Tough Enough Articulated Front End Loader

[Keith_1]

Crowie,

I agree - I think Dallas's suggestion as confirmed by Derek could be the way to go.

Keith

[crowie]

Firstly, THANK YOU Keith, Dallas & Derek for the suggestions; I've worked out pegs for 3 of the 5 points on each side, but will have to use screws were the arms join the bucket brackets [M4 S/S Pan Phillips with a Nyloc Nut].......

Handy seems happy with your suggestion on minimal or no screws too so I had to go with it........

The arms are cut out and shaped; the buckets supports are too, though they needed some adjustment after a whole stack of difficulties with glueing the bucket surrounds together.
Of the buckets 4 joins, 3 were re-glued twice & one three times and I still mucked it up...
No biggie though, I just had to redraw & cut the bucket end pieces once the surrounds were dry to make allowance for the personalization of this end of the project.........
I've also cut some bucket bracket support strengtheners to add/glue in beside the bucket brackets to help make the bucket little boy proof....here's hoping.........

Meantime, glue as paint takes a while to dry so I've knocked up another 2 "Pull Along Block Spinners" as the spare I made in the last batch has already gone to a new home; the granddaughter of a local delivery driver whose family is working in South America....wow...got to love hand made wooden toys going to kids to enjoy....

Cheers, crowie

PS - Wally's still not happy as the pond sealer had some cracks/crazing in it, so needed repainting and thus no water for another week....

[Keith_1]

Lots of work there Crowie

Well Done

Keith

[crowie]

Lots of work there Crowie

Well Done

Keith

Yes Keith,
I have realized to get a prefect 22.5Deg along 4.5" on 8 edges is difficult work, but in the end, if it's strong & looks okay, I'm happy..
Cheers, Peter

[crowie]

We are getting there after remaking a few bits and the bucket mounts 3 times....great fun...

The engine cover is now the same timber as the cabin roof thanks to James of Tasmanian Timbers, both Blackheart Sassafras.

The cabin is a recycles piece of Australian Cedar skirting boards from an old farmhouse new Tamworth...

The highlights on the cabin are Western Red Cedar from offcut my father-in-law gave me many years ago...

The Cabin steps are Tassie Oak...

The bucket leaver mechanism is all recycled telegraph pole, so some sort of dense gumtree...

The bucket arms are all old fence palings...

The bucket mounts are merbau and I'll add two dowels through the bucket to each once there in place...

The reason for remaking this a few times was to firstly provide a hole for an axle peg pivot while beefing it up for little boys proofing,
plus to give full clearance on the bucket dump action....

The other modification I've done is to add a 2mm thick teflon washer on the pivot were I've used a M6 S/S bolt for the pivot..

A good mixture of timbers...

Now for the wheels and some extras...
Cheers, crowie..

PS - Thanks gents for the axle peg pivots idea as it does look good and so much better than screws or bolts would have!!!

[Treecycle]

Looking great Crowie. The wait for us has been worth it with lots of progress. The itinerary of timbers just keeps growing. I wish I had as good a knowledge of where all my timber came from.
Where do the top parts pivot (the motor & cabin)? Are they attached to the back section?

[Keith_1]

Really good stuff there Crowie, as you said the other day - it's good to get into the shed (I reckon even if you have to do a few retakes and upgrades).

Looking forward to the next installment

Regards

Keith

[crowie]

Looking great Crowie. The wait for us has been worth it with lots of progress. The itinerary of timbers just keeps growing. I wish I had as good a knowledge of where all my timber came from.
Where do the top parts pivot (the motor & cabin)? Are they attached to the back section?

I'll put the loader apart tomorrow after hydrotherapy Dallas and take a few more photos of how things go together...Cheers, Peter

[oneye]

Looks really great.
I like that you went with axle pegs looks a lot better than screws and bolts.
Can't wait to see it finished.

[crowie]

I'll put the loader apart tomorrow after hydrotherapy Dallas and take a few more photos of how things go together...Cheers, Peter

G'Day Dallas,
As promised a series of photos showing the bucket arm mechanism and the loader articulation pivot....
Note the engine timber block is glued & screwed from underneath as is the bucket arm mechanism pivot base & brace....
The plans called for screw fixing the articulation pivot point but I wasn't happy that, that was "little boy proof" so I've used a M6 x 25mm S/S capscrew with a nyloc nut. The top of the capscrew is recessed into the base of the cabin and filled with glue to hold it securely in place between the cabin & the top plate of the articulation pivot.

I started with the bucket in place and removed the components one lot at a time, taking a photo at each stage completing the photos with the two parts of the loader apart....I hope that helps...the plans is from an old Woodcraft Magazine, July 2013.

Now that lot of photos are done, I have the cabin gluing over the pivot point & capscrew, onto the back half of the loader chassis..
Cheers, Peter

[crowie]

Looks really great.
I like that you went with axle pegs looks a lot better than screws and bolts.
Can't wait to see it finished.

G'Day "oneye",
I too an very pleased with the advice and encouragement I received from the gents on the forum to go with the axle pegs over screws & bolts.....thank you.........it does look so much better....

We have a great mob of blokes here on the toymaking section of the forum, from both around Australia & across the world....such a good place to supported, encouraged and have fun making whatever you can whether it be toys, models or something functional & pretty....thank you on and all!!! Peter

[Treecycle]

Thanks Peter, I understand the construction much better now after seeing it apart. I couldn't see the clearance for it to articulate before.

[Dalboy]

Taking shape Peter and looking good

[Repliconics]

Great watching you and the little blue fellow on another great build.
Smurfalicious even allowing for the Peters sign "which is kool by the way".

Cheers mate
Trev.

[crowie]

Well I've been a bit busy and preoccupied over the past few weeks doing fire engines, garages and blocks for one of our daughters not to mention a gravity incident while attempting soccer with grandsons [I don't bounce as well as I used to these days and everything jars]...
Anyways, I have had some fun shed time as it does occupy ones mind with good things and not the hurts.

The loader has been awaiting some wheels from a very kind fellow forum member who offered to make me a set and while I've waited for the postie to deliver them I thought I'd have a go myself....

I had an old 6" red gum floorboard, 1.5" forstner bit and the 4" T/C holesaw; made up a jig to hold the timber, slowed the drill press to about 380rpm cutting 4 inner blanks & 4 outer blanks....
Then I made the jig from the magazine but as my wheels ended up nearly 3 5/8"dia I had to adjust the centre peg to hold the blanks; set up the dado blades to 1/4" wide & 3/16" deep to have a go....
I am nearly 60yrs young but made the classic apprentice mistake .
I cut all the outer's on the right of the blades and the inner's on the left before doing a glue up....
The result was 4 right hand side wheels....dummy!!!

So to find another length of 6" board, BUT none was found; a quick trip to Recycled Timbers at Warragamba after physio on Tuesday to scrounge some timber [they were good to me giving me 3 1.5mtr lengths of dressed board]...
And I started the whole process again.... ...A much better result, BUT still the wheels aren't as good as I would have hoped...maybe a lathe would have been the ticket BUT I don't have one plus have no room for one....

The next process was to glue the engine hood in place along with the air cleaner & exhaust stack plus the cabin roof.

The last process was to glue the bucket onto the arms and dowel them for strength.........I broke the bucket and had to spend the next 2-3hrs redoing it...very annoying....

I've done the mock-up for the photos while I await the postie, then it'll be 4-6 coats of clear polyurethane and the grandsons will be over the moon; finally finished!!
Cheers, crowie


PS - Apologies for the iPhone photos....