72" Grapple Bucket

[nailsbeats]

I just started my latest project, a 72" grapple bucket. All I have left to do is put on the quick tach mount, the grapples, and weld. I am hoping to finnish all but the hydraulics today. Here are the specs.
37 3/4" deep, 21" tall, 1/4" bucket, 3/8" end wraps, 3/8" grapples,
3/4"x6" cutting edge with four 1/2"x4 1/2" runners underneath,
3/16"x3 1/2"x3 1/2" tube full lenth across the top to mount the grapples to,
2"x8" cylinders, multiple gussetts
I will use this attachment for scraping out a couple old buildings, tree removal, and handling firewood. For scrapping it will be great because you can keep the area in front of your tires or tracks clean. You can also haul long pipes and any smaller or odd shaped pieces in the same load. For tree removal you can move brush, logs, firewood, stumps, and the last bit of rakings. For firewood I think it will work well when diving into a loose pile, you should not have much spillage. Obviously, you can backdrag and haul bulk materials like a regular bucket. Keeping a work area smooth and level means alot. I will get a picture when completed, it will be heavy!

 

[Tazza]

Very nice, if you have pictures i'd be interested in seeing it being built and the finished product.

 

[nailsbeats]

Very nice, if you have pictures i'd be interested in seeing it being built and the finished product.

By the time I saw your post I had the rig ready for paint. These are the pics I got before sending it to the paint booth.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1134-1.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1135.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1136.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1137.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1138.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1139.jpg
It turned out well, I am very pleased with it. I will get more pictures when it's painted.

 

[Tazza]

By the time I saw your post I had the rig ready for paint. These are the pics I got before sending it to the paint booth.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1134-1.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1135.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1136.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1137.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1138.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1139.jpg
It turned out well, I am very pleased with it. I will get more pictures when it's painted.

Very nice job!
You just need to put it to work now.

 

[bobcat_ron]

Very nice job!
You just need to put it to work now.

That is a h*ell of a sweet looking grapple! I love the pin set up on the grapple to the top of the bucket. I wish a certain company would build theirs like that.

 

[farmboy55]

That is a h*ell of a sweet looking grapple! I love the pin set up on the grapple to the top of the bucket. I wish a certain company would build theirs like that.

Looks good, what did the metal cost for it? if I may ask. dennis

 

[nailsbeats]

Looks good, what did the metal cost for it? if I may ask. dennis

5'x8'x1/4" sheet and 3/4"x6" cutting edge was $290
28"x10'x3/8" partial sheet was $140
I had about 1/2 of the 3/8" left at the end and the rest of the steel we had laying around. The pivot idea I left up to my brother, he always machines a beauty.
I got it all painted, tryed it, and bent the bottom of the grapple tines. We thought this would happen because the gusset doesn't go all the way down. I figured I would test to make sure and then fix it.
Now I have 3/4"x6" cutting edge welded and gussetted between the tines that pinches tight on the bucket, that should do the trick and give me something to bite down with. Also, I cut out some of the solid 1/4" on top of the grapples and added in a strip w/ a bunch of 1" holes punched in it. This still offers cylinder protection and allows me to see the front corners of my cutting edge. Performance is now flawless.
I will get some pictures tommorow when it's light out. I also am planning to weigh it when I get time. Happy skidding!

 

[nailsbeats]

5'x8'x1/4" sheet and 3/4"x6" cutting edge was $290
28"x10'x3/8" partial sheet was $140
I had about 1/2 of the 3/8" left at the end and the rest of the steel we had laying around. The pivot idea I left up to my brother, he always machines a beauty.
I got it all painted, tryed it, and bent the bottom of the grapple tines. We thought this would happen because the gusset doesn't go all the way down. I figured I would test to make sure and then fix it.
Now I have 3/4"x6" cutting edge welded and gussetted between the tines that pinches tight on the bucket, that should do the trick and give me something to bite down with. Also, I cut out some of the solid 1/4" on top of the grapples and added in a strip w/ a bunch of 1" holes punched in it. This still offers cylinder protection and allows me to see the front corners of my cutting edge. Performance is now flawless.
I will get some pictures tommorow when it's light out. I also am planning to weigh it when I get time. Happy skidding!

Here is the finnished product after a little use.
You can see the added cutting edges on the grapples and the pieces with the 1" holes all over.
The last thing I will do is add another flow restrictor. Speaking of flow restrictors, I made my own out of black pipe and 1 1/4"x1 1/4"x3/8" flat steel. You cut the pipe in half and weld the flat between the two with a hole drilled to the size of flow you want. I used a 1/16" hole, very small but plenty fast. The flat also gives you a place to grab the pipe with a wrench when installing. I just came up with this after frustration trying to find one, so I hope it works long term.
I possibly have a job moving a pile of rubble, debri, and garbage on a ladies property; this will be the tool of choice.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1149.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1150.jpg

 

[skidsteer.ca]

Here is the finnished product after a little use.
You can see the added cutting edges on the grapples and the pieces with the 1" holes all over.
The last thing I will do is add another flow restrictor. Speaking of flow restrictors, I made my own out of black pipe and 1 1/4"x1 1/4"x3/8" flat steel. You cut the pipe in half and weld the flat between the two with a hole drilled to the size of flow you want. I used a 1/16" hole, very small but plenty fast. The flat also gives you a place to grab the pipe with a wrench when installing. I just came up with this after frustration trying to find one, so I hope it works long term.
I possibly have a job moving a pile of rubble, debri, and garbage on a ladies property; this will be the tool of choice.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1149.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1150.jpg

Where do you buy your cuting edges from?
I need one for my 553 and for my concrete mixer.
Ken

 

[nailsbeats]

Where do you buy your cuting edges from?
I need one for my 553 and for my concrete mixer.
Ken

Ken,
I get my cutting edges from McNeilus Steel. There website is www.mcneilus.com.
Looks like they're in Minnesota and North Dakota. They deliver to our shop twice a week so I can't beat that set up.

 

[nailsbeats]

Ken,
I get my cutting edges from McNeilus Steel. There website is www.mcneilus.com.
Looks like they're in Minnesota and North Dakota. They deliver to our shop twice a week so I can't beat that set up.

I cleared brush with my grapple bucket yesterday. Man, it works great for land clearing.
I was pushing over trees, picking them up and smashing them down, mulching them under the tracks and bucket. This attachment lets you rip up stumps and roots, push them into a pile and carry away.
You can level and tear through just about anything with it. When you are in the woods with a skidsteer you find yourself in and out of these little "pockets" in the forest floor, now you can just fill them in with dirt and level.
I have never used a grapple bucket or have ever seen one in use before I built this one. I can't believe how useful it is. I started my arsenal with just a bucket for dirt and levelling, then I built a grapple for brush and logs. Well, in hind sight I should have put the two together a long time ago and figured on the dominance of the grapple bucket. This attachment will get more hours than the rest, even the bucket.

 

[nailsbeats]

I cleared brush with my grapple bucket yesterday. Man, it works great for land clearing.
I was pushing over trees, picking them up and smashing them down, mulching them under the tracks and bucket. This attachment lets you rip up stumps and roots, push them into a pile and carry away.
You can level and tear through just about anything with it. When you are in the woods with a skidsteer you find yourself in and out of these little "pockets" in the forest floor, now you can just fill them in with dirt and level.
I have never used a grapple bucket or have ever seen one in use before I built this one. I can't believe how useful it is. I started my arsenal with just a bucket for dirt and levelling, then I built a grapple for brush and logs. Well, in hind sight I should have put the two together a long time ago and figured on the dominance of the grapple bucket. This attachment will get more hours than the rest, even the bucket.

Here is my first shot of the bucket with a load on. I was cleaning up some popple trees that blew down in my woods. Hauls quite a bit of wood.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1161.jpg

 

[Tazza]

Here is my first shot of the bucket with a load on. I was cleaning up some popple trees that blew down in my woods. Hauls quite a bit of wood.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/nailsbeats/DSCN1161.jpg

I was going to say i can move a bit with my 4 in 1, but nothing like your grapple bucket can.

 

[Eric]

I was going to say i can move a bit with my 4 in 1, but nothing like your grapple bucket can.

 

[nailsbeats]

Thanks for the pic Eric. It looks a lot better than posting links. I have tried a couple of times to add pics to the media section of this site and can't seem to get it done. Can I take pics from photobucket and put them in the media section? I need to figure this out so people can see what I'm talking about without so much work.

 

[nailsbeats]

I was going to say i can move a bit with my 4 in 1, but nothing like your grapple bucket can.

Tazza, I was pretty close to buiding a 4 in 1 on this project, but I though this would serve me better overall. I think the coolest features of the 4 in 1 are how it can dump over high objects, self load, level with the clamshell open. Of course it can always grapple, but like you said not with the same capacity. Maybe I'll build one when I get more room to store attachments!

 

[jerry]

Tazza, I was pretty close to buiding a 4 in 1 on this project, but I though this would serve me better overall. I think the coolest features of the 4 in 1 are how it can dump over high objects, self load, level with the clamshell open. Of course it can always grapple, but like you said not with the same capacity. Maybe I'll build one when I get more room to store attachments!

Have you tried it on cut and split firewood yet? In a pile that stuff is hard to get a decent scoop full. It looks like a great tool.

 

[farmboy55]

Have you tried it on cut and split firewood yet? In a pile that stuff is hard to get a decent scoop full. It looks like a great tool.

Looking good, I'm going to have to get off my a-- and get one built this winter. Just trade some top soil for the steel. I guess that's a start. Anyway glad it's doing you a good job.
dennis

 

[nailsbeats]

Looking good, I'm going to have to get off my a-- and get one built this winter. Just trade some top soil for the steel. I guess that's a start. Anyway glad it's doing you a good job.
dennis

Jerry, I have tried it on firewood and it works well. You can get a good load and it stays with you as you ramble across the terrain. In fact, that is how I bent the grapple tines on my first test run. Firewood got in between the bucket and tines at different angles and as the grapple closed the tines bent to the side.
Farmboy, the specs on this bucket will serve you well. I don't recommend going any lighter with any steel dimensions.
Also worth noting, I left my grapples in 10" on each side (they are 15" wide overall), this allows you to add some expanded metal and make a step. I find myself stepping off to the side rather than down the middle when the bucket is full. Also, it makes a perfect step onto my tracks when I put my chainsaw on top the cab. Hope this info is useful.
Now I got to get to my treestand, bowhunting opened today!