I love my thumb!

[arrow]

Last weekend I used my Takeuchi TB175 and cut up enough of 128" log sections to completely fill my dump truck to the point I couldn't get anymore to fit in it. Most were good straight ash about 20" in diameter or so. I used my hydraulic thumb on the excavator to pluck them out of the truck and get seven 18" sections out of each log. Until I went to split all of them in the last couple of days I didn't realize how much more you can fit in a dumptruck compared to a pickup! I'm sick of splitting wood and my log splitter wants to nap in the back of my barn for a while again. However, it sure beats only having a chainsaw, pickup and maul! Compared to that, it's almost like cheating.

Oh, I gotta show him. One of the logs was hollow and this little guy came out of the log just as the splitter was about to get him. After having him a few days now, he prefers to be held and my kids have a ball with him. I had no idea how gentle and friendly the little things are.

You have what I want. I've seen used 145's from 21000 to 39000 bucks. Do not know if the 145 would be large enough however. All I do know is how handy these things are. I also wonder how stable these 10 to 12 ton machines are or even if they can be brought into the woods. It would be sweet to cut up a tree right in the woods and load the sections up on a narrow trailer and bring more wood in with one shot but perhaps I am barking up the wrong tree with working a mini as such.

 

[Dargo]

You have what I want. I've seen used 145's from 21000 to 39000 bucks. Do not know if the 145 would be large enough however. All I do know is how handy these things are. I also wonder how stable these 10 to 12 ton machines are or even if they can be brought into the woods. It would be sweet to cut up a tree right in the woods and load the sections up on a narrow trailer and bring more wood in with one shot but perhaps I am barking up the wrong tree with working a mini as such.

Right now I also have a TB145. About a month I went through and re-adjusted all the line pressures according to the shop manual as a 2000 hour checkup. You wouldn't believe what a 145 will do. It's not much heavier than a Bobcat 435 but, man, talk about a difference in power!! It's been a couple years since I sold the Bobcat, but there's no comparison. The 145 is about as big as you can get and still haul behind a 1 ton pickup. The 175 requires the dump truck to pull it since it weighs, as mine is equipped, right at 19k.

 

[Mousefield]

What is the lift capacity. Are you able to pick up a thousand pound log and walk with it?

Not sure what the weight would be but I have sure moved some good size logs. I would think some have been at least 1000 pounds. I travel very carefully with them, have moved some several hundred feet but always with safety in mind. Don't want to tip the tractor, that would be a bad thing.

 

[adjusterr]

For anyone considering a "Thumb" here is my Bro-Tek thumb in action. Maybe I'm missing something but I can't imagine why a hydraulic thumb is necessary as the bucket provides the same service. This thumb has handled everything I attempted to pickup with it, rocks, 30' logs etc. Best part, it cost about $300. and installs in minutes. Hope this helps.

 

[amazincaucasian]

For anyone considering a "Thumb" here is my Bro-Tek thumb in action. Maybe I'm missing something but I can't imagine why a hydraulic thumb is necessary as the bucket provides the same service. This thumb has handled everything I attempted to pickup with it, rocks, 30' logs etc. Best part, it cost about $300. and installs in minutes. Hope this helps.

Because the hydraulic thumb retracts out of your way when you don't need it. Just like your real thumb

 

[adjusterr]

I appreciate your reply however, for the big difference in cost, I'll climb off the seat, pull two pins, push the thumb away from the bucket, up against the bottom of the boom, pin it in place, throw the top link on the tractor and get back to work. Obviously, it's a matter of preference and dollars. Either way, the thumb is a great tool and all of us who have tractors with thumbs are lucky.

 

[arrow]

Not sure what the weight would be but I have sure moved some good size logs. I would think some have been at least 1000 pounds. I travel very carefully with them, have moved some several hundred feet but always with safety in mind. Don't want to tip the tractor, that would be a bad thing.

If that is a pine or spruce stem, it would weigh around 500# at that length. (I'm guessing around 22'-24') I would need something that would lift that weight and more to a height of 6' to 8'.

 

[Mousefield]

If that is a pine or spruce stem, it would weigh around 500# at that length. (I'm guessing around 22'-24') I would need something that would lift that weight and more to a height of 6' to 8'.

It is a fir log which weighs more than Pine or spruce. I have lifted thicker logs but not as long, want to use but not abuse my equipment. It is also a safety thing for me, the more weight higher up more chance of a problem.
Bigger tractor and backhoe will lift more and higher up.

 

[arrow]

It is a fir log which weighs more than Pine or spruce. I have lifted thicker logs but not as long, want to use but not abuse my equipment. It is also a safety thing for me, the more weight higher up more chance of a problem.
Bigger tractor and backhoe will lift more and higher up.

You are correct. Depending on the species anywhere between 50 to 120# more for the same pine or spruce unless of course its what I call furniture pine (loblolly or Southern yellow) which is heavier than either. You also raise valid points about the safety factor. You are doing large work for a small tractor. It all sets me to thinking about my needs and I appreciate your input.

At my old work site, there was an old (well...I guess it would be old today) Bucyrus Erie with a thumb. I never saw a log that it would not pick up no matter if it was 2' or 6' in diameter. Now with this home owner stuff, I need to be more selective as if I picked up anything like the old BE, that would be all you would see looking out the window no matter which way you looked or for that matter which window you looked out of.

 

[racerboy832]

After running a TB135 with a thumb it was the first thing I made for my little Backhoe. I was going with the fixed one but it was only about $300 to make it hydraulic. Valve was $97, Hoses $100 and I found a cylinder. All the little stuff was about another $100. So total was a few hundred give or take some. I have a big rock pile with 75 percent rock and rest dirt from a guy that was taking way too long trying to pickup just the rock. The thumb will pull the rocks out in no time so I can dump the dirt. If your moving alot of small stuff the Hydraulic is the way to go.