"Work Plate" Doubles As Bench

"Work Plate" Doubles As Bench MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Forklifts 32-6-33 Frustrated with the limitations of working with loader forks and pallets around his farm shop, O.H. Rutledge came up with a unique answer. His loader work plate lets him pick up an engine or other heavy object off the ground. He can carry it to where it's needed and even use the plate like a work bench. "We use it all the time, putting engines on it, taking them to the pressure wash and doing assembly work," says Rutledge. He notes that it's often a pain to get a heavy item on a pallet in the first place. He wanted something that could wriggle under an object without heavy lifting. "We took pieces of 4 by 8-in. square tubing and cut and welded them at an angle for sleeves to fit over the loader forks," he explains. "We wanted a taper that would let us get the edge flush with the concrete or ground." The open top wedges were then welded to a 4 by 5-ft., 3/8-in. steel plate to fit the farm's 5-ft. wide forklift. A 5-ft. length of 1-in. angle iron was then welded to the rear of the top side of the plate. Short lengths of 1 1/4-in. pipe welded perpendicular to the angle iron serve as supports for a rear rack made from 1-in. pipe. "We can set the lift plate down on a base and drive the forklift away, remove the rear rack and have 360¦ access to whatever object is on it," explains Rutledge. A final step was to weld 5-ft. long, 3/4-in. round steel rod to the top surface of the steel plate. The ribbed surface makes it easier to load objects on and keep them on, says Rutledge. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, O.H. Rutledge, 3024 Rutledge, Crystal Springs, Miss. 39059 (ph 601 892-2131).

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