aighead
Senior Member
Yay! Congratulations Casey!
Beware, my son turns 20 today, it goes real fast!
Beware, my son turns 20 today, it goes real fast!
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What's your hoe doing?
- Thread starter aighead
- Start date
Willie B
Senior Member
TEETH
I find myself often raking the ground to remove rock on or just below the surface. New teeth work OK for digging them out. Picking up a rock to load it in the truck can be easy, or hard depending on its size. I have an Amulet thumb, forged into it is CT Series. I feel it is too long for my bucket, and the geometry isn't right. I've got an idea for reshaping the thumb. I feel like a seven year old eating corn on the cob, thumb is useless for small rocks under 16" diameter. Those, I find myself pulling them toward me, can't get under them to get them in the bucket. Even digging a hole to scoop them out of fails to get rock in the bucket without gravel also. Worn teeth make it even worse.
I've kicked around a number of ideas to improve the situation. I've considered building a heavy thing that I'd move around as needed to push rocks against like I would with the blade on a mini excavator.
I once welded extensions to the teeth to lengthen them. It worked great, but eventually they broke. No welds failed, the scrap cutting edge I was using broke an inch or more past the weld. I'm considering a better choice of steel for another try at it.
Anybody got a better idea?
What would you use for the extensions. Stuff I used before was 3/4 thick bolt on edge for a road grader.
I find myself often raking the ground to remove rock on or just below the surface. New teeth work OK for digging them out. Picking up a rock to load it in the truck can be easy, or hard depending on its size. I have an Amulet thumb, forged into it is CT Series. I feel it is too long for my bucket, and the geometry isn't right. I've got an idea for reshaping the thumb. I feel like a seven year old eating corn on the cob, thumb is useless for small rocks under 16" diameter. Those, I find myself pulling them toward me, can't get under them to get them in the bucket. Even digging a hole to scoop them out of fails to get rock in the bucket without gravel also. Worn teeth make it even worse.
I've kicked around a number of ideas to improve the situation. I've considered building a heavy thing that I'd move around as needed to push rocks against like I would with the blade on a mini excavator.
I once welded extensions to the teeth to lengthen them. It worked great, but eventually they broke. No welds failed, the scrap cutting edge I was using broke an inch or more past the weld. I'm considering a better choice of steel for another try at it.
Anybody got a better idea?
What would you use for the extensions. Stuff I used before was 3/4 thick bolt on edge for a road grader.
Willie B
Senior Member
HarleyHappy
Senior Member
I’d consider looking for a clam shell hoe bucket. There was one on FB marketplace for a 580 L a month or two back. Think it was only 500 bucks and it was 24” I think.
I was messaging the guy and he was actually responding, then I decided I didn’t need it as I have a hydraulic thumb already but the price was almost too good to pass up.
That and it looked to be in excellent condition.
I was messaging the guy and he was actually responding, then I decided I didn’t need it as I have a hydraulic thumb already but the price was almost too good to pass up.
That and it looked to be in excellent condition.
Deere500a
Senior Member
Willie for the thumb might be worth checking a extra capacity bucket like old Fords used plus find'em cheap to modify. Wain Roy 4/1 hoe bucket is one of the original & new brands use hydraulic motor for clamp instead of hydraulic cylinder past see'em on gov/park machines time bucket was 12k us new
Willie B
Senior Member
I think this is the biggest shortcoming of a backhoe compared to an excavator, the loader bucket is on the wrong end. If it could be used like a broom & dustpan it'd be much more convenient. At least an excavator has a blade you can push the rock against.
I checked out clam buckets, way out of price range unless I could find a used one.
aighead
Senior Member
Not really the same use case and not terribly friendly unless you have a helper but I got a set of log tongs I haven't tried yet. My plan is to use them to move some rocks around. It looks like it should work but they may get bent up pretty quickly. It was a 90 dollar gamble. My solution has been a bigger rock to scoop against and it works some, but without a thumb placing them, after picking up, is a crapshoot.
Willie B
Senior Member
I find a big pile of rocks, I can get in the bucket size rocks in. Find as I work a pile it gets too close to the back of the tractor to reach. If I'm not careful it ends up under the swing tower.
I get ads for a strap invention to lift big rocks. I'm tempted because it is hard to place rocks the side up or swivelled where I want them. Again I don't think it'd be very convenient to use if you don't have a second person.
I have found a piece of 3/8" cable with a very thick ring at one end works reasonably as a choker to lift big ones won't fit in the bucket.
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Deere500a
Senior Member
2500lbs max lift for light duty rock moving or snare for Bigfoot 
Willie B
Senior Member
If you want to trap a bigfoot, OK. How do you put the rock on this? how do you get this thing out from under the rock?
Deere500a
Senior Member
With the back end roll the rock on & once moved roll it off the net
Deere500a
Senior Member
Random pic