72" HEAVY DUTY GRAPPLE

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Quince

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Mar 7, 2010
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Here is that grapple I built for my skid steer. It took longer to plan it that it did to build it. I thought it would be strong enough for anything, but luckily I tested it before I powder coated it. I had to bring it in for extra support on hinge points( bulged the square tubing it was attached to). Here is a link to it on youtube. What do you think? I am currently working on a set of hydraulic adjustable pallet forks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgJj_zUyWHk
 
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Quince

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Mar 7, 2010
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Looks pretty nice indeed! What did it end up setting you back in material and powder coating?
I powder coated it my self so 3 pounds of powder about $10.00 Hydraulic cylinders hoses fittings $600 All of the metal I had picked up at left over jobs, so no cost to me. Otherwise it would have been 1 4x8 sheet of 1/2 plate, 12 feet of 4x4x1/4 square tubing, 2'x2' piece of 5/8 plate and 3'x4' piece of 3/8" And I don't include my time because I wouldn't have been doing anything anyways.
 

Tazza

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I powder coated it my self so 3 pounds of powder about $10.00 Hydraulic cylinders hoses fittings $600 All of the metal I had picked up at left over jobs, so no cost to me. Otherwise it would have been 1 4x8 sheet of 1/2 plate, 12 feet of 4x4x1/4 square tubing, 2'x2' piece of 5/8 plate and 3'x4' piece of 3/8" And I don't include my time because I wouldn't have been doing anything anyways.
Nice, i'd love to have an oven to be able to powder coat things, but it would have to be rather large.
Its great to have the ability to do these things, it saves a lot of money!
 
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Quince

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Mar 7, 2010
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Nice, i'd love to have an oven to be able to powder coat things, but it would have to be rather large.
Its great to have the ability to do these things, it saves a lot of money!
Actually, I did all of this in my 2 car garage. My powder coating oven is a metal rack 4 feet tall and 8 feet long and 3 feet wide. I hang the stuff on the rack, spray the powder coat, then I put up double sided insulated pannels around and on top of it. Then all it takes is a 250,000 btu space heater in the end to get the metal up to 400 degrees. The oven works great, and everything comes apart for easy compact storage.
 

Tazza

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Actually, I did all of this in my 2 car garage. My powder coating oven is a metal rack 4 feet tall and 8 feet long and 3 feet wide. I hang the stuff on the rack, spray the powder coat, then I put up double sided insulated pannels around and on top of it. Then all it takes is a 250,000 btu space heater in the end to get the metal up to 400 degrees. The oven works great, and everything comes apart for easy compact storage.
Interesting, simple, yet efective! This may be something to investigate :) that or an excuse to buy more 'toys'
 

TriHonu

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Apr 15, 2007
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Interesting, simple, yet efective! This may be something to investigate :) that or an excuse to buy more 'toys'
Just a quick check to see If I can embed the video, it looks good in preview...

YouTube Video
<object height=344 width=425> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EgJj_zUyWHk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"><embed><object>
By the way, nice build. How did you suspend the grapple in your oven? My guess is you set angle iron on the floor with the corner pointed up. How long did it take to get it up to temp? I've got a 350,000 btu propane heater and never considered using it for powder coating.
 
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Quince

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Mar 7, 2010
Messages
11
Just a quick check to see If I can embed the video, it looks good in preview...



YouTube Video


<object height=344 width=425> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EgJj_zUyWHk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"><embed><object>


By the way, nice build. How did you suspend the grapple in your oven? My guess is you set angle iron on the floor with the corner pointed up. How long did it take to get it up to temp? I've got a 350,000 btu propane heater and never considered using it for powder coating.
I was not able to suspend it from the frame I use for my smaller stuff, so I made a wood jig to hang a winch on. I hung it with a large "J" hook by the tine bracing. After spraying it I lowered it down to about an inch of the floor and put the insulated panels around it. It was a very close fit, but it worked. It took about 25 minutes to get it to 400 degrees. On lighter gauges of metal (around 14) it usually only takes around 15 minutes.
 

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