2016 - Volume #BFS, Issue #16, Page #67
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Grapple Fork Built From Cultivator, Chisel Shanks
“I use it on my Bobcat skid loader to pick up rocks and fallen trees, which I use as firewood for my outdoor woodburning stove. It’s built pretty strong,” says Grovom.
Grovom had previously used cultivator shanks to build a grapple fork that mounted on the bucket of his New Holland skid loader (Vol. 38, No. 2). “My new model works better because dirt falls between the shanks and onto the ground instead of in the loader bucket. I don’t get a load of dirt every time I scoop up something,” he says.
He used 4 by 2 tubing off an old cultivator to build the frame, which supports 2 rows of spring-loaded shanks spaced about 7 in. apart. The top row of shanks are off a Wil-rich cultivator, and the bottom row is off a Deere chisel plow. A 1 1/2-in. dia. steel shaft forms the pivot point, and a pair of hydraulic cylinders opens and closes the grapple.
“I use it a lot. It works great to pick up a whole bunch of firewood together at one time. I spaced the shanks as close together as I could to keep material from falling through,” says Grovom.
“I really like the spring-loaded shanks, because if one hits something hard it’ll bend back without breaking like a welded-on shank might.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harlen Grovom, 12643 Hwy. 17, Park River, N. Dak. 58270 (ph 701 331-0169; hlgrovom@polarcomm.com).
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