B7100 FEL (& 40T press brake)

CypherPhab

New member
Jul 27, 2016
11
1
0
Houston, Tx.
Hey guys I'm new here but been creeping around for a while looking for info on this project and I want to thank you all for the great amount of info on this site. This is a project I'm doing for my father-in-law, as well as one of the first projects for my new fabrication company. It's not quite done yet, but here's where I'm at so far.





I can't stand paying people to do things that I can do myself so when it came to bending the bucket, I did what any logical person would do... built a 40 ton press brake in the garage.






And then, a baby bucket was born...



 

RCW

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
Apr 28, 2013
9,092
5,106
113
Chenango County, NY
Wow - very impressive indeed!!!

Super job. I commend your skills!

We've had some guys here with some amazing projects. I think your BIG homemade press brake is a first.:p
 

Hassman

Member

Equipment
B6001, rotary tiller, weed sprayer
Jun 9, 2016
36
1
8
Chiang Mai Thailand
Really nice work!

Is your FEL made to any drawings or are you making it up as you go?
Do you have any subframe going back to the rear axle or are you bolting the FEL to the existing frame only?

Cheers!
Hasse
 

Yooper

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
3901 LA525
May 31, 2015
1,527
529
113
NE Wisconsin
I like your press brake! What are you using to power it? Looks like a couple of pneumatic over hydraulic pumps. I built a leaf brake years ago with that type of pump and it is still working today with no issues.

Mind if I make a suggestion to improve your brake? Installing a truss rod on the top beam and putting a slight 'crown' in it will help the longer sheets from 'canoeing' in the center. Would be an easy mod.
 

Attachments

coachgeo

Well-known member

Equipment
L225 w/woods Few Mowers & Back Blade, D722 in Motorcycle (Triumph Tiger), LMTV
Nov 16, 2012
2,460
35
48
Southern OH
Concerned that the hydraulic tank or whatever it is you've placed at the grill is going to cause major over heating issues.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
Jun 9, 2013
30,043
6,211
113
Sandpoint, ID
Concerned that the hydraulic tank or whatever it is you've placed at the grill is going to cause major over heating issues.
Coach,
That's the grill of that tractor. ;)
 
Last edited:

coachgeo

Well-known member

Equipment
L225 w/woods Few Mowers & Back Blade, D722 in Motorcycle (Triumph Tiger), LMTV
Nov 16, 2012
2,460
35
48
Southern OH
Coach,
That's the gill of that tractor. ;)


That's a grill? Looks more like Armor Plating lol but yeah.... found a few others with same thing. Is that a fine mesh over a boxed in grill?

 
Last edited:

bmblank

Well-known member

Equipment
2020 L3901HST, LA525 Loader, 66" Q/A Bucket, PFL2042 Forks, Meteor SB68PT Blower
Mar 4, 2015
662
292
63
Cadillac, MI
So how much are you selling FELs for? :-D

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 

torch

Well-known member

Equipment
B7100HSD, B2789, B2550, B4672, 48" cultivator, homemade FEL and Cab
Jun 10, 2016
2,617
864
113
Muskoka, Ont.
Is the finished build in the final photo by coachgeo the same FEL as the OP's partially finished build? If so there were some changes along the way -- including the tractor it's mounted on.
 

bmblank

Well-known member

Equipment
2020 L3901HST, LA525 Loader, 66" Q/A Bucket, PFL2042 Forks, Meteor SB68PT Blower
Mar 4, 2015
662
292
63
Cadillac, MI
I believe coach just found another picture on the internet of a b7100 with the same grill. Not the same fel.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 

D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
13,773
5,469
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
Coachgeo, that screen is box shaped (as you see it) and it snaps in place. When it's removed you see the cooler for the hyd setting down low, and the radiator behind it. No other frame work there.
 

CypherPhab

New member
Jul 27, 2016
11
1
0
Houston, Tx.
Wow - very impressive indeed!!!

Super job. I commend your skills!

We've had some guys here with some amazing projects. I think your BIG homemade press brake is a first.:p
Thanks! Wasn't looking to make anything special, but when I looked at what it would take to do what I needed, it took it's own course and turned out to be much more capable than I imagined. Now looking at making custom bumper dies using the press, should easily be one of the most efficient machines I own when it comes to cost vs profit.

Really nice work!

Is your FEL made to any drawings or are you making it up as you go?
Do you have any subframe going back to the rear axle or are you bolting the FEL to the existing frame only?

Cheers!
Hasse
Thanks! My father-in-law had prints but they were for a different tractor. I used what I could from them, but most of this kit is custom (not one piece is exactly the same as the prints). That said, it would have been easier to start from scratch instead of modifying someone else's design to work. And no, the kit doesn't attach to the rear axle. It will have supports that connect to the bar on the front of the frame, I'll post pics when it's done.

I like your press brake! What are you using to power it? Looks like a couple of pneumatic over hydraulic pumps. I built a leaf brake years ago with that type of pump and it is still working today with no issues.

Mind if I make a suggestion to improve your brake? Installing a truss rod on the top beam and putting a slight 'crown' in it will help the longer sheets from 'canoeing' in the center. Would be an easy mod.
Thanks! You're correct, it uses two air/hydraulic 20 ton jacks to power it. That's a great suggestion too, but this was designed to do tight radius bends at short distances (bumper work). I have changed the design, though, after bending the bucket. When the material comes in, it will have two 1"X6" cold rolled plates sandwiching the die. This will be more than strong enough to keep up with 40 tons of force, while allowing for very aggressive bend geometry on thick gauge pieces.

Concerned that the hydraulic tank or whatever it is you've placed at the grill is going to cause major over heating issues.
Looks like this has already been covered, but to confirm, that's the grill that came with the tractor.

So how much are you selling FELs for? :-D

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Certainly something I'm looking into. After reading some of the terrible stories of QC and customer service on some kits, I'll be seriously considering starting a small line of these loaders. Any suggestions on a reasonable price point is greatly appreciated.

Hi, top class build, would you have any pics of the loader subframe, cheers
Thanks! These are the only other pictures I have at the moment





Is the finished build in the final photo by coachgeo the same FEL as the OP's partially finished build? If so there were some changes along the way -- including the tractor it's mounted on.
No, that's someone else's pic.
 

D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
13,773
5,469
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
CypherPhab, really nice work.

These tractors have a frame that is part of the engine, transmission etc. Not really designed for much of a loader. You really need to consider a support going from the loader tower bottoms to the back axle housing. Could very well keep your tractor from splitting if the loader gets overloaded or off balance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

CypherPhab

New member
Jul 27, 2016
11
1
0
Houston, Tx.
CypherPhab, really nice work.

These tractors have a frame that is part of the engine, transmission etc. Not really designed for much of a loader. You really need to consider a support going from the loader tower bottoms to the back axle housing. Could very well keep your tractor from splitting if the loader gets overloaded or off balance.
That's a great point, I noticed that while building this. I thought with the relatively low impact/weight cap. of this loader that it wouldn't be an issue. Has there been a history of strength/failure issues with this type of setup? (i.e. not using a rear support) I have no problem adding more support if it's necessary, but I don't want to waste time/money if it's not.

Thanks again for the input!
 

Tooljunkie

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L1501,home built carry all, mini plow blade.
May 13, 2014
4,150
33
48
60
Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba,Canada
Plowing snow for example, machine is usually in a higher gear, pound into a curb or something and something may give,hopefully not the tractor breaking something major. Spreading the forces out over more of the machine and shock loads are handled better.
 

Hassman

Member

Equipment
B6001, rotary tiller, weed sprayer
Jun 9, 2016
36
1
8
Chiang Mai Thailand
From what I can tell (after having spent way too much time online) all loaders for these tractors came with a subframe running from the engine subframe back to the rear axle.

I saw one or two posts about tractors with FEL's that were used without subframes and they had bent/stretched the frames/snapped the axle in the clutch housing.

Below is a link to a thread with drawings (work in progress) of a subframe.
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22322&page=3

I am in (painfully slow) process of building a subframe for my B6001.

Cheers,
Hasse