Another homemade bucket for my BH77

[Chanceywd]

I am working on a project adding a 12'x40' lean to addition to my shop/garage for firewood storage.
In retrospect I should have done more grade work first but it is what it is.
In leveling the ground inside I felt I needed a wider toothless bucket. I could have bought one from BXpanded
but I like the challenge and had this old 3pt hitch one for the 8N in my prior to Kubota days that wasn't getting used.
About 30" wide I figured I could use it as a starting point and go from there.
So cutting and then comparing angles of attachment etc I came up with this finished product.
It works very well, no bending in my use and I have some very horrible soil here that is rock filled and like concrete when dry. Works really nice in loading spoils piles into my homemade dump trailer I use with the 8N.

Last couple picture are the yellow hook for lifting even when the bucket is off but I added 2 hooks to the thumb bracket last year. This allows me to loop that chain under the bucket so when I start it after sitting in the garage for sometime the bucket isn't low and forgotten to be dragging on the floor.

Bill

Edit, I want to add that handle I stole from RWS 's grandmother's bathroom is really helpful.
Also in that picture is a bullseye level I added to my BH77 several years ago that I find handy in knowing I am somewhere level side to side and front to back if it is important.

 

[EPIC]

Nice project, thanks for sharing and detailed pictures.

 

[Sammy3700]

I like that. How did you power the hydraulic thumb? Thanks

 

[Chanceywd]

I like that. How did you power the hydraulic thumb? Thanks

Thanks,
I teed the 3rd function output lines and have a pair at the back. 2 -1/4 hoses hook in there and then I paralleled the switches and using a round style trailer light plug to connect them to push buttons on my backhoe knobs. My son made me some with his 3d printer. I figure I don't use the grapple when I am using the backhoe so it works with that in mind.
I bought another 3rd function valve I might mount on the pressure in side of the backhoe valve because you are not supposed to add a valve after.
Then I would only need 12vdc plug.
I found an almost perfect cylinder at Magister that was clocked right with the hoses on the side and right bore on the pin ends. The rod end was a perfect width but the base end I welded on 2 shaft collars and then machined off a little both sides. It could have been done with just washers and no welding but I wanted the cylinder to tuck up as tight to the open position as possible.
So for that I plugged and welded the existing hole and rebored it just a fraction of an inch over.

One last thing on the base end side back at the 3rd function valve I added a relief valve.
I was concerned that the bucket pressing against the thumb could be too much force and bend something or over pressure the hoses somewhere on that hydraulic circuit.

The odd looking area of the thumb is a detachable piece I made because I have a BXpanded quick change and that moves the bucket away from the thumb some.

Bill

Edit, One other thing with the BXpanded quick change it will cause the thumb to hit that .
I resolved that by cutting some of the gussets on the pivot side of the thumb back. hasn't caused any problem to date but I would expect that it would hit on kubota thumb hydraulic or manual.
I had made my thumb hydraulic before buying the quick change.

Pardon Our Interruption...

One more edit,
To clarify that cylinder is a pretty good fit without any modification.
The thumb is almost up and is out of the way, I just see I could get it a little tighter and so after mounting the rod end and holding it closed I could sight thru the original hole and the bracket on the dipper arm to see the fraction it was off. So off it came and I modified.
You could easily mount it and shim the side play with washers, saving a lot of time right there.
Also snaking the 1/4 hoses thru wasn't too hard. I did elect to do it without additional covering but I figure it isn't getting hard commercial usage and will probably outlast me.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Ingenuous sir!

Memaw would also have approved of that “shitter handle” as well

I am eventually going to fab up a “hydraulic thumb” …..

Currently, I am trying to finish one project BEFORE I start another….This has been a long existing problem though

 

[Chanceywd]

Ingenuous sir!

Memaw would also have approved of that “shitter handle” as well

I am eventually going to fab up a “hydraulic thumb” …..

Currently, I am trying to finish one project BEFORE I start another….This has been a long existing problem though

Man I know that too many projects thing too!
I am no Thomas Edison or John Browning by any stretch( my mental heroes),
But if I get a thought about one of the projects I have to see if it will work even if I spend the day accomplishing a failure.
In reading your project on the SSQA you built a fire under me on that!

Bill

 

[Chanceywd]

Ingenuous sir!

Memaw would also have approved of that “shitter handle” as well

I am eventually going to fab up a “hydraulic thumb” …..

Currently, I am trying to finish one project BEFORE I start another….This has been a long existing problem though

One more old and lazy idea I have,
I think about making a carousel platform for my attachments.
I figure with the SSQA done it would work. I have this thought of a front hub from a 3/4 ton truck mounted to a concrete anchor in the ground. Then a steel wheel would allow arms attached to it like spokes and some kind of decking. This would be powered by a motor and a key chain remote.
So instead of pulling up and dropping a bucket then moving to the next one you pull up in one spot and drop then rotate to the next one and attach. You might have to back and forth just a smidge but the thought of making something like that is in my head!
Also could have the backhoe buckets and root hook I made on there.

No I have only had coffee this morning, not the adult drinks talking!

Bill

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Man I know that too many projects thing too!
I am no Thomas Edison or John Browning by any stretch( my mental heroes),
But if I get a thought about one of the projects I have to see if it will work even if I spend the day accomplishing a failure.
In reading your project on the SSQA you built a fire under me on that!

Bill

I am "chomping at the bit” to drag the General Lee home and start this SSQA thing.

I would have done it last week, but my damn brakes started grinding, so pulling the trailer home was “No Bueno…."

Brakes are fixed now, so next time, I am dragging it home and getting at it.

 

[Paul Allwood]

One more old and lazy idea I have,
I think about making a carousel platform for my attachments.
I figure with the SSQA done it would work. I have this thought of a front hub from a 3/4 ton truck mounted to a concrete anchor in the ground. Then a steel wheel would allow arms attached to it like spokes and some kind of decking. This would be powered by a motor and a key chain remote.
So instead of pulling up and dropping a bucket then moving to the next one you pull up in one spot and drop then rotate to the next one and attach. You might have to back and forth just a smidge but the thought of making something like that is in my head!
Also could have the backhoe buckets and root hook I made on there.

No I have only had coffee this morning, not the adult drinks talking!

Bill

That's an interesting idea - would love to see it done and working. Maybe an upper deck for SSQA attachments and a lower deck for 3 point quick hitch attachments ?