Bobcat E10 Thumb

[Storrsy]

Hmm, well, I‘m not sure with some of the sellers on these sites, sometimes what you see & what get differ to some extent, I can’t see any dimensions for the thumb, so it’s a bit of a stab in the dark.
I got the impression that the manual RSL one is made to measure so it should definitely fit the dipper & the tines should be right length for the bucket.

RSL make quality solid thumbs. I've had 4 of them. The cheap ones are prone to bending at the bracket they pivot off- especially the ones which share the bucket pin- although with those ones it does mean you can move it further down the dipper which might make it possible to have it hydraulic on a 1.2t machine- personally with thumbs I'd keep it narrow so it's the same width as the dipper otherwise it's just becomes a clumsy lump on the end and narrow ones don't have the same twisting forces on them...

 

[Polecat]

Nope, can’t have a hydraulic bucket thumb either according to the tech team at RSL as the dipper measurement is too short.

Theres a chap in the states on YouTube that’s done one in a fashion, but he did say he had a job & half with it, & he’s still not 100% happy with it.
I will probably end up getting the manual one from RSL.

Right now for my next problem I’ve never welded in my life, I’ve got a stick welder I got years ago from Aldi, thinking at the time, hmm that’s cheap, I’ll have one of those, even the wife said “what are you going to do with that” I just said “weld” she said “you’ll never use it” so far she’s been spot on, so now I’m watching YouTube videos on welding, I watched one Aussie chap the other day with the video titled, 5 ways to kill yourself welding

 

[kato512]

A quick google search came up with this so it's definitely doable.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Storrsy]

A quick google search came up with this so it's definitely doable.

Pardon our interruption...

There we go! Although that one doesn't have a quick hitch- if it did the thumb would have to be longer to meet the bucket properly but regardless sure a custom job could be done if the will is there

 

[Brendan]

The price of a grab from RSL is well over 2k, I was going with a hydraulic thumb as it seems a little more versatile, as you can transition from grabbing to digging quite easily, not so easy with a grab attachment where I would have to remove it to attach the bucket.
I spoke to Richard from RSL & he pointed out a few things to consider, and it does seem to be pretty much like doobin said, Richard also said they could pick the machine up take it to their workshop & maybe come up with something that would work, but we are talking ££££, he suggested I should consider a manual thumb, which maybe isn‘t so bad.
If I can’t get on with a manual thumb there maybe a way to stick a smaller hydraulic ram on it & do a conversion of sorts, as I’ve said in previous posts.
As I don’t intend to keep the machine long term I didn’t want to spend thousands on it just to fit a add on, as it is the manual thumb to fit the E10 is over £500 from RSL.

Grab would be more usable plus would be the pin measurements for the e19. Could always buy a used one if any about and sell on when done or keep for another machine

 

[V8Druid]

Right now for my next problem I’ve never welded in my life, I’ve got a stick welder I got years ago from Aldi, thinking at the time, hmm that’s cheap, I’ll have one of those, even the wife said “what are you going to do with that” I just said “weld” she said “you’ll never use it” so far she’s been spot on, so now I’m watching YouTube videos on welding, I watched one Aussie chap the other day with the video titled, 5 ways to kill yourself welding

fuel / oil tanks'll be one
this could be another

 

[Giles]

Hmm, well, I‘m not sure with some of the sellers on these sites, sometimes what you see & what get differ to some extent, I can’t see any dimensions for the thumb, so it’s a bit of a stab in the dark.
I got the impression that the manual RSL one is made to measure so it should definitely fit the dipper & the tines should be right length for the bucket.

I had a thumb on my 5 ton for a while, it was ok but was heavy and got in way trenching much better now to just put grab on and have best of both worlds when diving or grabbing, what do you imagine you’ll be doing where you need to grab with the micro while digging?

Can you rake stuff out way with bucket teeth then grab it afterwards?

 

[Storrsy]

I had a thumb on my 5 ton for a while, it was ok but was heavy and got in way trenching much better now to just put grab on and have best of both worlds when diving or grabbing, what do you imagine you’ll be doing where you need to grab with the micro while digging?

Can you rake stuff out way with bucket teeth then grab it afterwards?

Id disagree on the whole. For general purpose digging/grabbing and shifting you just can't beat a thumb- I can never understand why people go for such a wide one as you say just gets it the way and is such a bulky thing. I have several grabs and although they all have their place if I just had to have one general purpose machine it'd be the thumb equipped one, it doesn't hinder any digging operations at all Swapping around to a grab on the other hand leaving it other end of the field, taking it on the trailer everywhere is generally a pain in the arse, it's just never there to hand when I need it.

 

[doobin]

Id disagree on the whole. For general purpose digging/grabbing and shifting you just can't beat a thumb- I can never understand why people go for such a wide one as you say just gets it the way and is such a bulky thing. I have several grabs and although they all have their place if I just had to have one general purpose machine it'd be the thumb equipped one, it doesn't hinder any digging operations at all Swapping around to a grab on the other hand leaving it other end of the field, taking it on the trailer everywhere is generally a pain in the arse, it's just never there to hand when I need it.

Handling large rocks is very different to handling timber or brash though.

I’m with Giles on this as you know.

My e10 is lovely with the grapple and hydraulic backstay. Will life a serious amount for the size yet still delicate.

 

[Polecat]

A quick google search came up with this so it's definitely doable.

Pardon our interruption...

I'll have a look at that one, see if it fits with a quick hitch being fitted.
I know when i googled E10 thumb before nothing much came up, but tried again seeing your post & googled then clicked on images & got better results

 

[Trenchies]

Hmm, well, I‘m not sure with some of the sellers on these sites, sometimes what you see & what get differ to some extent, I can’t see any dimensions for the thumb, so it’s a bit of a stab in the dark.
I got the impression that the manual RSL one is made to measure so it should definitely fit the dipper & the tines should be right length for the bucket.

Generally true; tears of both kinds can be had that's for sure sometimes the bargains just need some beefing up if time allows for it.

 

[Storrsy]

Generally true; tears of both kinds can be had that's for sure sometimes the bargains just need some beefing up if time allows for it.

This is the thumb on my dad's machine. The green arrow points to where the metal ears tend to splay out- it's a real weak point with a thumb of this design- the multi tine tips have a habit of bending too.
Vs the single fork on my own machine which is far stronger and less bulky too. There's just no comparison- a thumb will out grab a grab in terms of bulk anyday- the sheer volume of material be it rocks, brash etc it can fit- it will be the digger which is the limiting factor not the grabbing capacity.
I love the versatility of it too, works well in conjunction with a rake or ripper tooth to suit the task, once youve had the right one fitted going back to machine without it is a form of retardation.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Handling large rocks is very different to handling timber or brash though.

I’m with Giles on this as you know.

My e10 is lovely with the grapple and hydraulic backstay. Will life a serious amount for the size yet still delicate.

Have you got a photo of your E10 set up? All this talk is making me want to add one to mine ..

 

[doobin]

I'll have a look at that one, see if it fits with a quick hitch being fitted.
I know when i googled E10 thumb before nothing much came up, but tried again seeing your post & googled then clicked on images & got better results

That’s a very neat soloution.

I like this thumbs that pivot on the bucket pin rather than a seperate weld on clevis. The curved claws also look better than the straight bars you see over here.

Mind you, I’ve never used one!

 

[bobthebuilder]

So can you actually dig/swing soil around with that bucket. Strikes me the claw bit will either foul the dipper or get in the way on the ground?

Had to feck about with the mount,Elohgated it a tad ,but it is close to dipper ram ,have to.be weary

 

[Storrsy]

That’s a very neat soloution.

I like this thumbs that pivot on the bucket pin rather than a seperate weld on clevis. The curved claws also look better than the straight bars you see over here.

Mind you, I’ve never used one!

They do look neater sharing the bucket pin but always wider and more bulkier- also if you have a quick hitch on you'll need to find a way of making sure the pin greases the dipper,quick hitch and thumb bosses. Generally the pin rotates with the thumb which is fine where it passes through the dipper as it's greased but wears the quick hitch pin holes out pretty quick, also harder to remove. The thing about the fully welded on thumbs like mine is it's only 2 easy pins to remove the whole thing so it's not like it's stuck there forever if you don't always want it on- just another string to the bow to make the machine more versatile.

 

[Polecat]

I contacted the seller, which is Ox thumbs, in the states, I got a message back saying that they don’t ship to the uk.
looking at the one they had in the listing, I’m not so sure it would have fitted with mine having a quick hitch fitted, the actual thumb measured a couple of inches short to contact the bucket cutting edge anyway.
I’ll get the manual one from RSL & see how I get on with it, possibly modifying it if I need to with a suitable hydraulic ram.

 

[Storrsy]

I contacted the seller, which is Ox thumbs, in the states, I got a message back saying that they don’t ship to the uk.
looking at the one they had in the listing, I’m not so sure it would have fitted with mine having a quick hitch fitted, the actual thumb measured a couple of inches short to contact the bucket cutting edge anyway.
I’ll get the manual one from RSL & see how I get on with it, possibly modifying it if I need to with a suitable hydraulic ram.

Honestly I'd find a manual thumb utterly infuriating! The whole benefit of the Hyd thumb is the ability fold it out the way easily when not in used- plus to efficiently use it you need to constantly alter it to get the best angle working with the bucket etc . How much is a fixed thumb by the time you get it welded on- I'd look at a grab - even a JB one if funds limited - if you can't have a proper hyd thumb fitted.

 

[Storrsy]

SG1 Fixed 2-Way Excavator Selector Grab - 0.8-2 Tonne

0.8-2 Tonne Excavator Fixed Hydraulic Selector Grab Not the model you're after? View all Grabs & Grapples The JB equipment SG1 selector grab is a hydraulic grab best suited to excavators from 0.8 to 2 tonne, but is particularly popular on mid range machines such as a JCB 8019 or Kubota KX019-4...

www.jbequipment.co.uk

This isn't going to be miles off what a hydraulic thumb would be fitted anyway. Normally id always recommend an Intermercatto grab as super strong and light but these jb ones are still pretty good value....

There's even a video on there of one working on a Bobcat E10! Surely thats a sign

 

[hiluxman]

SG1 Fixed 2-Way Excavator Selector Grab - 0.8-2 Tonne

0.8-2 Tonne Excavator Fixed Hydraulic Selector Grab Not the model you're after? View all Grabs & Grapples The JB equipment SG1 selector grab is a hydraulic grab best suited to excavators from 0.8 to 2 tonne, but is particularly popular on mid range machines such as a JCB 8019 or Kubota KX019-4...

www.jbequipment.co.uk

This isn't going to be miles off what a hydraulic thumb would be fitted anyway. Normally id always recommend an Intermercatto grab as super strong and light but these jb ones are still pretty good value....

There's even a video on there of one working on a Bobcat E10! Surely thats a sign

I've got one of these and it's brilliant even more so in the value to money dept.

Also look at things this way, bobcat spec most of their minis/midis for a hydraulic thumb from factory...there's probably a reason why they don't on the e08/e10