john deere 260 backhoe ripper

[swick1]

I just finished the bushings to retain the bucket pins and sprayed on a primer coat because it was starting to get rust spots.

 

[IslandTractor]

I just finished the bushings to retain the bucket pins and sprayed on a primer coat because it was starting to get rust spots.

I assure you the paint will be removed with your first couple of stumps. And, after developing a thin coat of rust, another stump job will shine it up again.

Don't get paint in the pin holes or it will be a pain to mount.

 

[swick1]

I got some paint inside the pin holes but I plan on taking it out with my die grinder.

 

[Coyote machine]

I like the ripper, BUT I don't understand why you put the teeth on the backside and not on the concave, cutting edge side?
Could you also comment on how the ripper is working for you, and any things you might do differently after having used it in the field?

Thanks a bunch,

CM

 

[swick1]

I got a personal message from Tom that I'm replying to here for everyone's benefit...


"swick1,

I was looking at your posts for the ripper... very nice!

Did you ever fabricate and test your design? I just bought a used JD 2305 with a 260 BH and I've got about 60 small tree stumps to pull. I'm thinking of fabricating or buying a ripper and also a back hoe storage cart. Your design looks way better than the Bro-tek that I've seen.

I'm an electrical engineer and I work with various CAD packages such as AutoCAD 3D and Soildworks. I wondering how you were able to generate the geometry for the back hoe itself... did you measure all that up?

thanks,

-Tom"

The ripper didn't work as well as I wanted it to. The breakout force is much better than the bucket 12" bucket, but I had higher expectations from reading everyone else's posts about the brotek. I never built the pin-on cradle for the back of it because I was waiting until I made contact with somebody who could bend 1/2" plate. If it had the scoop on the back it wouldn't sink into the ground as bad. Right now it lifts the front of my machine off the ground when I curl behind a big root. The teeth will chew up a root, but it's still slower than using a sawzall with a tree pruning blade. If the tooth geometry was optimized it may work better, but they get bogged down because they are so wide if you don't take light cuts. The pruning blade doesn't get dull in the dirt like a chainsaw blade. The battery powered dewalt I had wasn't up to the job. I had to put an extension cord on my milwaukee to cut up about 8 roots that were over 12" in diameter yesterday. A trencher would be better if you could rent one, but since I already own the backhoe, it works well. I haven't tried to pull any stumps with it yet, just cleaning up the trench as I dug it. I guess i'd give it a 7/10 given my high expectations. Worth doing, but not as great as I had hoped.

As far as the dimensions, they were a little off. I measured a lot of points with a tape measure on my backhoe to draw it. It doesn't hit my boom, but when fully curled it touches my thumb.

Concerning future design changes, I am going to change the chipping tooth geometry to provide a more aggressive cut by introducing 3 serrations into the front edge. The teeth on the back are okay, but could be better if they were a finer pitch since it's 1" thick. I think 3/4" or maybe even 1/2" would be strong enough for the swing on our 260 backhoes. This would improve cutting ability.

Here's the blade I used with the sawzall. It's great except for making your hands hurt from the vibration. I spent 8 hours doing this yesterday cutting live oak roots over 12" in diameter.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-RP125-12-Inch-Cutting-reciprocating/dp/B000FAPPAA/ref=pd_cp_hi_2[/ame]

 

[swick1]

By the way, the project I did with it yesterday would be tough for any small machine. 15' of trench with 5 roots over 12", 10 roots over 8", and about 4 roots over 4". Maybe my assessment would be better if I had an easier job!

 

[swick1]

I like the ripper, BUT I don't understand why you put the teeth on the backside and not on the concave, cutting edge side?
Could you also comment on how the ripper is working for you, and any things you might do differently after having used it in the field?

Thanks a bunch,

CM

I put them on the back side because when you uncurl they follow a progressive arc, each one taking a slightly deeper cut. I think I overbuilt it a bit too much. A thinner shank would cut better, maybe 3/4 or 1/2".

 

[IslandTractor]

The ripper didn't work as well as I wanted it to. The breakout force is much better than the bucket 12" bucket, but I had higher expectations from reading everyone else's posts about the brotek. I never built the pin-on cradle for the back of it because I was waiting until I made contact with somebody who could bend 1/2" plate. If it had the scoop on the back it wouldn't sink into the ground as bad.

I had a ripper fabricated by Michigan Iron and Equipment that includes a backplate which serves two purposes. First is that it scoops out the spoils kind of like a hoe and therefore allows me to dig with the ripper. The secondary function is that the backplate prevents the ripper back from sinking into the dirt and therefore when I curl it actually excerts upward force on the root. I've attached a few photos. It would be easy to modify yours.

I also have a thread on my ripper in the attachments section if you search on ripper and Island Tractor.

I like the rippled cutting edge you put on the back of your ripper. I would put a few similar divots on the top of the front blade to snag the roots that are not cut with the first pass. That would cut a chunk out and make the next pass more effective.

 

[swick1]

I posted some pictures of the ripper in use here:

gas line root ripping pictures by backhoeworks - Photobucket

 

[Coyote machine]

Speaking of ripper tooth's, ( teeth?:confused2::laughing, I just got word from Bob at Michigan Iron & Equipment, (MIE), that what I've dubbed the "CLAW", the revised version, (or version 2.0) has been shipped out to me as of today! Yeah! I can't wait to see it and put it to use. It's going to be AWESOME! It will have sharp jagged teeth on both the front AND back side to allow no mercy for the roots around me; hence the name 'the claw'.
It should be like 'Freddie Kruger' and chainsaw massacre all wrapped up in one!:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Yes, pics will be forthcoming, but I have to get it here first, so hang on guys, sooner than later.