Thumb test drive.
Works great! Picks up logs and concrete beams and even delicate stuff such as steel beams. I'm well pleased with the result 😸
The huge concrete beam weighs somewhere beyond 8 tons and is too heavy for our little digger, but it can grip it and drag it around. The thumb and fangs easily withstand the full force of the bucket curl cylinder.
#DIY #ExcavatorThumb #Welding #Metalworking #Homestead #SalvagePunk #Drilling
Thumb ready. Finished making the pins and adjuster holes.
Didn't weld tubes inside the other holes. We'll see how they hold up. If they do oval out I can still do that, for the ones I use a lot.
I see now why nobody sells adjustable thumbs. This was a lot of extra work that would make it too expensive. Only DIYers get to have it :)
Only primer on there yet, still need to paint it but only have orange, blue and green available, none of which match well here.
#DIY #ExcavatorThumb #Welding
#Metalworking #Homestead #SalvagePunk #Maker
Thumb is getting there. Cut off the corners, flipped them around and welded them back on as reinforcements, now the whole thing looks more streamlined. I think it'll be strong enough without doubling up the thickness near the fangs.
If they break I'll do it :)
Also made two pins out of three. This is the dullest job in the world, drilling a 8mm hole through 25mm solid rod, but the pins I bought weren't long enough after some design tweaks. At least it's not stainless steel!
#DIY #ExcavatorThumb #Welding #Metalworking #Homestead #SalvagePunk #Drilling
Teeth! Got some spare teeth for a spring-tooth harrow. So in theory they should be pretty durable.
Special challenge: Cutting curves with an angle grinder 😆
My tack welds did not withstand hydraulic gripping power and the teeth flew off at the first test, so I welded them on properly to try picking up a small concrete beam.
Clearly when its done I will need some practice with this new thumb as I picked up way too much soil with the beam. The thumb works though 🥳
Bunch more detail work to do, make holes for the other adjustment points, finish the pins, cut excess material off the sides and weld reinforcement pieces for the fangs. Maybe some serrated "back teeth".
#DIY #ExcavatorThumb #Welding #Metalworking #Homestead #SalvagePunk
Finally could resume work on the thumb after an unexpected shortage of welding wire. 😳
First job was to add in the connecting pieces between the two sides. A thick piece of flat bar at the top to leave space for the support leg when extended. And a box section to handle shear forces near the tips when grabbing an asymmetricl item such as a rock.
Wire brushed and finish welded the body of the thumb without distorting it too much.
Then I started on the adjustment holes for the sliding support leg. Welded in a reinforcement tube, which is a lot of work. It'll be a lot more holes to saw for the other adjustment points later. Perhaps I overdesigned it a little, but hopefully I'll get some use out of the adjustability.
#DIY #ExcavatorThumb #Welding #Metalworking #Homestead #SalvagePunk
"You can't weld cast iron!!!111" the internet says.
Well, it was half right. The big nut cracked when tightening. The other part, which is a sort of bushing fixed into the wheel that had both ends broken off remains intact, even with the impact driver tightening the bolts.
The wheel nut is not strictly necessary on these wheels, so unless I find a suitable replacement nut laying around somewhere I'll consider my log hauling contraption wheel repaired.
#ExcavatorThumb progress:
Clamped and aligned the thumb sides with the help of two bricks that happened to be the right width, then tack welded the tubes on.
Next part was the adjustable support leg. Figuring out the length of both parts was easy, swing the thumb up and down, measure distance between pins and copy it to the two parts on the workbench.
Making the inner part slide smoothly into the outer took ages as I had to grind down the thickness of the entire outer surface, then polish it smooth.
Solved the problem of the outer tube having a seam weld inside by hammering on the inner one until it bowed inwards just enough to allow space for that seam.
Fits very nicely now and almost no play.
#DIY #MiniExcavator #ExcavatorThumb
#SalvagePunk #Homestead #Metalworking #Welding
Thumb update:
Made the thumb wider so it fits better between the bucket teeth, which required cutting new reinforcements. Cut the ones for the support leg as well and decided where to attach it to the thumb.
Then worked on the adjustable support leg. A cylinder each welded to the end of a box section. The lower fitting was easy, just an approximate half-circle with three shallow cuts of the angle grinder and then bend it back and forth until it breaks out.
The upper fitting having the added challenge of being narrower than the box section, so it got tapered a bit by cutting some wedges out and banging on it with a hammer.
#DIY #MiniExcavator #ExcavatorThumb
#SalvagePunk #Homestead #Metalworking #Welding
Always keep your hole saw plugs, in case you need to Ctrl-Z a hole you just cut so you can make it bigger 😆
Sure wish there had been room for the drill press in the car last time we went to the old place!
Four biggish holes were cut through 10mm plate, eventually. Of the right size this time.
#DIY #MiniExcavator #ExcavatorThumb
#SalvagePunk #Homestead #Metalworking #DrillBabyDrill
Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmar