Thumb ... GEEZ IT"S HANDY !!!

[HomeBrew2]

Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

Hard to imagine how I ever got along without it.
Pretty simple bolt-on design.
Material is from 3/8" x 1.5" concrete form stakes.
Of course, after putting it to use, I have some design flaws but none are evidenced buy falure of the thumb itself nor breaking part of baby.
Cheers!

 

[HomeBrew2]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

On to getting trash outta the creek...

 

[jim_wilson]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

I think this is the first time I have seen anybody put a thumb on a BX23. It looks good - I have been toying with the idea of putting one on my BX too but I haven't yet seen one small enough to fit the BX23 backhoe - I want one that folds out of the way so I don't have to unbolt it when I am not using it.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

Hmmmm, I hadn't even thought about folding it back cuz it only has 4 bolts attaching it ... but, I removed all but the foreward top bolt and it folded back pretty nicely. I'm thinking if one used 1/2" pins with hairpin retainers, it would probably fold up out of the way enough to get, at least, most normal backhoe work done ... who'd-a thunk it. Thanks for the thought Jim.
Cheers!

 

[SkyPup]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

That is a nice setup, and easy to remove too. Have you seen the other mechanical fold away style of BH thumbs? Yours could easily be adapted as a bolt-on type of mechanical fold away. That is some nice work! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[HomeBrew2]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

Thanks, skypup.
Ya know, I don't remember seeing a foldup style of thumb before. Would you happen to have a link or pic. Um, I am assuming you're speaking of a thumb that is "designed" to fold up ... not one that "folds up" due to failure /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[SkyPup]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

Here are two links to some designs of a mechanical thumb:

http://www.excavatorthumb.com/mt830_mini_excavator_thumb.html

http://www.rocklandmfg.com/excavator/smart_thumb.htm

 

[HomeBrew2]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

Ohhhh, I like those thumbs (drool). Somebody was using their first-string brain when they thought those up.
Thanks for the links.

 

[JimMorrissey]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

Hey, fold-away was Sky's idea first.... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Excellent work Brew. You should dial that in a bit and sell them as bolt-ons for BXs. I've never seen one for a BX before. You got me thinking about a thumb for the L39 agian. They essentially double the value of a hoe....A must have.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Re: Thumb ... GEEZ IT\"S HANDY !!!

Thanks, Jim. You're right, the thumb at least doubled the usefulness of the hoe ... it's really like having an additional machine. As you say, a must-have!