Mechanical Thumb

Paul007 · Oct 17, 2020

Hey Guys,

I need to move some rocks I've been collecting, up to 2 foot diameter, with my old Massey backhoe, and thinking about adding a mechanical thumb. Never had, used, nor even seen one close up. They look like just a triangulated affair attached at 90 degrees to the backhoe frame.

Any advice/plans on building one?

Do they need to be adjustable?

Thanks in advance.

greg oliver · Oct 17, 2020

Paul my neighbor bought one like this for his 555. On my old
employers excavator he had a mechanical thumb welded on
for a house demolition. I got pretty good with it and all of his
newer excavators have hydraulic cylinders. Much handier.

showcrop · Oct 17, 2020

A long time friend had a manual thumb installed on his CK Case forty years ago. It extended hydraulically and was operated with a valve on the back of the main boom. He would just retract the boom, stand up and turn the valve, and do his thumb work. When done with it he would retract it out of the way.

newhollandnut · Oct 17, 2020

Manual is really easy on a tracked excavator because you can reposition by pushing the pedals. Hydraulic thumb is much better on a rubber tire backhoe. I seen maybe on YouTube where a guy plumbed his thumb
line into his outrigger and would setup and switch the valves and his outrigger control would now become his hydraulic thumb control

Paul007 · Oct 17, 2020

Thanks Guys. Yes hydraulic would be nice. I don't have any rocks on my property, just took this pile to help out a friend, so I don't need to do this all that often. Sloppy is putting it mildly concerning my backhoe controls, not easy to maneuver in small increments, but for a couple hundred bucks I think I'll try the one pictured,

Thanks again!

showcrop · Oct 17, 2020

(quoted from post at 10:43:46 10/17/20) Thanks Guys. Yes hydraulic would be nice. I don't have any rocks on my property, just took this pile to help out a friend, so I don't need to do this all that often. Sloppy is putting it mildly concerning my backhoe controls, not easy to maneuver in small increments, but for a couple hundred bucks I think I'll try the one pictured,

Thanks again!

Paul, how much have you operated a hoe?

Paul007 · Oct 17, 2020

Paul, how much have you operated a hoe?[/quote]

I'm very experienced on this one, had it 10 years and use it often.

Mechanical Thumb

Paul007

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greg oliver

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showcrop

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newhollandnut

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Paul007

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showcrop

Well-known Member

Paul007

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