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Tilt Gauge Guides Loader Bucket
Clifford Tonsfeldt has no problem adjusting the tilt on his loader bucket, thanks to his homemade tilt gauge. Attached to a loader arm, the gauge tells him at a glance how much the bucket is tipped.
"I've used the indicator for about 25 years," says Tonsfeldt. "I've replaced the bucket, but the indicator still works fine. It lets me know the bucket angle if I'm digging or picking up material."
The gauge is a piece of scrap metal with an upside down T-shaped needle that pivots at the bottom center of the gauge face. The gauge is mounted to one arm of the loader. A spring attaches to the lower left arm of the needle.
A cable runs from the lower right arm of the needle down and through a pulley to the bucket. It's anchored to a point just above the loader arm mounting pin.
When the bucket tips downward, the needle tip is pulled to the left. When the bucket tips up, loosening the cable, the spring pulls the needle to the right.
"I think the gauge face was from a brake drum off a really old car," says Tonsfeldt. "I just painted marks on the gauge to indicate tilt. They don't relate to degrees of tilt, but I know what they mean."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clifford Tonsfeldt, 21 W. 4th St., no. 466, Remsen, Iowa 51050 (ph 712 786-2206).


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2011 - Volume #35, Issue #4