I didn't see this discussion sooner. Here is a copy of the ISO standard that contains the hitch dimensions on the attachment side.
 

Attachments

  • ISO 24410 Skid Steer Hitch.pdf
    606.9 KB · Views: 49
Added the trailer tie-down rings on the backside of the bucket near the bottom. When I'm pulling out a stuck truck and have zero traction I'll roll the bucket fully down, jam the lip into the ground and attach to these rings then curl the bucket up to lever myself backwards. They're to the outside of the bucket to lessen the chance of a broken strap hitting me.

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I guess I never added the fence I put on the dirt bucket to keep snow from getting in the cab. My machine can push snow until it's coming in the cab...
Added five 2 inch receivers on the back of the bucket. 4 of them have the fence dropped in, no pins needed. Also keeps big balls of ice from rolling into my lap.
The middle receiver is for my 9000 lbs hitch winch, used with the bucket lip dug into the ground.

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Also this is my take on the bucket hitch. In this location it doesn't fuck up my smooth bucket lip (both above and below the lip). It also allows me to pick up a trailer tongue that is inches off the ground. Also doesn't stick out past the side of the bucket. Works for me.

PB230184.jpg
 
Can you make a few of those clamp/bolt on receiver mounts?

or send me the file, for my waterjet?
 
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