Case forks top rod

[outlawspeeder]

I have a line on a set of forks that might work for me. They are missing the top rod? What size should the rod be? And is it soild?
The forks are 4foot tall / 4 foot long. The hole at the the top is a 2 ibnch hole. If that is not right . let me know. I've only seen pictures of them. My bucket had hooks but are bent over and would need to be built/bought.

 

[HarleyHappy]

My I believe factory Case forks for my 580 SE is actually 2 rods a 2” and a 1” welded together, not sure if someone added the xtra rod. I had to straighten the rods out and now they slip right in the hooks.

 

[berky]

My forks are aftermarket, but made in the US. The bar is 2” solid. Made out of 1144 stress proof steel. I have five brackets on my 96” front bucket. It does limit the available spacing options, but haven’t found a situation where they didn’t work. I have seen so many of those 3 support bucket with a rod that looks like a pretzel. Just not enough support for the rod.

 

[outlawspeeder]

I've seen forks without the bar. I figure someone had to cut it to get it off the bucket. I like the support part but 1144 is a poor choice if welding caps on the end.
It will go with more hooks. It sound like the rod is 2".

 

[berky]

Don’t understand why anyone would want to weld on caps on the bar. What do you do if you want to remove the bar? I used double split shaft retainers on mine. For about $15 each (2” shaft) you now make the bar serviceable. I knocked mine out myself on my lathe and milling machine. The 2” ID ones you can buy only have a 3”OD. I wanted something giving more surface area where it bears on the outside of the bucket brackets so I made mine about 3-5/8 OD. Adjust their placement on the bar by leaving about 1/2-3/4” clearance on the bucket bracket. It can move but not much.

 

[outlawspeeder]

Good plan I like that in place of welding.