Members home made attachments / improvements

[KentT]

I just got done painting and lettering it yesterday, so after the paint has had some time to cure I'll post a few action shots

That's one sweet looking hoe -- looks professional, even more so than the ones made in Tazewell!

What size is that big bucket -- I'm drooling over that!

 

[Rivco]

That's one sweet looking hoe -- looks professional, even more so than the ones made in Tazewell!

What size is that big bucket -- I'm drooling over that!

Thanks Kent- The small bucket is 10" and the larger one is 16". I purchased the bolt on teeth from a local John Deere dealer. As I mentioned earlier I purchased the curl cyl. and buckets from a company in Canada.

 

[Barryh]

Thanks Kent- The small bucket is 10" and the larger one is 16". I purchased the bolt on teeth from a local John Deere dealer. As I mentioned earlier I purchased the curl cyl. and buckets from a company in Canada.

What is the digging depth four foot? Ok I see the 48 on the side now. Like Kent says, and I would have to agree it looks nicer than the stock mini.

 

[Rivco]

What is the digging depth four foot? Like Kent says, and I would have to agree it looks nicer than the stock mini.

Four feet is is about the limit to get a nice flat bottom trench ( hence the name Wolverine MH-48 ). If I curl/extend the bucket all the way up to the dump position I can scrap deeper with the teeth but it won't be a clean trench / hole.

 

[Barryh]

That's one sweet looking hoe -- looks professional, even more so than the ones made in Tazewell!

What size is that big bucket -- I'm drooling over that!

Kent or anyone, wondering how good is the angle of view with the stock hoe from Tazewell when digging?? I will be going with a simple straight 3- 4 foot shaft / boom when I start building mine.

 

[KentT]

Kent or anyone, wondering how good is the angle of view with the stock hoe from Tazewell when digging?? I will be going with a simple straight 3- 4 foot shaft / boom when I start building mine.

The only time I have a problem seeing what I'm doing is if I'm digging something deep, let's say 3' or more. Then, the QA plate tends to block my view of the bucket.

Note one tradeoff that I see with the angled dipper, like Rivco used. I'm not sure that he can lay the bucket flat on the ground like you can with a straight boom. My friend and I have found this useful in two ways:

1. He's cleaned out the fencerows on his property that has a barbed wire fence by sliding the bucket through underneath the bottom wire -- then curling it to pull out bushes, briars, etc.

2. The most power the minihoe seems to have is the "breakout force" of the bucket curl. You can dig or pull something with much more force by laying the bucket flat and curling it, than you can by putting the bucket on it and using reverse on the PT to pull backwards -- or by using the PT's lift-arm bucket curl to pull it (the leverage on the lift arms that far out in front is weaker than the curl cylinder of the minihoe itself). I'm not sure this communicates too well, but that's what we've experienced...

Regardless of straight or angled dipper stick, there will be a "blind spot" somewhere, where the QA plate obscures your view. You can lift (or lower) the arms of the PT and get around this, but like I tried to describe above, the PT lift arms don't give you the "breakout force" of the bucket curl on the minihoe itself...

 

[Rivco]

Note one tradeoff that I see with the angled dipper, like Rivco used. I'm not sure that he can lay the bucket flat on the ground like you can with a straight boom. My friend and I have found this useful in two ways:

1. He's cleaned out the fencerows on his property that has a barbed wire fence by sliding the bucket through underneath the bottom wire -- then curling it to pull out bushes, briars, etc.


That is one disadvantage with the angled dipper arm, But using one of these attachments works pretty slick to get in around & under brush, prying, and back scraping, etc.

 

[Barryh]

The only time I have a problem seeing what I'm doing is if I'm digging something deep, let's say 3' or more. Then, the QA plate tends to block my view of the bucket.

Note one tradeoff that I see with the angled dipper, like Rivco used. I'm not sure that he can lay the bucket flat on the ground like you can with a straight boom. My friend and I have found this useful in two ways:

1. He's cleaned out the fencerows on his property that has a barbed wire fence by sliding the bucket through underneath the bottom wire -- then curling it to pull out bushes, briars, etc.

2. The most power the minihoe seems to have is the "breakout force" of the bucket curl. You can dig or pull something with much more force by laying the bucket flat and curling it, than you can by putting the bucket on it and using reverse on the PT to pull backwards -- or by using the PT's lift-arm bucket curl to pull it (the leverage on the lift arms that far out in front is weaker than the curl cylinder of the minihoe itself). I'm not sure this communicates too well, but that's what we've experienced...

Regardless of straight or angled dipper stick, there will be a "blind spot" somewhere, where the QA plate obscures your view. You can lift (or lower) the arms of the PT and get around this, but like I tried to describe above, the PT lift arms don't give you the "breakout force" of the bucket curl on the minihoe itself...

Not ever using one that's about what I figured, the bucket curl will be your real usable power when digging. It's nice to know you can see what you are digging most of the time.

 

[Barryh]

Note one tradeoff that I see with the angled dipper, like Rivco used. I'm not sure that he can lay the bucket flat on the ground like you can with a straight boom. My friend and I have found this useful in two ways:

1. He's cleaned out the fencerows on his property that has a barbed wire fence by sliding the bucket through underneath the bottom wire -- then curling it to pull out bushes, briars, etc.


That is one disadvantage with the angled dipper arm, But using one of these attachments works pretty slick to get in around & under brush, prying, and back scraping, etc.

Rivco, very nice, that is on my long list of attachments a rake / rock rake with steel tines. This is what I'm doing now before I start my mini hoe. Having a hitch reciever welded up then I can add different plugin attachments as I go. I should have it back next week.

 

[Rivco]

Rivco, very nice, that is on my long list of attachments a rake / rock rake with steel tines. This is what I'm doing now before I start my mini hoe. Having a hitch reciever welded up then I can add different plugin attachments as I go. I should have it back next week.

Barry, That's a great idea !. It makes life a lot easier- just plug in your attachments without having to fabricate a plate (like PT's custom attachment plate $125.00? for our 180's ) for each one.