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Piston's Grappling Fun

Started by Piston, April 03, 2011, 04:17:17 AM

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Piston

I researched long and hard when I decided a grapple was in my future.  There are many different things to consider when buying one and I ended up with a WR LONG open bottom grapple (OBG-2) http://wrlonginc.com/obg2.htm

I also purchased they're 3rd function hydraulic kit to plumb the hydraulics up to the FEL (front end loader) 
I wish I got some pics of the install but I was so excited to get it done that I forgot to take pics of the progress. 

After only about 10-15 hrs on the tractor after the grapple install I am amazed at how many things it can be used for. 

Some of the things I looked for before purchasing:

-Strong, well built, but not too heavy grapple for logs, brush, and digging up small saplings. 
-I wanted a flat, open bottom grapple, so I could easily stack slabs/lumber on the grapple just as I do with the forks
-I wanted a quick disconnect system that fit the Kubota pin on type disconnect
-wanted to operate grapple with toggle switch on the FEL joy stick
-Didn't want a heavy duty skidsteer type as they are much to heavy for small tractors, reducing lift capacity greatly

The grapple I bought weighs about 560 lbs.  I wouldn't be able to use it very effectively if I hadn't fill the tires with 1200lbs of beat juice.  Even then I need to build a weight box as I can still easily lift the back end up, I will probably add about 500-800 lbs in a weight box when I build one.

I am very happy with the quality and ease of operation of my grapple.  I haven't had the bucket attached to the FEL since I installed it. 
One thing I may do is put some extra light duty tines between the tines, currently they are spaced 9" apart on center and firewood will fall right through unless I stack it on there by hand.  I wasn't planning on using it for firewood which is why I didn't have the extra tines installed when I bought it, but after seeing everything I can use this puppy for it seems like firewood handling would be a huge bonus, allowing me to pick up much more than the bucket would allow. 

The grapple is 64" wide.  I have dug small stumps out, knocked over and carried away small trees (5" dbh or so), cleared thick saplings and carried them all away in a pile, cleared my lawn of leaf piles by dropping a large tarp over the pile and crushing down from the top to collect all the leaves in the pile, and of course used it for logs at the mill.

Now let me say, this thing far surpassed my expectations on simplifying my log handling.  Since I have an all manual mill this thing is truly a blessing.  I can pick a log out of the pile, or woods, whatever, bring it right to the mill and drop it on the deck right next to the mill.  I have incredible control of the log and it helps so much with those larger logs.

The best part I have yet to try, is something I have been dreaming of for a long time.  I love cutting down trees but HATE dealing with the brush.  I can't wait to cut down my next tree, limb it, and drive along down each side of the tree with the tines just under the ground level picking up all the large branches as I go, and piling them in the brush pile for later burning or wildlife housing!  I'm really looking forward to that! 

I never realized how much fun I would have with my new grapple, and it's just beginning!  8)

I don't have too many pics yet but will have more as time goes on, this is all I've managed to capture so far.  For the really large logs I can't pick up, I'll continue to use the log arch I built,  https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,45388.0.html




Here it is on the tractor after my install, I like the way it makes my bota look!  ;D





Here is my first real use of the grapple aside from playing.  My back yard is still bare ground from filling in the hillside, so the mud this season has been really bad, I spread this hay down which helped a lot with the dogs coming in and out of the house, the wife was happy  8)





Here it is after ripping out some saplings and clearing some more land behind the sawmill.  I never got off the tractor with the grapple, no lifting branches into a trailer or having a hard time picking up material that won't fit in the bucket





Picking up leaves in the yard, there was still piles of snow from the snow banks but wanted to clean up the front yard.  This was an old tarp that I didn't mind tearing up a bit, so I would dump the load of leaves, tarp and all, in the brush pile, then pick the tarp out of the pile with a corner of the grapple, all the leaves would come out and I'd back away with the tarp hanging out.  The load is pretty heavy because the leaves were all still wet, I wouldn't need this for dry leaves but wanted to play.   :D





Here is a friend of mine learning how to use the grapple, he was bored that day and just watched a show on axe throwing, so he came up and placed this log on top of a stump so he could throw a hatchet at the log, he really wasn't good at it, and neither was I, but moving the logs around was fun. 


I couldn't be happier with my new grapple and have really yet to use it for considerable work.  It will expand my uses of the tractor tenfold and will come in very handy when I start clearing my new lot in NH. 


-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

WildDog

That sure is a good looking bit of gear there Piston, don't see many grapples for FEL's down here. I can definatley see plenty of benefits for my setup over my 4in1 bucket.....I could breath easy instead of holding my breath when I'm lifting a big tapered log over the Lucas's rail. 
If you start feeling "Blue" ...breath    JD 5510 86hp 4WD loader Lucas 827, Pair of Husky's 372xp, 261 & Stihl 029

Magicman

I love to arrive at a saw job and see one of those puppies on the tractor's front end.   The logs will be clean and slab handling will be a breeze.   It's hard to get the boys customers off of the tractor and quit playing with using his grapple.  I love them.   :D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

mainiac

What size tractor is that mounted on?
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

Piston

Thanks Wilddog. 

MagicMan,
Your right, honestly most of the time I'm just 'playing' with it.  I do a lot of my milling/tractorwork just because it's fun, sometimes I don't even actually accomplish anything  :D
I really bought it to help me with clearing some land, but that won't happen till around summertime, but by then I'll be pretty dang good at operating it.  ;)

Mainiac,
It's a 48hp tractor.  Makes a HUGE difference with the tires loaded, I can actually use a good portion of the power without spinning the wheels, still need some more weight though.
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

customsawyer

You might have seen pics of mine on some of my post. That tool will amaze you more and more every time you use it. The more you learn how to use it the more you will figure out what it can be used for.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

JV

Grapples and thumbs are the slickest things to add to a FEL.  The increase in productivity is amazing.  Also saves your back and legs from having to crawl off and on the tractor to balance or pile limbs on the bucket.  You love it.  Be very careful about adding counterweight.  The front axle and axle support are only rated for so much weight.  Don't ask me how I know.   :(
John

'05 Wood-mizer LT40HDG28-RA, Lucas 613 Swing Mill, Stihl 170, 260 Pro, 660, 084 w/56" Alaskan Mill, 041 w/Lewis Winch, Case 970 w/Farmi Winch, Case 850 Crawler Loader, Case 90XT Skidloader, Logrite tools

tyb525

My tractor doesn't have an FEL, but I do have forks for the 3pt, and I know how awesome it is being able to pick a log out of the woods and set it on/near the mill without ever getting off the tractor! Not to mention the hundreds of other things you can use it for. I've gotten into a habit of building pallets with low grade wood, and then stacking stuff on the pallets. I can move things around much easier if I need to, instead of doing it all by hand like I used to.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

thecfarm

That looks like quite the weapon.Loaded tire are nice if you're really going to work,use the tractor. I have both of mine tractors loaded and the small one does not even have a loader on it. Wife uses it to mow with.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

beenthere

Quote from: JV on April 03, 2011, 10:59:33 AM
Grapples and thumbs are the slickest things to add to a FEL.  The increase in productivity is amazing.  Also saves your back and legs from having to crawl off and on the tractor to balance or pile limbs on the bucket.  You love it.  Be very careful about adding counterweight.  The front axle and axle support are only rated for so much weight.  Don't ask me how I know.   :(

The axle and support should be at least as heavy duty as the limits on the hydraulics of the FEL.

But asking how you know :)  Must be a story to tell there, that may add to what we think we know. ;)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

JV

If someone can learn from my mistakes, I'll share the story.  It's been about three years ago we were cleaning fence rows.  I was running the dozer and my BIL was running my industrial tractor with loader and a thumb in the bucket.  It is a MF 50E industrial with front wheel assist.  A really beefy 70 hp tractor with industrial loader.  The front axle support bolts to the front of the engine block and carrys the radiator and two batteries.  The front of the loader frame also bolts to it.  The rear wheels are loaded and I have a Farmi skidder on the rear, plenty of counterweight.  He was shoving a hefty load of trees when I noticed a puff of dust from the front.  He stopped and waved me over.  Bad news was the radiator tilted back into the fan.  Checking it over, the bolt holes on the bottom of the support had broken out causing it to rotate back into the engine.  After repairing everything (we thought), last fall removing debris from the old barn, the fan blade started ticking the radiator.  I shut it down and looked.  Apparently, the bolts tying the support to the engine block are loose or pulling out.  Looks like a hairline crack on the bottom of the block.  I haven't had the time or the heart to pull it in and disassemble it, but I'll have to this summer after some other projects are done.  I pushed it just as hard I guess thinking it was indestructible.  These newer hydraulics can well exceed the limits of the loader or the tractor.  Years ago, several aftermarket loader companies sold loaders for farm tractors with oversized "loose material" buckets.  The equipment dealers sold lots of front axle spindles after that.  Heavy duty still has limits.  I'm not saying don't use these attachments, but rather use caution.   ;)
John

'05 Wood-mizer LT40HDG28-RA, Lucas 613 Swing Mill, Stihl 170, 260 Pro, 660, 084 w/56" Alaskan Mill, 041 w/Lewis Winch, Case 970 w/Farmi Winch, Case 850 Crawler Loader, Case 90XT Skidloader, Logrite tools

Piston

I had a chance to use the grapple some more and each time I do I'm amazed at how much time it saves me.  I am in the process of building a dog house for my 3 dogs (the size of a large shed-with porch) and I needed to get a few trees down to take to the mill.








Before getting started, I trimmed a couple large branches of an old oak tree in my front yard, and cut it up for firewood, the grapple made quick work of moving the firewood to the 'splitting area' and I was able to carry a lot more than my bucket would allow.





Here is a pic off the first smaller pine I took down, right after limbing and cleaning up the larger branches.  I was able to drive down the length of the tree and pick up all the major branches on each side, and dump them in two trips.  This is what was left of the smaller branches. 







I get a kick out of how tiny this pic makes the tractor look!





I wasn't able to lift the tree right up off the ground, but pushed up the hill enough to make it to some flatter ground for bucking into log length.  This section was 50 feet, 50 of my feet, I didn't have a tape measure on me  ;D
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

thecfarm

It's good you loaded the rear tires. I'm not a big fan of weight boxes unless you're in a driveway or lawn. Out in the real world,the woods,you need the weight down low,like in your tires,not up in the air a foot and a half on uneven ground and a bucket,grapple full of wood or dirt. I could use one of those grapples to play with.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Piston

 


This one was just in my, I'll cut it up for firewood later....




Makes it a lot easier to get the logs on the log deck.













-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

Piston

theCfarm,
Your right about the loaded tires.  I honestly wouldn't be able to use the grapple for hardly anything if my tires weren't loaded.  It helps more than I can describe.  The only time I wouldn't want them loaded is if I used it for mowing my lawn, which of course is way too much tractor for lawn mowing anyways.....
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

thecfarm

Wife mows ALOT with it. I should of mentioned most of the mowing is old fields and some is uneven pasture land. The lawn only takes about a ½ an hour the rest takes all day.   ;D  I am allowed on it some. I use it to pick up small rocks with it with a trailer behind it. The area I'm working on is on a steep hill. The other small tractor we had before did not have the loaded tires. Could not haul much with it. This one I can really haul a loads of rocks with it or sand and rocks when I pick up what the snow plow left me over the winter.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Piston

So I guess you don't have a problem with ruts in the yard then?  I have never tried mowing lawn with it because all I have is a brush hog, and not to mention my lawn isn't big enough to use the tractor for anyways   :D
I've only heard that it will cause ruts in the yard and I don't have any personal experience, most of this comes from the folks over at tractorbynet.com and they mostly recommend going out and buying a 5 to 8 thousand dollar dedicated zero turn lawn mower for the folks that have 1 acre of grass to mow  :D
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

Piston

Last couple pics....

 


I even had the wife helping me!  ;D  She's intently concentrating on where she is going while backing up, her face isn't really all hair like that  :D



I still find it necessary to use the pallet forks though, the grapple can't do everything  :D


-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

thecfarm

Loaded both ends with lumber. I like that.  ;D

This is only a 30 hp tractor,with tuft tires.





No problems at all with ruts.  We looked at those zero turned,just the ticket and about half the money too. We have quite a steep banken to mow and I was kinda concerned about that. The dealer was all ready to load one onto a truck and have me try it out up here. But we need a small tractor for yard work and to blow snow in the winter. Wife puts a small garden trailer behind it instead of using a wheel barrow. She has bad hips,knees and legs. Needs to ride instead of push a wheel barrow.This tractor will hum right along,just don't turn as good as a zero turn mower would.This is also a 72 inch rear discharge too.Wife really loves that. No more planing which way to mow so she don't throw grass onto the stone walls,or walk ways or raised beds and etc. She proably mows 5-8 acres with it.
Now my tractor,40hp,I would not want to drive that on the lawn. Those tires would dig in no matter what. But that's not what's if for. That's why we have 2 tractors.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Piston

I had a smaller case tractor with turfs on it which would have been perfect for large lawns.  I had to sell it to put that money towards this one.  One of these days when I get a lawn big enough (5-8) acres would be awesome  8) then that would be excuse enough for another, smaller tractor. 
That's a really nice setup you have from the sounds of it.  ;D
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

Raphael

Gotta love grapples and thumbs :)  W.R.Long seems to be a good company.
I went with their FLG-48 (forklift grapple)


and a simple mechanical thumb for my backhoe.


Not only is the FLG great for moving logs and lumber but it also allows bloodless removal of overgrown multi-flora roses.  ;)

... he was middle aged,
and the truth hit him like a man with no parachute.
--Godley & Creme

Stihl 066, MS 362 C-M & 24+ feet of Logosol M7 mill

Piston

Raphael,
That backhoe thumb is very nice, those are extremely useful and I hope to someday put one on the backhoe.  Another nice thing that I like about your pallet grapple is you don't have to switch implements to lift up the pallets, that's very time saving I'm sure. 
I like that setup, any more pics of either the grapple or the backhoe thumb in operation?  I would love to get a good collection of 'grappling' pics on this thread.   8)
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

Piston

Someone asked about my grapple setup and I pointed this thread to them, I figured I would update this one instead of start a new one, it's been too long since I've posted any pictures of it! 


I was recently splitting some firewood and needed to move the splits from where I split them, to where I stack them.  I mentioned in another thread that I still haven't come up with a 'great' firewood strategy, but I'm getting closer.   ;D

If I'm not carrying the splits too far, and I have a large pile, I drive into the pile with the grapple just a few inches off the ground, squeeze down the thumbs, and off I go.  However, I can stack a lot more firewood on the grapple if I stack it by hand, so if I'm carrying it a ways I'll take the time to stack it on the grapple and reduce my trips.  As mentioned, mine is 64" wide, when doing firewood I sometimes wish I got the 72" model so I could carry more at once.


  

 

I live right down the street from my parents house (which is where I do all my milling/playing) so I loaded up the grapple and headed down the street.  I had to back down the road because I couldn't see around the grapple load of firewood. 
 

 

I lifted the load over my fence and lowered it down as much as I could, without breaking my top fence rail, then stacked it on the crushed stone, the next spot it will go is in the woodstove. 


As a side note about this specific grapple: 
When ordering it from WR Long, Nelson (owner) asked me what I would be using it for, and I mentioned firewood.  He advised me that the spacing between the tines on the bottom of the grapple, was 9", and that if I wanted I could have them weld in additional tines, making the spacing 4.5" on center.  I was tempted to do it but was worried about the added weight (I read a lot online that the reason many people go with a smaller grapple is due to weight, and losing FEL capacity) so I declined the offer.  He noted of course, that I could add them easily enough down the road.  Well, I wish I had taken him up on his offer, I've never noticed the weight to be a problem and I have quite a bit of hours racked up using this grapple over the years.  I will weld the additional tines in at some point, it will help a lot when picking up loads of firewood off the ground because sometimes my splits will fall through the space between the tines.  At 4.5" spacing this will happen a lot less. 
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

Piston

This isn't my tractor, but I had fun running it!  I bought a rotary cutter a few months ago from a friend of mine, a Brown 472 rotary cutter, and when I went to pic it up he had me load it with his tractor.  I didn't get to do any real work with it but it was fun none the less.  I'm used to small tractors like mine, and this one was much more powerful, but surprisingly didn't seem all that less maneuverable.   

I milled some lumber for him as part of our "deal".  I unloaded it from the trailer using slings.  This is one of those times a fork lift for the FEL would be much better than the grapple  ;D  A grapple isn't the best tool for every job, even I admit that.   :D :D



 



 
He had this grapple built, it's not a standard one that you can but.  It is very heavy duty, in fact, too heavy duty.  I could never use this grapple effectively on my tractor as it weighs close to 2,000 lbs, it's even too heavy duty for his tractor, but at least he knows he'll never break it! 

Hope you guys like the pics!
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

thecfarm

Piston,I wonder if you could use the same thinkness of steel on the front part of the tines,the short section,but on the long part go with thinner metal to save on weight? Or maybe not even bother with the front part?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

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