Grapple bucket for Tractor - Size suggestions?

[Willy Firewood]

Hi there.

I have a New Holland Workmaster 70 Tractor that is 4wd with a front end loader with front hydraulics and a third function feature. The front and rear tires on my tractor are set so that the outside width is 74”. The loader bucket is 84” wide. Lifting weight is 3,500 pounds to full height.

I am interested in buying a grapple bucket for use in cleaning up cut limbs, brush, and smaller trees, as well as loading sawlogs onto a trailer to take to the sawmill. I have quite a bit of old orchard to remove, along with scrub woods and weed trees to take out. I am definitely interested in a grapple with two lids each having its own cylinder.

For my uses, what size would you recommend? I have selected a supplier of a quality grapple. The supplier offers the 72” in medium duty with the tines made of 3/8” steel for $1,850 and a weight of 650 pounds. The 78” is heavy duty with the tines made of 1/2” steel for $2,350 and a weight of 850 pounds. The 84” is heavy duty with the tines made of 1/2” steel for $2,450 and a weight of 875 pounds.

Thanks for your suggestions! Best wishes.

 

[KiwiBro]

Pallet forks with log grab. More payload for loading logs into the mill. Can still pick up almost all the slash. Far more useful for lifting other things also.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

The one I have is 1/2" AR518 and it bends fairly easy. I wouldn't consider it heavy duty. It's 72" and about 750lbs.

this HTML class. Value is

This is a nice one:

this HTML class. Value is https://www.quickatt

Similar to mine, just beefier.

Not sure why the pastes aren't working, something odd with the firum.

Go to Quick Attach and look for the EZ claw and EZ talon.


I also have an 84" Caterpillar grapple, it's around 1100lbs.
this HTML class. Value is https://www.cat.com/

Not sure how it does, haven't used it.

 

[Willy Firewood]

Kiwi - please explain more details. Thanks.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Pallet forks with log grab. More payload for loading logs into the mill. Can still pick up almost all the slash. Far more useful for lifting other things also.

Fork tines are pretty cheap. We have a set, I find it a royal PITA to move logs with it.

 

[KiwiBro]

Pallet forks weigh less = more FEL capacity left for lifting heavier logs. Can't say I've had any hassles picking up, moving or placing logs with 'em. The log grab and its geometry is the key.
Considerably versatile as can change widths for picking up various other things as needs arise. Can easily pick up pallets, bags, etc.

My initial concern was won't be able to pick up slash piles but it's fine. Small branches not caught up in the rest of the slash wont be picked up but there are so few it's not really a hassle and certainly not even close to enough of a downside to surpass the benefits.

 

[KiwiBro]

Actually, I thought of one downside. It's that there's about a 5" gap between the arc the tip of the grab makes and the plane of the tines. So if you are trying to pick up a very small diameter branch and need to use the grab to pull it onto the tines rather than drive the tines under the branch, sometimes it'll be a swing-and-a-miss. But use the forks and grab for a bit and you soon come up with a work flow to get around that for the most part.

*editing to add another thought* It wasn't mentioned in the first post but obviously pallet forks are rather pathetic at handling loose firewood. I will be making up a firewood bucket that slips onto and off the pallet forks and the log grab will hold it from sliding off the tines when dumping.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Actually, I thought of one downside. It's that there's about a 5" gap between the arc the tip of the grab makes and the plane of the tines. So if you are trying to pick up a very small diameter branch and need to use the grab to pull it onto the tines rather than drive the tines under the branch, sometimes it'll be a swing-and-a-miss. But use the forks and grab for a bit and you soon come up with a work flow to get around that for the most part.

*editing to add another thought* It wasn't mentioned in the first post but obviously pallet forks are rather pathetic at handling loose firewood. I will be making up a firewood bucket that slips onto and off the pallet forks and the log grab will hold it from sliding off the tines when dumping.

Grapple doesn't do that well picking up firewood either. Need a rock bucket for that.

 

[bowtechmadman]

I went the way of the grapple "thumb" with my forks. Nice thing is there is 3 positions you can mount the grapple depending on how tight you want to grab the log/brush etc...to the mast.
I've been extremely happy with it for stacking logs and picking up/moving brush piles. I'll try to snap some pictures. You can search Titan Pallet Fork Adjustable Grapple Attachment

 

[Willy Firewood]

Thank you for the very interesting info and ideas. The dealer also has the forks with the grapple thumb attachment.

I am concerned about cleaning up trees and the smaller branches and debris that I will cutting out. Some are trees from an orchard. Others are from a planted Ash grove about 25 years old. With the grapple bucket with rounded front tunes I could comb them in to clean up. How will the foes work for this? New trees will be planted in the same spacing just midway.

What about having only one pinch point instead of two? Is there any twisting or pivoting?

Thanks!

 

[KiwiBro]

I am concerned about cleaning up trees and the smaller branches and debris that I will cutting out.

What about having only one pinch point instead of two? Is there any twisting or pivoting?

Thanks!

When you know your job is smaller trees and branches, the tines can be positioned closer together if need be. I used to do that but have since become more used to the forks out wider. Also, the really small stuff gets trapped in with the rest of the slash pile when grabbing it so very little of the small stuff is left behind. When cutting branches free of trees, I tend to order it so the small stuff lands on the big stuff or I throw the really small stuff onto the piles of branches so it has a better shot at staying with the slash when picked up with the forks. Have also learned to put minimal pressure on the slash with the grab to avoid snapping branches before dumping onto the pile. I have been pleasantly surprised at how much of a non-issue the small stuff has turned out to be.

The two pinch points are certainly useful. But again, I haven't found one grab point to be much of an issue. There are some jobs where it probably leads to a bit of extra cutting to help even up the piles better before picking them up, and there are a few occasions when I'll pick up one or two logs/branches with the forks and reposition them back onto the rest of the branches, to better balance the pile before picking said pile up. So, there is the potential for a few extra tractor movements in those situations, but it's only a minor issue I'm highlighting for full disclosure and has never become a PITA for me.

I haven't really met a grapple owner who is not happy with their grapple set-up, and, equally, I've never met a fork+grab owner who isn't happy with their set-up. But if I had to buy another grapple/fork set-up, I'd do the forks plus log grab again.

 

[Willy Firewood]

Kiwi - thank you for the detailed info. I understand what you say about the cutting order and plan the cutting. Makes sense. I just worry that I will miss the feature of curling the grapple forward and sliding it to clean up a lot of debris. I have a lot to clean up. That will come down to a judgment call I guess. But I do really like what you are saying.

Bowtechmadman - I would really like to see your photos when you have time.

ValleyFirewood - I would really like to learn more from you about the pros and cons and what is heavy duty and what bends.

Thank you to all. I really appreciate your help. Best wishes.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

The tines have been bending. I'm not sure why my links aren't working, it's a bit frustrating actually.

I'd choose a grapple and fork tines, both are handy. Fork tines are pretty cheap too, the set we have was maybe $500, if that. The grapple was around 3k.

Kiwi - thank you for the detailed info. I understand what you say about the cutting order and plan the cutting. Makes sense. I just worry that I will miss the feature of curling the grapple forward and sliding it to clean up a lot of debris. I have a lot to clean up. That will come down to a judgment call I guess. But I do really like what you are saying.

Bowtechmadman - I would really like to see your photos when you have time.

ValleyFirewood - I would really like to learn more from you about the pros and cons and what is heavy duty and what bends.

Thank you to all. I really appreciate your help. Best wishes.