BH80-X Thumb - Pics and Video!

[DiezNutz]

This started out as dialogue between Hazmat and myself in an unrelated thread, but I took Haz's advice and figured it was worthy of a new thread (as opposed to being buried into relative obscurity). Here's the background:

PS - I meant to ask you - how does the 12" bucket work with the thumb? I've got an 18" & 9" bucket. The sides of the 9" interfere with the thumb - doesn't work so hot... I understand that on anything smaller than the 16" bucket the teeth may not line up.

It works fine with the 12" but the sides of the thumb just fit between the two outer teeth...so I can picture what you're saying about the 9". The shearing action on the 12" is pretty good, will snap smaller limbs in two like a snapping turtle. I'll get a couple of pics for you. I almost bought a 9" thinking it might be cheaper and better to trench with, but it was only $50 less than the 12". Price differences between the various buckets isn't as much as one might think... seems to be a hefty upfront "bucket tax" that's a big chunk of every one.

The statement in blue is indeed true as the 12" bucket and thumb do not mesh completely. It does not have the more serious problem Haz describes, where the thumb interferes with the curling the 9" bucket. Just something to be aware of when making bucket selections.

When the thumb is stowed, a fully curled bucket barely touches it, therefore it doesn't interfere with anything. The thumb does fit inside any bucket 12" & up. When the thumb is down, the 12" bucket leaves a small gap behind the teeth. I claim it works fine because anything smaller than this gap, I wouldn't really need the BH & thumb to pick up in the first place. The thumb and 24" bucket do mesh completely, as I suspect any bucket wider than 12" would.

On to the pics...

 

[DiezNutz]

Now for some video. OK, realize these are completely staged as I'm not currently working on anything that needs the thumb...best I could do on short notice. But it should give you some good ideas of what it's capable of, including ripping out dense underbrush and small trees. I have picked up or drug much larger tree trunks and limbs than this, but it dawned of me that currently all the big stuff is cut & stacked for firewood.

Video of BH80-X Brush Cleanup - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

This next one, the first and last limbs are about 2" dia. The second one is about 3" dia. Keep in mind, this also works great for ripping & crushing tree roots, as I've done many times. You can see from the earlier Mesh pics how the 12" bucket provides a nice scissor action against the thumb.

Video of BH80-X Snappin Turtle - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

 

[DiezNutz]

I found this pic from right after I got the tractor (when it had barely a scratch on it ), was my first stump (OK it isn't going to break any records). All that "debris" you see lying on the ground around the hole is pieces of root that I ripped out courtesy of the thumb (crush & rip), and I didn't even have it lowered. IIRC, the entire affair took about 15 minutes. I've picked up stumps about twice this size. If you push them onto their side, then you can just grab them with the thumb and drive off.

Sorry no pics of rocks, I have yet to run into any big ones here yet, digging or otherwise.

 

[ducati996]

Very cool and informative -thanks for sharing!

 

[The Gardener]

Great fun watching a BH in action. Thanks so much for offering these video clips. They have furthered our resolve to make a decision and a purchase by next spring.

The Gardener

 

[hazmat]

Nice Pix. Thanks for taking the time. I'll shoot some of the 9" vs. the 18" next time I have the hoe hooked up (could be a while).

 

[DiezNutz]

Glad you guys enjoyed them. While doing this I realized I should grab the camera more often when doing actual work...
Anyone else have some Woods Thumb pics or video? Go ahead and post up!​

 

[The Gardener]

Glad you guys enjoyed them.

We did, and it's just as enjoyable to see someone who is clearly loving his tractor and all that it can do.

I second the request for any and all images of jobs in progress and completed using your Kubota. For novice pursuers such as me, seeing images of projects being tackled really helps to define the type of tractor, the size, and the implements that I should consider.

Great stuff!
The Gardener

 

[DiezNutz]

OK, maybe these will be slightly more impressive... add "Cant Hook" to the list of uses for a BH80-X & Thumb.
One of this evening's projects was bucking the remaining half of a wild cherry tree that keeled over a couple of weeks ago (rotting below ground, had no idea). This fella was 11" where I left off last time, and 20" near the base. The BH struggled just a little bit to hoist this one at first, but it's great having the tree at a nice working level for the chainsaw.




I worked my way down the trunk about 4' at a time... At this point it was getting almost too big to get a grasp on. The BH had no trouble picking the whole trunk up now, so I proceeded to "burn the candle from both ends", so to speak. Sure makes these jobs faster & easier.




Final result:

 

[The Gardener]

Perfectly timed for the upcoming winter. Do you have a splitter? I would sure enjoy having a tree held at working height vs the lean over cutting that I have done for years.

BTW, how did you put your pictures in the actual post vs a link?

The Gardener