Thumbs in australia

[Rudolf73]

I think that tiny steering wheel adds to the cost a lot

 

[JDOFMEMI]

I love having a thumb, on a utility type machine anyway. Not much use for one on a production digger, but on the 330 I can generally get $10.00 more per hour if it is on hourly hire, due to the added work it will do.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . Jerry that's what I was alluding to . . . the money spent to fab/fit a thumb should yield a fair return on the investment.

Cheers.

 

[spitzair]

I know I'd never want to be without a thumb! Even if I'm just digging I'd still want my machine to have one in case you come across a big nugget, some roots, something somebody buried in the past, etc. A properly designed and installed thumb won't be in the way or take up any bucket capacity as it folds up flush against the boom and you'd hardly even know it's there... Sure, it weighs a few pounds but not that much. And they aren't all that expensive either as nowadays most machines come with an extra spool in the valve already anyhow... Here's some thumb pictures I have scattered on my computer...

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . thanks spitzair. That first picture with the thumb holding the big gooley is pretty convincing.

Cheers.

 

[excavatorr]

in reagrds to the photo above with the big gooley. you could pick that big gooley up queit easily in the bucket without a thumb.

 

[excavatorr]

what would be the downsides of a thumb?

 

[robin yates uk]

if you were able to dig a hole big enough for the gooley to sit in then yes you could pick it up but no need for a hole using a thumb

 

[excavatorr]

if you were able to dig a hole big enough for the gooley to sit in then yes you could pick it up but no need for a hole using a thumb

i could pick that up in bucket without a hole off flat ground without a thumb.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . now its getting interesting

i could pick that up in bucket without a hole off flat ground without a thumb

C'mon excavatorr and robin yates (and any other digger ops.) anything I like to talk about is operating techniques . . . tell us more.

Cheers

 

[robin yates uk]

excavatorr, please tell us all how you can pick up a much bigger rock off the flat without using a thumb(and without using a track to help you )

 

[robin yates uk]

when finding buried services, some advise the flat bucket method, but I never used this way, I always opened the bucket and bumped the bucket through the dig.If you touch an obstruction, could be a stone or a cable, the teeth are not in a dig mode so after the "bump" the banksman can see just what you touched.He exposes the bump and if it is the cable, then teeth into dig mode the safe side of the cable thus allowing him somewhere to throw muck.I used this method for many years and it worked for me very well

 

[Haddy]

Good morning excavatorr , The 2 main reasons I don't like thumbs is set up like you see above is that you have two rams pressurising against each other . If you crowd that bucket around enough it will force that thumb back in , that can't be good for hydraulic system .The other is with long objects , like a big log , you have a lot of twist on the dipper arm . If you have a carefull operator this might be alright but can do a lot of damage if some **** wit gets on the machine . Haddy

 

[spanner]

I recently saw an excavator with a fixed "thumb" loading large stumps with root balls. The operator would dig them out and lay them over and then attach the arm with two heavy pins (only took a minute) to load . Seemed to work well.

 

[excavatorr]

Yes I would pick up using the track to assist me.

 

[chroniekon]

I built a fixed thumb for my backhoe out of some 1 1/8" plate laying around. Handiest thing ever for my needs here on the farm. It folds up out of the way when not needed.

 

[Bluetop Man]

It folds up out of the way when not needed.

Yes, but Lordy, those pinned thumbs sure to clang and bang like b'Jesus when not in use. Pretty handy when you need it, though, like you say.

 

[chroniekon]

Bluetop, It's actually not too bad, but I have to confess, the rest of the hoe is pretty loose so kind of hard to sort one noise out from the other!

 

[CM1995]

Yes, but Lordy, those pinned thumbs sure to clang and bang like b'Jesus when not in use. Pretty handy when you need it, though, like you say.

Every one of the aftermarket pin on type thumbs I have been around are noisy, except for Cat thumbs. I had 2 315's and a 325 with a Cat thumb and although heavy, they were tight and quiet.

 

[buckfever]

We have a pin on thumb and it makes a ton of noise when digging rock. But for the small investment (about 1500) it doesn't take long to pay off. Not as quick to get working as a hydrolic thumb but when you have a few trees or larger rocks it makes your life alot easier.

I've been told and yelled at to never use the tracks to assist in loading the bucket. If thats what you do and it's ok for you thats fine but I won't do it.