Tools or parts youve built YOURSELF

[77mud]

Pretty cool, i work with a Environmental company that cleans up fuel spills so i have access to a lot of stuff as far as fuel and oil clean up we got these neat thangs called a 'fuel diaper' you can lay it in water and then take it up and it wont be wet but you can lay it in fuel or oil and watch it soak it up pretty neat

[alpha/omega]

Well, I guess Ill resurrect this thread...


I have a need for a boom to extend the reach on my forklift. I ended up with a piece of 4x6x12' .250 rectangle tube from work (16' would have been more idea so that the forks are fully supported but you cant argue with free) I also sourced a pretty beefy eyelet from work. The shank is 1" and the loop is forged - roughly 5/8-3/4" diameter by looking at it. Not sure the rated load but Im damn sure its more than the 6000lb capacity of my lift. I drilled and tapped a piece of 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 square stock 4" long to act as a nut/washer/extra support for the rectangle tube in the portion where Id be lifting - seemed overkill but necessary. Then I put the nut that came with the eyelet on top of the square stock and pinned it with a cotter pin to keep from loosening. At the back side, I welded on a piece of 3/4 x 2 flat bar to limit the down travel of the boom and also a piece of 2x2 square tube to kind of act as a bumper.

here it is...



The fork pockets are 24" and the boom itself is 96" with a 4" offset - total reach is like 98"



I figure the truck weighs no less than 2000-2500lbs in the front as is and I had no trouble picking it up. I really only built the boom to pick up an engine or similar stuff - 750-1000lbs at most.




Ill probably end up welding a safety chain deal to keep it on the forks.

[73 ford guy]

We got one of those at work. It's pretty beef and the tube angles up a bit. I'll see if I can get a pic later.

[alpha/omega]

Forklift has a tilt so angling up the main beam really isnt necessary....especially for what I need to do with it. We have some at the plant also. One has a telescoping inner boom thats pretty slick. The only problem is I dont have metal that will fit in here tight enough to work. Closest I have is 3x5 rectangle tube which will give me about 1/2" of "slop" all the way around which isnt acceptable to me. I could probably live with 1/4" but It wasnt worth lining the inside of the tube. 8' is plenty of reach for me.

[kjett]

Self righting jib crane for the forklift, eh?


Lol

[alpha/omega]

yep...never know when it might flip over backwards unexpectedly.

[73 ford guy]

heres the one we have. It had a SWL (safe work load) tag on it at one time and was tested.

[alpha/omega]

In my self employed/$6 per hour hired help days I never cared much about "rated loads" and etc. I used what I had to do the job I wanted it to do. If it failed I rebuilt and repaired until it would...whatever it took to get the job done as quick and cheap as possible without killing said $6/hr employees.


Now I have the luxury of using equipment at 75% or less of their max load. If I dont have the right tool or equipment for the job the plant buys it for me. Its really changed my opinion of overkill on quite a few things.


Regardless I feel more than confident in the metal used and my welding to lift right up to the max work load for my lift and even more if used on a higher capacity one.

[73 ford guy]

This is just where the strength of welding is critical. I see you run what a miller 251? That piece of tube should be plenty beef and even more so on edge on a vertical lift. Is the piece fully closed on the bottom? Your most critical area is on the fork underside nearest driver.

[alpha/omega]

Its fully boxed tube and welded entirely around..something like 56" of weld per side. And yes, thats what welder I have. 1/2" on a single pass FTW! On the back side of the tube (where the forks contact the tube closest to the mast) I welded on a piece of 3/4x2 flat bar for strength and 4" forward of that I welded a piece of 2x2 square tube as a bumper that ties all 3 pieces of rectangle tube together.

You can see all this in the second pic if you look close.

Like I said, I built this thing to get some engines in and out of my parts shed. I used to have a small electric lift at the building supply that would drive under there without problem but now I dont. I kept my midsized Clark instead.

[kjett]

So we having drunken forklift jousting fights now???

[White Max]

Since it's been resurrected, I figured I'll contribute. I know I've made/modified a bunch of tools over the years, but these two spring to mind right away.

This one is a homemade oil primer for priming freshly rebuilt Ford modulars (though it really could be used to prime just about any engine). FRPP wanted an obscene amount of $$ for their version. This does the same job and only cost me a bug sprayer and some -AN fittings I had in a drawer here.


This one is a homemade engine support truss for dropping a K-member without removing the engine.


If I remember some of the other stuff I've made, I'll post it up.

Edit: I made a 4WD socket for the hub nuts on my '95 F150 simply because I needed one right then/there and didn't have one with me (wasn't at my shop at the time). That consisted of four pieces of keyway welded to a pipe, with a washer and nut welded to the other end. It's probably riding around in my truck's toolbox, so I'll snap a pic of it if I remember to.

[Midnite1987]

My old 92 f150 with the 5speed I had a chunk of 1/2" heavy chain I welded straight and welded just the ends of the original shifter to each end and painted It black. I thought it looked good

[White Max]

I just realized that this thread is for parts, too, not just tools. This is just a little sample of some of the stuff I've made over the years.

Front winch bumper:


Steps:


Subframe connectors:


Driveshaft safety loop:



Engine-turned panels:


Engine-turned radiator cover:


Alternator bracket:


Steel cowl hood made from one stock hood, one York home air conditioner unit, and one garbage disposal. Sheetmetal is sheetmetal.




Differential cover brace:


Rear shock tower brace, V-brace, and aluminum firewall:


Battery box and subwoofer enclosure:


Plow mount for the Bobcat:


18' (16' + 2' dovetail) steel decked car hauler. 3500# axles, electric brakes on both axles, frenched clearance lights in fenders, extra long ramps, etc. This pic was taken right after I "finished" it last fall. I still need to mount the tongue box and winch to it before it's truly finished.

[lamont genkins]

im in process of making a front hub puller for my 4x4 hubs they r very exspensive to buy and im poor i will send a pick when im done...im sure someone has done this before