Log attachment for wheel loader

[northmanlogging]

while we're at it, carbide drills are skookum, but you need to have a drill press or mill that can generate enough force to keep them cutting otherwise they can "catch a chip" and shatter, also a good idea to keep some sort of lube/coolant on it.
I would also steer clear of solid carbide drills, and try to get the carbide tipped drills, they are cheaper, and a helluva lot tougher. A proper insert drill would be ideal, but thems are wildly expensive for a one off project

 

[catbuster]

Yuppers, solid carbide drills are… Well, I never kept them in the shop. Nitride coatings on HSS worked fine or we had insert drills, all greater than 3/4”. HSS drills are usually sharper out of the box than carbide too. Unless you’re drilling titanium (specialty parts) HSS is the way to go.

The thing a lot of people don’t get about pins and other round, solid featureless products used in heavy equipment are that those products aren’t heat treated. They’re induction hardened, which is a very different thing altogether and makes the material almost impossible to further heat treat. Alas, very few people know it, they just know the stuff is hard, and try to work with it like a hardened 4140 they made a knife out of once, which isn’t remotely close.

 

[mountainguyed67]

you'll want to use something that can guarantee centering, like a mill

I have one. I used to be a machinist, and missed having access to machines.

 

[northmanlogging]

I have one. I used to be a machinist, and missed having access to machines.

I thought I was out.... but it appears I'll be buying a bridgeport clone in the near future lol ( like making stuff, I just don't like working with A holes in a stanky building with no windows)

 

[mountainguyed67]

No one said anything about heating the pin, where did you guys come up with that?

They’re just adding a good caution. I already knew what they’re saying, but not everybody does.

 

[mountainguyed67]

My mill.

 

[mountainguyed67]

I got the oversized bushing back from my friend with the lathe, the one hole was too big for the bushing to tighten up in.

So we’re getting pretty close:

1. Drill the pins
2. Wire a relay into the diverter valve wiring.
3. Weld tubing onto the two collars that don’t have enough room for a hole.

 

[mountainguyed67]

Diverter valve is finally working. I used a self drilling screw to ground the relay to the body under the seat (same screw that mounts the relay), ran a bigger wire to the diverter valve, black wire on the relay got power from the heater switch wire. When my nephew pulled the trigger I put a 1/2” box wrench into the magnet, and it pulled it in. He said the trigger made a sound too, like telling him it’s working. Plus the light on the diverter valve connector came on. My only reservation was the diverter and relay being grounded to opposite halves of the machine. Not sure if it has a ground strap between the two. So the loader’s ready, and the grapple is almost ready to pin on. All I need to do to the top pins is drill a hole in each. Bottom pins I don’t need to drill, I’m gonna make collar extensions. I also need to plug one of the two grease holes in the bottom pins.

 

[northmanlogging]

3 years later...

can't wait to see it work.

 

[sean donato]

Diverter valve is finally working. I used a self drilling screw to ground the relay to the body under the seat (same screw that mounts the relay), ran a bigger wire to the diverter valve, black wire on the relay got power from the heater switch wire. When my nephew pulled the trigger I put a 1/2” box wrench into the magnet, and it pulled it in. He said the trigger made a sound too, like telling him it’s working. Plus the light on the diverter valve connector came on. My only reservation was the diverter and relay being grounded to opposite halves of the machine. Not sure if it has a ground strap between the two. So the loader’s ready, and the grapple is almost ready to pin on. All I need to do to the top pins is drill a hole in each. Bottom pins I don’t need to drill, I’m gonna make collar extensions. I also need to plug one of the two grease holes in the bottom pins.

No need for them to be grounded together, chassis ground is fine. I love the activation light on the connectors, makes it easy to see if you're getting power to the seliniod part of the valve. Glad it's all working now. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

[mountainguyed67]

Getting close to having the log grapple working. Got a second hole in the top pins. It work hardened before getting through the second hole, had to finish it with a carbide burr. The new hole will put the grease hole where it needs to be.

 

[mountainguyed67]

3 years later...

With an unscheduled engine swap in there…

Plus the place isn’t accessible half of the year.

But, yeah. It has been a long time.

 

[mountainguyed67]

I also drilled through the bushings for the above pins. The collars had holes, but not the bushings. I could only drill from one side because of placement of collars, and the second side walked. Now I’m going to drill a little bigger diameter to make the bolt go through easy, I don’t want to drive it in with a hammer.

 

[mountainguyed67]

Now I’m going to drill a little bigger diameter to make the bolt go through easy, I don’t want to drive it in with a hammer.

Done.

 

[mountainguyed67]

All that’s left is the bottom pins now. Too much trouble to bring up a welder, so I’m bolting them on. I’m going to use the collar extension as a drill jig. The bushing in the collar is just temporary, to line it all up. I already flipped the pin around to give more room to get in there.

 

[mountainguyed67]

 

[northmanlogging]

Paint? WTF are you thinking? now it might even run better

 

[mountainguyed67]

I didn’t want a ball of rust.

 

[mountainguyed67]

Someone tried to tell me two bolts aren’t enough.

 

[mountainguyed67]

It’s ready to pin on now. We’ll do it next time, we’ll then have fluid with us to refill the tank after actuating the grapple cylinders.