My 3RRL-Larry-Loretta-Grapples-ETC

[quikduk]

Thanks Rob. The design works so well thanks to you and Larry.

What is funny about the paint is that my son asked why I painted it since it would get scratched up at first use. I started to say why but he cut me off saying, "Oh, nevermind. It is for the photo-op for your Chinese Tractor Website..."

;D ;D ;D

[quikduk]

I tested the grapple hydraulics this past weekend and have a few questions for Rob and Larry.

I temp. wired the solenoid so I could power it up and check for leaks (found two but fixed them right away... ). When I opened the grapple, it seemed a bit abrupt and the stops at the back of the jaws didn't bottom on the 1/2" support plate...but the front cylinder clevis did on the cylinder body.

Do I need to weld some flat bar as spacers to the 1/2" plate to take up the slack so the cylinder doesn't bottom? I was more concerned with over extension when I set it up.

How do I smooth out the hyd. opening action of the grapple? The closing is a bit smoother.

Another thing is that on the "raise" action of the new FEL valve, the spool doesn't "snap back" to center unless I give it a gentle nudge. I wasn't going to worry about this...but...if you aren't paying attention, the loader would lift to max height, possibly at an inopportune time. Perhaps it will smooth out with use and I don't think I got any debris in there during assembly but I am wondering if that spool is defective, scored etc. What would cause the "sticking" since everything is new including fluid, filter, fittings, lines etc. ?

I remember it sticking a bit before I painted the body so I am wondering if this is a manufacturing issue. All of the other functions/directions work well.

[3RRL]

Jun 9, 2008 10:26:11 GMT -5 quikduk said:

I tested the grapple hydraulics this past weekend and have a few questions for Rob and Larry.

I temp. wired the solenoid so I could power it up and check for leaks (found two but fixed them right away... ). When I opened the grapple, it seemed a bit abrupt and the stops at the back of the jaws didn't bottom on the 1/2" support plate...but the front cylinder clevis did on the cylinder body.

Do I need to weld some flat bar as spacers to the 1/2" plate to take up the slack so the cylinder doesn't bottom? I was more concerned with over extension when I set it up.

How do I smooth out the hyd. opening action of the grapple? The closing is a bit smoother.

Another thing is that on the "raise" action of the new FEL valve, the spool doesn't "snap back" to center unless I give it a gentle nudge. I wasn't going to worry about this...but...if you aren't paying attention, the loader would lift to max height, possibly at an inopportune time. Perhaps it will smooth out with use and I don't think I got any debris in there during assembly but I am wondering if that spool is defective, scored etc. What would cause the "sticking" since everything is new including fluid, filter, fittings, lines etc. ?

I remember it sticking a bit before I painted the body so I am wondering if this is a manufacturing issue. All of the other functions/directions work well.

Good news you finally got everything working Ken.
About the opening and not hitting the stops...is it fully opening?
When you welded the pivots on, trying the jaws fully open did they hit then? They should have. So maybe you can adjust the cylinder threaded front clevis to suck the jaws fully open. Otherwise, it is no big deal. the stops are there so it won't flip over backwards. If you like where the grapple sits now in relation to the teeth when closed, you can leave it or weld some stops ... your choice. When I adjust Loretta's, the more they hit the front lip, the farther they are from the stops at full open. And visa versa, when they hit the stops, there is a small gap at the front lip. Remember the basic design was for Larry's bucket and if yours is slightly taller, there would be a slight difference. As I recall, his bucket was a little flatter (not as tall) as our buckets. I think it might also have to do with how good you got the pivots lined up before welding and also the play in pivots due to the clearance. In any case, none of the other grapple designs I've seen has that feature, so it should be fine as is. To be certain it NEVER flips over backwards, weld a little sop there.

I will probably weld a little stop for Loretta's to be sure that doesn't happen.
Funny you mentioned that though. I've heard that the Andy Tatro grapples do this but it's never happened to me on the Kama. That is until last weekend. I was pushing some tree branches down while clearing (in th log home thread) and one of the grapples flipped over backwards. I hit a tree stump. I had to get the bucket and grapple jaw under a tree limb, raise the bucket to force it back over. So now I will modify those jaws to be like my design with the stops on it.

Regarding the jerkiness, you might want to install flow restrictors in the lines to slow it down some. That might help with the smoothness a little. I don't know about your new FEL valve. It should return to center. My guess it's a sticky valve caused by