Hendrik
Senior Member
Thinking about putting a rigid/mechanical thumb on my little baby SK005 (to make it feel like a big machine
, well actually it's a safety thing as picking stuff up with a bucket is precarious to say the least, other day I was trying to pick up some left over concrete bits and one slipped off the bucket and nearly squashed my foot, yesterday I was fiddling in the back yard and picked up a branch that turned and nearly bashed me in the head)
This thumb is the closest in size that I could find http://www.excavatorthumb.com/mt618_mini_excavator_thumb.html I like the way that the thumb is just about straight, whereas others tend to curve them, which in my situation is a negative as I am space challenged, plus that thumb looks well engineered.
Anyone here have any experience with USAattachments?
I have emailed them in regards to shipping costs and how much more it would be to custom build a thumb for my ex, they got back to me pretty quick and reckoned another 50 slides would get me a custom job (wonder if that includes a flame paint job?) That would bring it to 650 Oz bucks plus shipping (which is usually a killer).
Another option is to have one made locally but thumb manufacturers are a bit thin on the ground, while back I got quoted a grand for a little bucket which I got cheaper interstate. Also it would have to be engineered well because I have 72mm width to play with.
I could build it myself but am not really set up for mid level fabrication. I suppose I could make it out of 10mm plate but the big problem would be drilling holes, plus I only have a 240V welder. Might have a chat to some local engineering places to get some idea of how many beans they want for a job like this. Got a little coupling made up a few months ago and that was over a hundred bucks
, well actually it's a safety thing as picking stuff up with a bucket is precarious to say the least, other day I was trying to pick up some left over concrete bits and one slipped off the bucket and nearly squashed my foot, yesterday I was fiddling in the back yard and picked up a branch that turned and nearly bashed me in the head)This thumb is the closest in size that I could find http://www.excavatorthumb.com/mt618_mini_excavator_thumb.html I like the way that the thumb is just about straight, whereas others tend to curve them, which in my situation is a negative as I am space challenged, plus that thumb looks well engineered.
Anyone here have any experience with USAattachments?
I have emailed them in regards to shipping costs and how much more it would be to custom build a thumb for my ex, they got back to me pretty quick and reckoned another 50 slides would get me a custom job (wonder if that includes a flame paint job?) That would bring it to 650 Oz bucks plus shipping (which is usually a killer).
Another option is to have one made locally but thumb manufacturers are a bit thin on the ground, while back I got quoted a grand for a little bucket which I got cheaper interstate. Also it would have to be engineered well because I have 72mm width to play with.
I could build it myself but am not really set up for mid level fabrication. I suppose I could make it out of 10mm plate but the big problem would be drilling holes, plus I only have a 240V welder. Might have a chat to some local engineering places to get some idea of how many beans they want for a job like this. Got a little coupling made up a few months ago and that was over a hundred bucks
