“No Weld” Tractor Forks

“No Weld” Tractor Forks FARM SHOP Tools When Boyd Brue built a forklift to move pallet-stored firewood he did it with wood and steel and no welding The forks are held in place with U-bolts threaded rod and angle iron “I don’t have a welder so I make do with salvaged wood and steel ” says Brue a retired mechanical engineer The foundation for the forklift is a wooden base plate made with 6-in thick wood blocks at either end and 2-in thick planks in between The blocks are bolted to a quick attach plate for Brue’s skid steer Two by two-in angle irons two on top and one on the bottom sandwich the wood base The forks are 2-in steel pipe The pipes are bolted to the bottom of the wood base Threaded pipe extends through the upper angle irons in notches cut into the wood base blocks to an angle iron laid across the top of the pipes U-bolts secure the pipes to this angle iron Brue also ran threaded pipe through the base end of the pipes ensuring pressure on any one pipe or group would be shared by other pipes A slotted and angled length of wood mounted in the lower base angle iron helps maintain the spacing of the pipes The combined pipes lift 4-ft wide by 4-ft high by 32-in deep pallets designed to store a third of a full cord of wood Each loaded pallet has a metal roof to cover the wood when stored outside “I needed a way to move the wood into my garage for winter where it would be convenient for heating the house ” says Brue “I built this forklift attachment and used it for many years A grandson lives in the house now and still uses my firewood storage system ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Boyd Brue Rochester Minn ph 507-269-4087; boyd brue@gmail com

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