Chain On Brush Forks & Cutter Blade

[DonDC]

This is only my second attempt as a new welder with absolutely no experience so all you great fabricators out there, please forgive the nature of my welds. I decided to try and build a set of "Chain On" bucket brush forks for my sons new B7001 for dealing with brush removal, black berry and other thorny growth that we get a lot of in our wet climate on Vancouver Island. A regular FEL bucket is not much good at picking up up brush etc unless you load it by hand. My objective was to build something that would cut smaller brush growth with the tractor and pick up small brush piles for stacking and burning. I will post below some pictures of the results of my attempt and maybe give someone an idea to make an improved model for their tractor. The cutter blade bolts on to the forks so it can be removed for sharpening and if you want to use the forks for other lifting.

 

[DonDC]

The forks are assembled and blade ready for hardening

 

[DonDC]

Painted and installed on the tractor bucket. Hopefully from the views you will be able to understand the construction.

 

[dce]

I like that. I need one.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Not bad at all. Atleast with the tooth bar cutter you can slide it all the way out front and slice threw the crap and not get your tires in the thorns and have flat tires at the end of the day.

 

[RD Gray]

Nice, nice work.

 

[ipz2222]

I think the angle of the ( the side you sharpen) should have come up from the bottom. It still looks like a great idea. Let us know how it works and if you have to change anything.

 

[gpreuss]

It looks GREAT! Especially after painting it orange...
Let us know how it works. I'd think it would be great for picking up cut brush, but think you are in for a mess trying to cut the brush. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[DonDC]

I gave the brush forks a try this afternoon on a bunch of blackberries and the cutter worked okay on stuff less than 1 inch thick at the base. The biggest problem was the overhanging stuff getting in the way. I also had to watch getting into heavy thick growth and only take a partial bite at it otherwise it gets too heavy on the front end when you try to push through it. One must allways remain cognisant of the extra leverage on the tracktor of the extended forks on the bucket. I would not want to do it on any kind of an incline. Hauling and dumping was a snap so I would say the attachment was overall reasonably successful and worth the time and effort to build them.

 

[gpreuss]

Thank you for the comments. I like the looks of the forks - think they would be great for driving into a brush pile and coming up with a load. If I understand you, the cutters work for a few feet at a time, which is certainly better than not at all. GREAT JOB!