Add-On Backhoe Bucket "Thumb"

Add-On Backhoe Bucket "Thumb" MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Earth Movers 28-2-43 Imagine your hand without a thumb. That's what running a standard backhoe is like, says Guest Industries, Inc. The company makes an extendable "thumb" that turns a backhoe into a true mechanical hand, says Gary Guest, president. "If you've ever watched a guy try to move a rock with a backhoe, it's a comedy," says Guest. "With our thumb attached, you can not only move it, you can set it exactly where you want. When we made the first prototype, the operator was stacking boxes inside boxes with it and then lifting them out." Guest says the thumb makes the backhoe ideal for moving scrap metal or logs. Operators can use it to rip off entire sections of a building wall. "With this, you can literally pick up a brick," says Guest. "When you are done, you can fold it back against the boom for storage." Both the thumb itself and the arm it is attached to offer multiple positions for different needs. "The different positions allow a range of openings," explains Guest. "A guy hauling rocks might want the thumb closest to the backhoe while a guy lifting tanks might want it farther away." The backhoe thumb can be welded to older backhoe booms ($2,080). It can be bolted to cast extendable booms that can't be welded ($2,880 with clamp). Different machines may require a different clamp to match the cross section of the dipper boom, as every model is different. "The clamps are highly engineered to allow for the tight clearance between the cylinder on the boom and the boom itself, sometimes as little as a quarter inch," says Guest. "As a result, we simply can't fit some machines." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Guest, Guest Industries, Inc., 3601 Winsted Rd., Torrington, Conn. 06790 (ph 800 243-5390 or 860-482-1118; fax 860 489-6336).

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