Go BottomForks for a 420 loader
 | Lee
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2001-12-28 34113
Anyone have an idea if they make a set of forks that will attach to a 420 loader? If so who and at what cost....Thanks for the info!
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| jyoutz
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 48
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2001-12-28 34117
Lee, you have many different choices: 1) purchase the JD quick attach forks -detach your bucket and use the same brackets and pins to attach the forks -this is the nicest arrangement, but the cost is very high (about $900), 2) purchase a set of clamp-on or chain-on forks -these attach to your bucket, not a bad set-up ($300-400), and 3) fabricate your own. I am working on solution # 3. Last year I built a 3 point hitch pallet mover. Recently I bought the bucket quick attach pins and brackets from JD. I plan on welding these onto my pallet mover to create my own economy quick-attach forks. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2001-12-29 34121
Jim is it? How did the pallet forks work out? I think I remember something about the building of them. I think I should get my welding act back together, even if I only ever gas welded. It sounds like you and Bill, who built a CAD plan hoe, are having all the fun.
A couple of comments about forks: The loader bucket add on ones carry the load further forward than loads in the bucket, and the lifting capacity is significantly reduced. Forks that use loader hydraulics work best with loaders with self-leveling features. Self-leveling keeps a load more nearly level while lifting. Without the feature, loads may have to be frequently re-leveled with the curl to keep them from. A backrest to the forks is a good feature. Without a backrest, it's pretty easy for a load to fall off the back of the forks and onto the tractor.
I find that getting pallets on and off forks while on uneven ground can be a trick. Forks can just dig into the ground when trying to run them under a pallet. Setting a pallet down on uneven ground may trap a fork under the pallet and it takes fiddling around to get it off.
My forks are L-shaped and in two hinged legs. The tops of the vertical legs mount onto a bar. The bar allows the fork width to be changed and also allows the forks to swing away from the carriage when it is tilted forward. The hinges allow the carriage to be tilted forward and height to be adjusted so the fork tips run along the ground and under pallets. Hinges allow for bumps etc. under the pallet and also for holes etc. the tractor wheels may fall into. A hinged and swinging fork design used with carriage tilt seems about the easiest design to use when working with pallets. I did pay, almost dearly, for these features though.
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| jyoutz
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 48
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2001-12-31 34171
Tom, the pallet mover has worked out very well. The 2" thick wall square tubing is very substantial. I use this unit mostly as a heavy duty carryall to move heavy items around that are too bulky for my loader. I am limited by the vertical lift of the 3ph, so that is why I plan on adapting this implement to attach to my loader. When I'm done I'll be able to attach it to both the loader and 3ph. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-01-01 34175
Glad to hear it. I'm starting to think that maybe I should get serious about getting a decent arc welder. I'm not sure it's worth resurrecting my old gas welding stuff.
I'm curious if you have any difficulty getting pallets on and off your forks on uneven ground. My forks are 4', and I seem to have to get the angles just right even with the hinged and swinging forks and carriage tilt I have. It's not uncommon for me to set a pallet down and drive away like Mary's lambs--with the pallet dragging behind.
I've learned that it's easier to just get off the tractor and kick each fork tip to make sure they're released and then fiddle with the height, carriage tilt and sometimes side leveler if necessary. Maybe it's just me, or maybe I just have cheap pallets with shallow notches for the forks, but I'm happy I've got fairly fancy forks.
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| jyoutz
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 48
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2002-01-01 34184
Yeah Tom, moving pallets is always a bit of a problem if the ground is uneven. That's why installing the forks on the loader or having a top and tilt on the 3 ph is really the way to go if you move pallets on a regular basis-too many adjustments otherwise. Yeah, if you can weld, just get an inexpensive AC arcwelder. I just have a 220 amp Lincoln AC welder. Not as nice as some of the wire feeds, but they'll handle most heavy welding and these units really are fairly affordable to buy. ....
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| BillBass
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 190 North Texas
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2002-01-02 34186
jyoutz -- like you I welded up a set of forks from 2" x 11 ga sq tube. I don't have a quick attach setup. I made the forks in an H pattern. On the cross bar (of the H) I welded an angle iron facing rearward. I welded a bolt on top of each rear piece of the fork. Now I can slide the angle on the front of the bucket, raise the rear of the fork so that the bolts go up thru two holes that were already in the bottom of the bucket, and put a nut on each. 2 minutes or less on and off.
I angled the front of each fork to a point to make it easier to slide under pallets and such.
Tom - like you I had not welded in years. But my wife gave me a welder (Lincoln buzz box) for Christmas a year ago. I picked it back up pretty fast and it is fun also. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-01-02 34187
Happy to hear that it's not just me, and I might actually have learned to use my 3ph forklift reasonably well.
Even so, it's not uncommon for me to have to stop and make adjustments in the middle of getting pallets on or off the forks. It's good to have features on the forks that help to get the right angles and heights. I could use hydraulic tip on the 3ph, but I get by with hydraulic top and the mechanical side-leveler. A little known feature available as an option on my forks also might help. The feature is a side-shift. It shifts the entire carriage left or right. I suppose side-shift would be almost essential for people who have to stack rows of pallets in order to get pallets packed close together. Side-shift might save me a few backups, because I could use the side-shift to line-up the forks and pallet notches. Guess that's something else I can get by without.
Since I haven't used bucket forks, I don't know if the idea that loaders lift in arcs creates any difficulties. I understand that pallets that are against a wall, for example, would have to be dragged forward before lifting or risk breaking the wall. However, I don't know if the loader type lift creates any special problems for jobs like taking pallets off a flatbed truck. I imagine that the loader curl can be used for carriage tilt, but I don't know if any loader forks have side-tilt, which is what I use my 3ph leveler for.
I know some of this is a walk through Cadillac features that few people are going to need. Still, I suppose it's good to know what's available. I don't know if a wire feed welder qualifies as a Cadillac feature or not, but I suppose I better find out before getting too serious about welding.
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| jyoutz
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 48
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2002-01-02 34214
Bill, your fork setup sounds interesting. Could you email me with a photo or drawing? ....
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| BillBass
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 190 North Texas
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2002-01-03 34219
My tractor is on some land I own about 30 miles from where I live. I will be going up there this weekend. I will try to remember to take my camera and send you some pictures. ....
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| jyoutz
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 48
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2002-01-03 34251
Thanks. ....
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| Craig Dashner
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-01-04 34257
I made my own, but, for my 410 loader. Really easy, probably only 8 hrs of labor invested. All the welding done with a 110v wire feed welder. I got a pair of forks from a local equipment junkyard and used heavy angle iron for a frame. The forks I got cost me $100 and are the type that slide on a big plate (rather than suspended from a round pin). If memory serves me, they are 42"x3" forks. I can slide the forks to the middle so they touch each other and out past the loader arms. Used some handrail pipe cut in half for the top of the quick-tach feature. I "designed" them to carry 1000 pounds. I have lifted as much as my 4100 will handle with them with no problems. Pallets on uneven ground IS a problem, I used to work construction operating forklifts and it's a problem there too, even with $30,000 equipment, the solution is to put the pallets on level ground.
I am getting ready to make a second set of forks now. I found a smaller set of forks (this set only cost me $10 at a local scrap dealer) They are 24"x2" forks and weigh substantially less than my first set, came off a hand operated hydraulic pump type forklift/material handler with a 1000# capacity. With my 4100, I use up too much of my lifting capacity with the weight of the "big" forks. Once I get my small set finished, I plan to sell my bigger set for what I have invested in it. ....
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| Matt4200
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1 Indiana
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2002-01-27 34992
Guys, I purchase a set of USED pallet forks from a guy who deals in used forklifts>. They were both bowed a bit, but nothing a press couldn't handle. I made a universal rack for them to mount to the 3pt or quick attach in place of the bucket to the loader. I milled notches in the angle that the forks hang on so I would be able to adjust the forks spacing and still have them lock in place. It works great, but the loader does have a significantly reduced capacity compared to the 3pt. The rack is made of 2" heavy wall squared tubing and 2" angle iron. It's a very usefull tool for many applications. I particularly wanted to move brush with the loader and some pallets of bricks with the 3pt. I'm sure I'll find many other uses too. ....
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