Loader Bx thumb

adjusterr · Dec 12, 2010

I'll vote for the Bro-tek thumb. have been using one on my Kubota L2250 with a Woods Groundbreaker 7500, to pickup and hold logs for firewood cutting. The thumb works perfectly, no sliding on the boom and no real learning time required. I just placed the thumb against a 25' log, roataed the bucket down against the log and it picked it up just like I knew what I was doing. Richard at Bro-Tek is great to work with and backs up his product. Check out their site at Bro-Tek: Tractor Add Ons. Good luck with your thumb.

radioman · Dec 12, 2010

hedgy- thanks for your input- I am glad to see someone to put in the time and effort to make sure its top notch the best you can- and all this for free? Kudos! :thumbsup:

Ken_CT · Dec 12, 2010

I have had the Bro-Tek thumb on my BX23 for about 3 years and I am happy with it, no problems. I can't compare it with the Wallenstein as I have never seen one in use.

TonyF · Dec 12, 2010

Shmudda said:
...Whatever you do, don't weld anything to your dipper stick! The material gage is to thin and you will have problems with the welds cracking and breaking....

I'd suggest that the cause for the cracking is not so much the welding itself, but the manner in which its welded.

Many aftermarket thumb providers offer a thumb hinge or cylinder mount perfectly square. The welded straight edges across the dipperstick create a huge stress point for the dipperstick during digging. Rather the mounts should be vee'd or otherwise angled. Some of the more knowledgeable thumb shops will instruct you to not weld across the dipperstick , only vertically along the sides.

Here's a pic of the thumb cylinder mount for my mini-ex. Kubota has it right.

Tony

Tollster · Dec 12, 2010

TonyF said:
I'd suggest that the cause for the cracking is not so much the welding itself, but the manner in which its welded.

Many aftermarket thumb providers offer a thumb hinge or cylinder mount perfectly square. The welded straight edges across the dipperstick create a huge stress point for the dipperstick during digging. Rather the mounts should be vee'd or otherwise angled. Some of the more knowledgeable thumb shops will instruct you to not weld across the dipperstick , only vertically along the sides.

Here's a pic of the thumb cylinder mount for my mini-ex. Kubota has it right.

Tony

As a welding inspector, I say he's right!

Shmudda · Dec 13, 2010

This is the same theory we use in the mill when attaching something to structural steel building columns. We can weld along the length of the column, but not across the face as thats the tension or compression side depending how it's loaded.

I agree with this welding procedure too......

Craig

Tom_H · Dec 13, 2010

There must be 50 threads on this topic in the archives, some of which go on for pages and pages and pages. If you care to read all the discussion, just do a search for "BX" and "thumb" together in the first 2 Kubota forums. I think I can sum it all up pretty succinctly in saying this: The Bro-tek has always had nothing but positive reports. The early Wallensteins had design flaws and many buckled under the hydraulic pressure. The manufacturer kept trying, however, and apparently, the fourth generation was the charm. Generations 1-3 had failures, but the 4th (current) generation, which has now been on the market for several years, has not had any failures reported here that I can remember. If you are buying new, either should do fine. If you are buying used, any Bro-tek is o.k., but if it's Wallenstein, find out what generation before purchasing.