Backhoe extension/rake

[frasierdog]

I have a JD 4110 w/ 46 BH (21hp,smallest) I live in CT - hilly, rocky and full of woods. Trying to clear and clean my lot of saplings, leaves and poison ivy. Not much reach w / BH and hills make it hard to get around. Thinking of extension arm w/ homemade rake to yank up saplings and ivy. Will have to work around rocks, boulders and stumps.
Think I could add bolt on plates w/ large pin/pipe to attach long alum structural pipe (7ft x 3-4" dia) then create 4ft rake using penny nails in wood or pipe? I could then attach rake to pin and use BH bucket uncurl/extend to lift/drop rake handle and then pull in using normal BH. The rake would then drag on ground pivoting on Bucket arm. If I place pivot close enuf to bucket, then as I uncurl bucket, I could adjust rake pressure on ground. Any ideas?
I figured I could add bucket teeth and back grade to till/clean soil. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

I think you could make the extension but it would be hard to manuverwith it on and dangerous as the extension handle on the bucket mount would require the stick to be extended up during transport to give it minimum clearance for the rake to miss the ground while in transit. I operated an excavator once that had a rig like that called an adde a stick. Its made by PWCE and its an extrea boom where your bucket goes, Make a 100,000 pond excavator top heavy. You also looase bucket capcity and its rough on the radius links on the bucket and the cylinder. It also requises a splitter valve for the buckets new location. On the rake part I would have a welding shop make some short brush rake tines out of 9/16ths plate or 5/8ths plate. and about10 to 12 inches long with angled bottomes to help cradle the brush. Ive makde large rakes for Backhoes and excavators that worked pretty good but I never tried one for a smaller machine. I think you shoul try just a rake part then later the boom extension. I had a friend that needed a longer boom in his Kubota hoe for cleaning out some cat tails in his pond so he fabbed a longer dipper stick and a rake and a slightly smaller bucket. he had to travel more carefully as he was now topheavy but it worked pretty good.

 

[frasierdog]

Thanks for the concern, My idea attached to the end of the bucket arm (1-2ft above bucket) and hinged on a pin crossing above the bucket hyd piston. The rake would only have it's own weight pushing down on the tines. If moving to new spot, fold back up and tie off along bucket arm. The hinge pin would be attached to 2 side plates bolted across the bucket arm under the piston, with the hinge pin a couple of inches above piston. The rake would be a 2-3'' pipe (handle) w/ smaller pipe have penny nails going thru holes drilled along length, I would attach to handle using 2 U-bolts and weld a backing plate to end of rake handle.