A trench digger that isn't a backhoe 😂

[Paul Allwood]

This afternoon I had a go at making something aimed at digging trenches or tree stumps down to about 500 mm. Turns out it's a not very good version of ones that are sold by Good Works Tractors in the US.

Once again I used scrap that was laying around in my almost depleted offcuts stock.

The one I made did ok, but struggles to hold and clear the dirt. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained....or learnt.

I think I'll cut off the front bits, buy a sheet of 3mm mild steel, and modify it to be more like a real one. The benefit here is that if I only use a small amount of the 8 x 4 sheet, I'll have a big offcut for the next project.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

... I'll have a big offcut for the next project.

I wonder, does this start with a "B" and ends with an "E"?

 

[Paul Allwood]

I wonder, does this start with a "B" and ends with an "E"?

Already got one....

 

[Yooper]

That’s how invention works. You start with an idea and see what works and more importantly, what doesn’t work and improve on that. I like to say that Henry Ford didn’t build a Rolls Royce in his garage, but his jalopy lead to it over time.

 

[Paul Allwood]

That’s how invention works. You start with an idea and see what works and more importantly, what doesn’t work and improve on that. I like to say that Henry Ford didn’t build a Rolls Royce in his garage, but his jalopy lead to it over time.

Absolutely. 35 years of R&D in the gas appliance industry in Australia....I used to tell people that most of what we did ended up in the bin. Then when we got what we wanted we put it into production. Welding scrap bits of steel together to use with an old tractor isn't quite as complex, and doesn't have quite the same safety implications, but it's keeping me occupied.

 

[John T]

Rebar to the rescue....

has probably been used in more applications than the original intent.

 

[jyoutz]

Rebar to the rescue....

has probably been used in more applications than the original intent.

Definitely

 

[chim]

Would it work better to set it up to dig in the opposite direction? Rotate the channel 180°. As the digger is pulled and raised it may drag the loosened material out of the trench being somewhat contained by the trench walls and the digger itself. When a backhoe digs, it benefits from that arrangement.

Used in the current configuration I picture much of the loosened material being pushed back into the already-opened trench and only removing whatever material remains on the channel by virtue of its angle of repose.

 

[Sawdust&Shavings]

Would it work better to set it up to dig in the opposite direction? Rotate the channel 180°. As the digger is pulled and raised it may drag the loosened material out of the trench being somewhat contained by the trench walls and the digger itself. When a backhoe digs, it benefits from that arrangement.

Used in the current configuration I picture much of the loosened material being pushed back into the already-opened trench and only removing whatever material remains on the channel by virtue of its angle of repose.

Worth considering on the FEL or the 3-point…I think you’re onto something.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Would it work better to set it up to dig in the opposite direction? Rotate the channel 180°. As the digger is pulled and raised it may drag the loosened material out of the trench being somewhat contained by the trench walls and the digger itself. When a backhoe digs, it benefits from that arrangement.

Used in the current configuration I picture much of the loosened material being pushed back into the already-opened trench and only removing whatever material remains on the channel by virtue of its angle of repose.

That may well be a worth a try, and not too difficult to modify to try it. Although that is close to how I tried it - pushed it into the ground moving forwards and lifted. I drove back a bit to take the pics.

It might also make it similar to back dragging with a bucket in a fully dumped position, with the dump cylinder close to or at full extension and in compression with the digger being pulled back towards the tractor. I have no experience with it, so don't know if it could really be a problem, but have read and heard in videos that this can lead to bent cylinders.

Maybe to dig backwards the digger section would be better pointing straight down in line with the SSQA mounting face ?

 

[John T]

I saw a guy on the Youtube who took a long section of thick angle iron and chained it to the bucket with chain binders.... then ran the tractor in reverse..... dug a nice little trench.

 

[Paul Allwood]

I saw a guy on the Youtube who took a long section of thick angle iron and chained it to the bucket with chain binders.... then ran the tractor in reverse..... dug a nice little trench.

Is this the one you saw, or something like it ?

Kubota BX Trenching Hack! Digging with Angle Iron Attachment

Kubota BX Trenching Hack! Digging with Angle Iron AttachmentSee how I easily dug a trench for electrical cables using my Kubota BX tractor! In this video, I ...

youtube.com

Not my video - copied the link from YouTube.