Factory Thumb for GC1700 CB65 Hoe, works good, install is a breeze.

[Bremse]

Thanks! Seems to be a good 4 in shorter but the fully extended position on yours seems to be ok for a mechanical thumb. I'm toying with the idea of replacing the brace with a hydraulic cylinder. I think for that I would go longer, especially if the thumb gets a dedicated valve. I'm still in mild research mode so this thread is giving some good data points when it comes to cylinder sizing.

 

[fxdb96]

My new thumb doesnt retract far enough to get out of the way either. I wonder if it is the wrong thumb - perhaps for a bigger hoe?



Here is my old machine - notice how the thumb retracts further for storage.

 

[CUtiger95]

My new thumb doesnt retract far enough to get out of the way either. I wonder if it is the wrong thumb - perhaps for a bigger hoe?

View attachment 546547

Here is my old machine - notice how the thumb retracts further for storage.
View attachment 546548

Just got my tractor and have the same question/issue. May take it apart and shorten about 3” on the slider arm and redrill the hole. Appears that for some reason they lengthened the throw on it. So far with working in the yard on brush and pushing things around I don’t need the last 2 positions of travel.

 

[cglaser104]

Just got my tractor and have the same question/issue. May take it apart and shorten about 3” on the slider arm and redrill the hole. Appears that for some reason they lengthened the throw on it. So far with working in the yard on brush and pushing things around I don’t need the last 2 positions of travel.

Double check everything and make sure it isn't hanging somewhere. Factory thumb is supposed to go into storage mode and lay back relatively flush. That said, I liked the BXpanded factory fit thumb better than the Massey oem thumb. I liked the curvature of the claw better and thought it the be heavier duty as well.

 

[gojira]

Double check everything and make sure it isn't hanging somewhere. Factory thumb is supposed to go into storage mode and lay back relatively flush. That said, I liked the BXpanded factory fit thumb better than the Massey oem thumb. I liked the curvature of the claw better and thought it the be heavier duty as well.View attachment 606402View attachment 606403View attachment 606404

My BXpanded thumb got here yesterday so I'll be putting that on this weekend; I've got a bunch of rocks I want to move!

 

[cglaser104]

My BXpanded thumb got here yesterday so I'll be putting that on this weekend; I've got a bunch of rocks I want to move!

Awesome! It's a great tool! It's an absolute breeze to install and works like a charm. As soon as it dries out so I can get out back I've got wood to cut, brush piles to grasp and stack and holes to dig with various rocks/concrete chunks to move!

PS, I wiped the shafts of those large brass bolts down with no2 lithium grease just to help them articulate easier when deploying the thumb. You may find it helps a bit vs dry metal on paint.

 

[gojira]

Awesome! It's a great tool! It's an absolute breeze to install and works like a charm. As soon as it dries out so I can get out back I've got wood to cut, brush piles to grasp and stack and holes to dig with various rocks/concrete chunks to move!

PS, I wiped the shafts of those large brass bolts down with no2 lithium grease just to help them articulate easier when deploying the thumb. You may find it helps a bit vs dry metal on paint.

Thanks - great idea. I usually keep a tub of red #2 lithium around for assembly.