Today's progress on the thumb:

A tube section and restored pin for the support. Since the pin is kinda long, I could make some more tube sections on the outside as well.

And two beefy pieces of thick plate with a hole in them for the thumb, plus two more tube sections for reinforcement. One with a groove to keep the quick-release pin from rotating and sticking out.

That's it. Recycling is slow work. Spent a lot of time running around looking for two pieces to fit inside of each other for the support.

#DIY #MiniExcavator #ExcavatorThumb
#SalvagePunk #Homestead #Metalworking

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

#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

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

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