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Thread: New toy, er, farm tool

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    New toy, er, farm tool

    Got this today for the skid steer - a grapple rake.

    grapple_rake_02.jpg

    The attachment is a beast, weighs over 1200 lbs, tines are 3/4" thick steel. It has two independent clamps to better grip something with an odd shape (like a stump).

    grapple_rake_01.jpg

    I used it for a couple of hours today, moved a bunch of stumps, logs, and piles of limbs. We had several huge pine trees come down a few days ago in the high winds so I had plenty of roots to rake out of the dirt.

    Good clean fun!

    JKJ

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
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    14,760
    I have tool envy, your skid steer and new attachment is a fantastic addition to your inventory. I have a nice tractor but my property is to small to justify a second major machine nor would it fit the current budget. My sign company owns the tractor, had to have the front end loader to load and unload materials for sign projects, mostly 12 foot long sheets of solid surface material and occasionally new machines. I lost all of my helpers along the way and have been working alone for several years, it truly is hell getting old.

  3. #3
    Nothing like having the right tools for the task at hand.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    Very nice! Should help with moving logs around the mill too.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Somewhere in the Land of Lincoln
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    2,547
    I'm with Keith. Tool envy! However I don't have a need for it like you do. That will be very useful for moving logs and cleaning up brush. Being able to grasp most anything you want with it will be such a labor saver. I'm sure you will wonder how you got by without it.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,694
    Grapples are wonderful attachments and many times over the years I wished I had that capability...not practical with my generation and model of Kubota, however.

    One thing I'm sure you're discovering...sometimes it's best to "come from above" to grab a pile of something, rather than from under it like with a bucket.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post

    One thing I'm sure you're discovering...sometimes it's best to "come from above" to grab a pile of something, rather than from under it like with a bucket.
    Yes, raise the grapple, tilt over, then lower while “squeezing”, works best for logs, brush, and even root debris. It’s like grabbing with the excavator thumb except with less precision and bigger bite.

    The REALLY nice thing is how quick it is to move stuff any distance since the loader is so, so much faster traveling! But the little excavator it’s still the only good way I have to sort and stack things and move heavy things like logs gently into a trailer or, especially, big log sections for woodturning into the someone’s new and polished pickup truck - haven’t dented one yet! (crossing fingers)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
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    N CA
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    1,279
    Now, John, at this point you should know that no one likes a show-off, but that is a pretty sweet set-up.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Longview WA
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    I'm jealous

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  10. #10
    Great tool to have, congrats on the new toy

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Frederick View Post
    Now, John, at this point you should know that no one likes a show-off, …
    Working with gravel, dirt, trees/brush, maintaining the pastures and caring for the animals every day keeps me off the streets at night. Good therapy and saves paying for a gym membership too.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2021
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    I wanted to put a loader or skid steer on the Christmas wish list thread but the decimal point on the price limit was in the wrong place. Great to see that you acquired a a great machine!
    Best Regards, Maurice

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    southeast Michigan
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    676
    Very nice John. Those are great attachments. Your skid steer must have a pretty good lift capacity. They make small grapples that would work on my little Kubota but that would cut my 1000 pound lift capacity by more than half. So I just make do with my homemade fork attachment. Yes, I'm jealous.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Ziebron View Post
    Very nice John. Those are great attachments. Your skid steer must have a pretty good lift capacity. They make small grapples that would work on my little Kubota but that would cut my 1000 pound lift capacity by more than half. So I just make do with my homemade fork attachment. Yes, I'm jealous.
    The trade off is always between weight and strength. My dealer friend told me that against advice one contractor went with a lighter-weight skid steer grapple to save money but the machines are so powerful he bent up 6 grapples (and got mad about it!) This one is heavy but would be hard to destroy - the tines are cut from 3/4” steel and the bottom tines with the replaceable teeth are reinforced with additional 3/4” steel. Zowsa! My machine handles the weight fine - but just like with a full bucket of wet gravel (nearly 3000 lbs) be careful going down a hill! (some people add removable weights to the back of the machine for heavy loads)

    There are grapples made for even small tractors which work well and the more limited power keeps them healthy. From the many youtube videos people are putting them to good use. You do have to add extra hydraulics to the front of the tractor which can be expensive. Years ago I had hydraulic ports and controls installed on my Kubota L3830 to add top-and-tilt to the 3pt hitch (a game changer!) and it wasn’t cheap. The tractor grapples are a LOT cheaper than the “severe duty” grapples sold for skid steers. Some people even make their own, a couple of cylinders, some cutting and welding.

    You are smart to add forks - mine fit on both the tractor and skid steers - I usually use them several times a week!

    JKJ

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