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QUESTION:My new (to me) forklift has 36" long forks. This isn't working, they need
to be 42" or 44".
I'm thinking of welding a 1/2" X 6" by about 18" piece of flat stock to the
tapered underside end of the fork to extend them 6" or 8". Any special
procedures to weld on forks? What material (4140?) should I purchase for
this job?
ANSWER: I have seen this done frequently. If you have bulky loads that
are simply too big to handle rather than too heavy, you may be
OK. It may be worth a call to the fork truck manufacturer to see
what they have available off the shelf in the way of extend forks
or fork extensions.
Several problems:
(1) Longer forks *WON'T* increase the total [weight] load
capacity.
(2) Longer forks by putting the center of gravity of the load
further from the center of gravity of the fork truck may
operationally *REDUCE* the load capacity because of the tendency
to tip forward under load. See recent thread on adding ballast
to the rear of the fork truck.
(3) Welding on the forks *MAY* reduce the strength, and you can't
remove the extensions if you need/want to.
I have seen fork extensions that simply slipped over/around the
existing forks. Generally these were left loose, but could be
bolted, pinned or chained in place if desired/required. You may
be able to get by with two pieces of rectangular steel tubing or
channal iron with some straps welded across the open side.
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