Thumb Attachments Bring Added Value To Excavators & Backhoes

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(Photo courtesy of Geith.)

Arguably overlooked and even underutilized, thumb attachments will never be considered the most glamorous or sophisticated of construction equipment. That said, whether using a hydraulic thumb or a model the operator must manually engage, thumbs from such manufacturers as ACS, AMI, Caterpillar, Fleco, Geith, Gentec, Solesbees, and Werk-Brau introduce a wealth of added functionality, productivity, and efficiency to equipment used for demolition, clearing, cleaning, preparation, and other tasks on construction, forestry, waste management, and other job sites.

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Geith offers an array of excavator and demolition attachments. (Photo courtesy of Geith.)

The Power Of The Thumb

Broadly, thumbs primarily do just one thing, but they do it exceedingly well: they make existing construction equipment more versatile. This includes using a thumb in tandem with a bucket on an excavator or backhoe from such manufacturers as Caterpillar, Case, Daewoo, John Deere, JCB, Kobelco, or Volvo. As thumb manufacturer AMI aptly states, with a thumb attached an excavator “goes from digging to complete material handling.”

Typically constructed of heavy-duty steel and sporting two or more tines (or “fingers” or “teeth”), which are often serrated to enhance their gripping ability, thumb attachments function with a bucket much like a human thumb functions with the hand to help precisely grasp, clamp, secure, pick up, and place materials. With thumb attachments, these materials can include awkwardly shaped ones like branches, logs, rocks, bricks, and various waste and debris.

Big Bang For The Buck

Notably, thumbs do this at generally affordable prices and without overly complicated installation processes required, although some welding of mounting plates to the stick and/or hydraulic stick plumbing (if not present) may be required depending on the thumb model and the seller’s installation practices. Price-wise, throngs of name-brand and generic new and pre-owned thumbs covering nearly every excavator/backhoe manufacture are available from anywhere from several hundred dollars to several thousand.

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A Weld-On Thumb from ACS. (Photo courtesy of ACS Industries.)

Thumb Types

Generally, thumbs are categorized according to a few main traits, including whether they are mechanically and hydraulically operated. Although most models from both types store flush against the stick when not in use to prevent damage, mechanical models are usually less expensive but less versatile because they require the operator to manually adjust the thumb, typically to one of three fixed positions depending on the task. Hydraulic thumbs typically cost more but also enable the operator to control the thumb from inside the cab and give the thumb a greater range of motion.

Thumb models are also differentiated based on how they mount and move with the bucket. Thumbs using their own primary pin—these are sometimes called “universal,” “direct connect,” and “stiff” styles—generally involve welding a base or mount plate(s) to the excavator stick. A “pin-on” style involves the thumb using the same pin at the bucket. The latter method is generally considered to provide the thumb greater motion and enable greater precision in terms of load control due to the thumb rotating on the same plane as the bucket. Some thumbs using a “progressive-link” mounting style can provide as much as a 180-degree range of motion with precise load control throughout.

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Werk-Brau manufactures a wide variety of heavy construction equipment attachments, including excavator thumbs. (Photo courtesy of Werk-Brau.)

A wide assortment of variously priced used thumbs from numerous manufacturers are available on MachineryTrader.com.