Backhoe Need help choosing a backhoe

[3RRL]

I don't think this would be difficult at all to fabricate and could be close to trivial for a shop with a CAD system plasma cutter and any 220v welder. I'd think about 1/2 mild steel (??maybe more)would provide sufficient material strength for an 18 inch ripper for my Woods BH90x but that is just guess.

Island,
You know that articulating mechanical thumb I made for may backhoe?



Well, I used 2 pcs of 1/2" thick material in several places. They ended up bending easily and I had to replace them with 1" thick...2 places mind you. I would consider 1-1/2" thickness for the ripper shank as a minimum. You could do that by welding 2 scarifiers together.

Another thing I would do is make (or buy) the tooth so it is at least 2" wide and then weld a blade on top of the shanks so I could sharpen it. Why?
The tooth is for digging and the sharpened top of the shank blade would be for cutting and ripping the roots. It should not be thin like a knife blade but more blunt and wide like a wedge. You are right about having minimal ground disturbance that way. I have thought about making one myself, but it's way down my list of priorities at this time.

 

[john_bud]

Given the cost of a BH attachment like a Bradco 511 or similar, I would consider getting a used full size construction machine for about the same $$ .


Check out the Bobcat B100's. You can get one with 1-2000 hours for 10k to 15k. That's in the same ball park as a Bradco 511 with subframe, extra bucket and PTO pump.

Machinerytrader has some ....

jb

 

[IslandTractor]

Island,
You know that articulating mechanical thumb I made for may backhoe?

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i106/rliefveld/BACKHOE THUMB/DSCN6258Medium.jpg Well, I used 2 pcs of 1/2" thick material in several places. They ended up bending easily and I had to replace them with 1" thick...2 places mind you. I would consider 1-1/2" thickness for the ripper shank as a minimum. You could do that by welding 2 scarifiers together.

Yes, I understand. When I went back and looked at the specs for a commercial ripper tooth I saw that they specified 30mm steel for the shank which is about 1.25 inch. I'll see whether it makes more sense to weld something like that or I presume 1.5 inch stock is available. I like your idea of welding on a digger tooth to the tip and treating the shank separately as a cutting wedge. I'd imagine a 45 degree wedge would be the strongest and adequate for ripping up roots.

 

[3RRL]

Yes, I understand. When I went back and looked at the specs for a commercial ripper tooth I saw that they specified 30mm steel for the shank which is about 1.25 inch. I'll see whether it makes more sense to weld something like that or I presume 1.5 inch stock is available. I like your idea of welding on a digger tooth to the tip and treating the shank separately as a cutting wedge. I'd imagine a 45 degree wedge would be the strongest and adequate for ripping up roots.

Right, that's exactly what I had in mind.