Backhoe Kubota B26 Manual Thumb for BT820

[traneld]

I have attached a summary PDF file of the manual thumb addition I did for my Kubota B26 which has the BT820 backhoe. Kubota does not offer a manual thumb for this backhoe and I could not justify the expense of adding the backhoe third function hydraulics to my machine. I purchased the pins and thumb Weldment from Kubota (just in case I want to add the hydraulics in the future). I thought I would share what I did as I have seen posts on other forms about others wanting to do the same. I mimicked the Kubota 2650 manual thumb arm design. The dimensions should help you get close. If I was ambitious I would tweak the neck offset on the inner arm to tighten the retracted position of the thumb a little bit but it is not worth it in my situation. I took my sketches and wooden prototype to a machine shop to get the welding done and they were a little too professional. They custom machined the end bushings which was beyond what I had expected and made everything greaseable. The tractor was 3 hours away so the tack weld fit-up test was skipped.

 

[tacticalturnip]

I'll give this a bump, I'm sure your schematics will be useful for someone, or inspire them!

 

[Smokeydog]

Good job! Appears you got usage time also to appreciate the the thumb’s capabilities. Smart design to easily incorporate hydraulic control in the future.

The B26 was my first experience with a thumb. Only way to go now.