Yet another B7100 FEL build

[Tooljunkie]

It won't be minimal, one cylinder and one pad will move all the way to the end of it's ark, then when it stops the other will go, you'll find out when you get it going.

I'm not really understanding why the blower can't go just in front of the SSQA?
I'm setting mine for just that, granted I'm using a bobcat and hydraulics to do it so no drive shaft to worry about, but all you would have to do is make sure the cross bar is not in the way of the driveshaft.

Wolfman is dead on. The L4610 i ran had no cross tube. Was a total pain to connect implements, being a pin on style some operators were very skilled at bending the hooks. Had to roll full out then back in every time to connect to an attatchment.

 

[torch]

Now that I have both freed up the rusted driveshaft slip joint and mounted the FEL arms, I took some quick measurements. It may be possible to mount the blower ahead of a cross tube. I will take your and Wolfman's recommendations under advisement and do so if at all possible. Thanks for the tips.

 

[torch]

With the major components fabricated, it was time to go back to the subframe. I decided to go with the conventional brace to the axle instead of the drawbar in the end. Yes, removal is more involved, but this is shorter and tighter.

Next I fabbed the braces to the front:

And off for some rust paint. In the store, under the florescent lights, the cap looked a lot closer to Kubota orange than it does in person! Oh well, at least it's orange and will keep the rust at bay for the winter.

The hydraulic components I ordered a few days ago didn't ship out until today. So I won't be able to plumb this until next week . So the only thing I can do in the meantime is make proper pins, bored and cross drilled with grease zerks. Oh, and maybe fit the bucket hooks. So close, and yet so far...

It breaks down into components that are manageable for one man to assemble (or disassemble). And theoretically I will be able to pop the bucket, booms and post assemblies off simply by putting some weight in the bucket, removing 10 bolts and using the hydraulics to curl the assembly up and off the tractor. Theoretically.

 

[Lil Foot]

Looking good. I like the angle iron on the top edge of the bucket.

 

[torch]

Yeah, the hypotenuse of the angle iron is closed by flat bar, similar to your picture. It should provide a nice rigid bar for some bucket hooks. I plan on a grab hook at each boom and a slip hook in the centre.

 

[RCW]

Torch - having a great time following your build.

Thanks!

 

[D2Cat]

A lot of thought and work there Torch! Those front braces will take a lot of force, be sure they are heavy enough to handle it. If they wrinkle under a load you could end up with with more twist then you want to deal with.

 

[Lil Foot]

Yeah, the hypotenuse of the angle iron is closed by flat bar, similar to your picture. It should provide a nice rigid bar for some bucket hooks. I plan on a grab hook at each boom and a slip hook in the centre.

I added mine mainly because the PO would get carried away when mounting the clamp-on bucket forks, and he had bent the top edge of the bucket pretty badly.
After I got it straight, seemed only logical to add a stiffener.

 

[Lil Foot]

Those front braces will take a lot of force, be sure they are heavy enough to handle it.

Braces on the B219 FEL:

 

[torch]

Braces on the B219 FEL:

Hard to judge exactly, but from photo#3 in particular, I would guesstimate those braces to be about 1-1/4" diameter steel tube. From the way it's flattened, perhaps 8 or 10 gauge. So let's say ~.150". I used 1" square tube 0.125" wall. Square tube is inherently more resistant to bending forces than round, so hopefully I'm in the same ball park there and I think my 1-1/4" angle iron joining the square tube to the post is stronger than flattening a piece of tube and bolting it.

I guess time will tell. If it doesn't seem to be sufficient in use then it wouldn't take much to double it up with a second piece of tube welded to the underside of the first.

 

[torch]

After I got it straight, seemed only logical to add a stiffener.

Yup, it's a good place for a rigid backbone. With the QA system, I'm not likely to use bucket forks. Down the road I may make some stand-alone forks that would replace the bucket as needed. Not only easier on the bucket, but it seems to me that it would keep the load's weight closer to the front of the tractor.

 

[Lil Foot]

I would guesstimate those braces to be about 1-1/4" diameter steel tube.

I think they're closer to 2", but unfortunately, the tractor is 150mi from here, & I have no idea when I can get there for an exact measurement. Maybe someone else can measure for us?

 

[torch]

I think they're closer to 2", but unfortunately, the tractor is 150mi from here, & I have no idea when I can get there for an exact measurement. Maybe someone else can measure for us?

1-1/2" maybe? If the lines are 3/8" hose and if the boom is 2" wide and if the headlights are 3-1/2" in diameter, then I don't think those tubes are 2" diameter. But I could be wrong.

Earlier in this thread Wolfman asked how I was going to grease the pins. I bored them axially 1/2 way and cross-drilled 1/2 way at that point. The bore was tapped 1/4-28 to fit a standard zerk. And a groove turned around the circumference at the cross-drilled hole:

It seems to work pretty well. The grease oozes out the joint fairly evenly anyway:

So with all my pins turned, I assembled the bits and pieces. All I need now are the hydraulic components I ordered. Here it is with all cylinders fully retracted:

And I don't think I'll have to worry about a counterbalance -- at least in the winter!

(my uncle, the P.O., had 3 suitcase weights on the front of the tractor to counterbalance the blower )

All the more reason to get the front mount blower operational again. BTW, now that I can physically measure things, I took another look at the tie-bar issue. The drive shaft for the front blower extends 8" -- that is, from fully compressed to the point the tube slides off the square bar is 8". If I plan on approximately 4" of overlap, I think I can just sneak a 1" angle iron tie bar in at the location shown by the blue line:

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

To do the cross bar your going to need something way beefier that 1" angle, I would sat 1" heavy wall pipe at the minimum, most cross tubes are 2" pipe or square tube.

 

[torch]

To do the cross bar your going to need something way beefier that 1" angle, I would sat 1" heavy wall pipe at the minimum, most cross tubes are 2" pipe or square tube.

Really? That seems like overkill on the face of it. All the cross bar has to do is overcome the difference in stiction between the two cylinders when there's nothing attached to the QA. The only time there would be any substantial load on the QA is when there is an attachment hanging off it, such as the bucket, and any torsional forces should be carried by the attachment not the cross bar.

I guess there might be some load during the actual hook-up process, if things are a bit off-level. I'll have another look and see if I can sneak something a little beefier in there.

 

[torch]

It's alive!

There's still some odds and ends to deal with, like tidying up the lines, the cross-bar, etc. but it dug it's first bucket of dirt tonight:

There's no lack of power. I'll have to set the relief valve to limit the lifting force to the capability of the tractor. I plan to fill the bucket with 60 gallons of water and set the relief so it just lifts that. Speed of operation isn't too bad. Nothing to write home about, but acceptable.

And here's some gratuitous shots at various angles:

 

[007kubotaguy]

Torch
That is a good looking loader. Fine job. Do you have a idea what you have in it.
Thanks Lance

 

[torch]

Approximately CDN$1,800 after taxes. That's in the neighbourhood of US$1,300.

 

[Lil Foot]

The B219 braces measure 1.900"- so minus the paint, 1 7/8" nominal diameter. The flattened end measures .320, minus the same amount of paint, approximately .147 nominal wall thickness.

 

[torch]

Well that's certainly closer to 2" than 1-1/4". I'll beef those up a bit more.

BTW: out of curiosity, does your FEL also have bracing to the axle?