Welding The Thumb On The Linkbelt

welding my new thumb on the linkbelt i bought for the farm

[@CumminsDslPwr]

Looks great Chris, nice quality, and congratulations on the new machine,

[@mudcharger]

Glad you have a good weldor finally!!

[@3000gtalex]

Dam nice welds keep him around

[@bluemtnsman]

Sharp looking bit of kit there Chris.

[@Atoyota]

Those were some nice looking stick welds. I still think that's a skill you should pick up. Runs a stick welder from your service truck generator.

[@evilbrat5376]

That guy has a damn nice hand - good looken run on that 7018. Have fun playen round with them stumps and trees.

[@dminor214]

Pretty slick setup.

[@gwenb4531]

gotta love those welding sleeves.

[@johnm.evangelis693]

Good luck with both the link belt and the new thumb...

[@jacksonyoung9751]

Nice welding job. I love jobs done with a powerarc. You'll get a lot of service from that.

[@BigAgitator]

Really nice thumb. Looks like it was pricey but worth the $$. You get what you pay for.

[@janvandenbos7085]

Nice welding the thumb, this thumb is not hydrolic, we shall see as you working with it Chris awesome 👌👍✌

[@TheSoloAsylum]

I dont have a thumb but we do have a busted clam shell bucket, it's in the shop now. These things are almost a must have.

[@Brainmalfuction]

glad i found this i have to do this job soon on a 20 ton shovel

[@davidspin5353]

I hear a Lincoln SA 200.... best sounding machine and im a Miller Guy.

[@crazyfvck]

That looks awesome :)

[@jacobwashington6766]

Awesome cool to see the new thumb and the #biggirl2

[@jix177]

Nice job.

[@peanutsmith1462]

I see some one knows how to save money with the blue jeans welding sleeves

[@fredalmond9130]

Heh heh. I've got a pair myself that I made after finding out the leather ones from the store leached dye on my skin whenever I finished welding with my everlast.

[@flamecranium7787]

@@fredalmond9130 that doesnt happen when you purchase U.S.A. made items

[@charlesdyer2376]

Nice weldin job fer sure.

[@acarleton2000]

Did the welder fix the bucket when he was out? Like the Linkbelt! Should last a while with the new undercarriage!!

[@davidmorrison3100]

I have a komatsu 2000 pc200lc-6, I wanna convert my mechanical thumb to hydraulic thumb. Do you know how to get the hydraulics set up? Or any info that would be helpful?

[@csnelling4]

Nice looking welds Chris 👍

[@waynep343]

i would have the pins drilled and threaded on both ends... so i could screw in a big forged ring eye.. to allow a chain to something and swing the boom to yank the pin out or to use a big bolt to drive the pins in with.. yes the threaded hole might intersect the cross bolt.. heck.. drill and tap right thru that hole.. a porta power cylinder with a hole thru the middle could also be used then if the pin gets stuck. in the mean time.. weld on a 7/8" course thread nut on the ends of the pins..

[@taylorrachal8874]

Where did you get this thumb from?

[@tiarbongkar7023]

What thumb is that and where did u order it?

[@ryanhotine9097]

i have the same thumb for my pc160!

[@brianw4brian]

yeah the weld is like a stacked quarters sideways.

[@Lanninglongarmmowing]

That's a harbor freight pressure washer isn't it? How do you like it? I did a review on it a while ago. Great video. Nice thumb. It would have been nice for it to be a hydraulic thumb though.

[@butchmcintyre5196]

nice job you look like you welding with a miller44

[@GreysonFernandez]

What's the name of the company that made the thumb? Where are they located in Ga?

[@SEAattachments]

800.419.8090 Winston, Ga. West of Atlanta

[@thomaslang7634]

What materials was that brace made out of? What size rods was he using?

[@Ruben901]

Looks like 5/32 rod, I wouldn't weave the welds though, they may Crack that way, best to do stringer beads.

[@ms.brittany1391]

I find excavators to be pretty intriguing and i was telling my bf, i want one with a thumb on it, not knowing thats what its really called..lol..my mind is blown..ITS MEANT TO BE! Haha!

[@ReviewLife380]

Awesome.. which electode bro you used and thickness of electode ? Thanks

[@steveb6103]

I would have to say it was 5/32 7018. That would be my choice for this job.

[@joedirttae9152]

Just put ground close to welding area. current takes the shortest path.

[@johnw.peterson4311]

Welding with some 3/16 size 7018 electrodes would have sped up the welding process. A preheat to help control weld stress would have been a good idea as well.

[@TheMetalButcher]

Don't some thumbs attach to the top bucket pin? Have you ever used/seen one of those before?

[@letsdig18]

justfakeit888 ive never seen a mechanical thumb that attached to the main bucket pin, only hydraulic ones and all mine on the Volvos go on there

[@TheMetalButcher]

Yeah, hydraulic ones were the ones I was thinking of. Makes sense for the rigid one to not though. Thanks.

[@drummer57]

Do you have to weld 100 pecerent or could you weld 3 or 4 inches stitches

[@Ruben901]

You got to think about the pressure that bucket will squeeze, it's best to fully weld it

[@RenegadeTrucker]

That is some nice welding. If you want to can you convert that thumb to a hydraulic or no?

[@AidenHubbsCRM]

Think so

[@lancebowman4832]

Sort of. On a newer machine that is plumbed door extra hydraulics, it's very simple. Add a cylinder and you done. His machine is not plumbed and that's hard to do.

[@jimcraig5208]

So you have a single pin to lock it up

[@carolinafarmweld5981]

Good welder I have to say, but you have to do videos of the thumb in action

[@letsdig18]

CarolinaFarmWeld yeah he was good. ill get a video of it clearing

[@allenmoore5061]

Can you still get this thumb?

[@SEAattachments]

800.419.8090

[@imchris5000]

you dont have to disconnect the battery's if your ground is clean and close and directly attached to what you are welding its a good precaution though but it only really happens if you do something like grounding to a track while welding on the bucket all the power being zapped into the metal is going to go to the easiest ground if you are set up right its your ground if not its going to take its own path which may be through the computer and its wiring to its ground

[@lancewinters9246]

Why Chance it? It takes like 1 Minute to Disconnect the battery

[@applianceman6194]

@@lancewinters9246 ...and saves the cost of a new computer.

[@applianceman6194]

I see I won't be having you do my welding

[@stocks4bt]

You have some good work. How long have you been welding? and did you use stick or mig welding

[@stocks4bt]

+sparky24 my bad..sparky..I wasn't paying attention

[@DieselRamcharger]

disconnecting the battery won't protect the computer. Sorry to say. But high frequency welding is what typically does them in. Mig and Stick are fairly safe. Home boy laid some nice beads though.

[@user-zu2bw7ig5v]

I'm a logger in Wisconsin and you are correct sir. Awhile back we pulled the connection off the battery on our processor and mig welded on it and it fried the computer on a fairly new machine. $15,000 dollars later we will not make that mistake again.

[@DieselRamcharger]

Ryan Seppanen Holy fuck! last time i made that mistake it only cost me 160 bucks....thank god dodge parts are cheap, and they break down long before the computers go out so plenty in the boneyards!

[@1Camoguy]

How does the thumb work ?

[@benallan2607]

When the bucket curls, the thumb closes over it.

[@1Camoguy]

thanks :)

[@TheRick2130]

1Camoguy look at your hands, move your 4 finger closer to your thumb. same principle :)

[@joedirttae9152]

Three pass stringers are stronger and look better that a big weave.

[@IronWorxllc]

Agreed

[@billsmith5166]

I've never been able to figure out why the ground needs to be removed. Doesn't make sense to me.

[@winstonchurchill6418]

It doesn't help or hurt to remove the ground with DC welding as that's not what causes problems. People have a misconception about what causes problems. When the battery is still connected, the welder and battery, which are both bonded to the machine hull, make a common ground and have no effect on electronics because all the circuits are open (infinite resistance if you want to get technical). What causes damage to modern electronics is the same principle that electro magnetic pulses use to causes destruction. When welding, a magnetic field is created which screws with lots of electronics if you are too close to them. Which is why, yes, keeping the ground lead close to the electrode helps but doesn't eliminate chances of problems. High frequency welders should be avoided for these reasons. Now for AC welding. You can possibly start to mess up the battery here because you are constantly changing the polarity from + to - of what is normally ground of the welder which is connected to the negative grounded terminal of the battery through the chassis (i.e there is no permanent ground because its switching back and forth rapidly).

[@brianallam5545]

WC t

[@regsparkes6507]

That welder sure knows how to lay out a' roll of nickles'.( Welding bead ) But I do wonder how many times he has had to jump around after a hot piece of slag landed down in his boots. Good job though,.I'm impressed with that installation, and the fit and finish of the Thumb. Chris, can that Thumb be converted to hydraulic power ?

[@letsdig18]

Reg Sparkes no the machine is not plumbed to run a hydraulic one and it would cost a god awful amount to make it run one. I never saw him jump as I was helping all day LOL

[@imchris5000]

letsdig18 you could always go super afro engineering on it get a little gas motor to run a pump then plumb that to your control valve then to the hydraulic cylinder you just have to start the little motor whenever you want to use it get it done for under 2k

[@gangesexcavating]

imchris5000 you're a twit.

[@gangesexcavating]

Reg Sparkes I don't know how you think that would work with the geometry.

[@winstonchurchill6418]

It wouldn't cost too much. Probably $400. Little trick. You can just splice off one of the lines that power one of the hydraulic cylinders, then route that splice through its own hydraulic lever that leads to the end of the boom and voila, you have aux hydraulics. For an impliment with large flow requirements like an auger you would have to do the same but splice off the main hydraulic hose that has lots of flow. When the thumb isn't in use it will have no effect on the system since the lever is close.

[@DeereFan110]

Chris you should get a thumb for the backhoe

[@AidenHubbsCRM]

Great idea

[@lancebowman4832]

It's a little bit harder than this to put a thumb on an extend-a-hoe. Not that it can't be done.

[@DeereFan110]

My friend has a 590 super L his has a extends hoe with thumb

[@4wheelers10]

Where are the clearing videos

[@bain5872]

How much was thumb?

[@letsdig18]

bain5872 around 3k

[@bain5872]

Certainly not a cheap addition. Thanks!

[@hubertroyal9869]

Chris why did you go with that brand of thumb

[@letsdig18]

Hubert Royal because it was a very high quality thumb

[@hubertroyal9869]

Cool. Thank you

[@AidenHubbsCRM]

Dude u need to get that link dirty not just clearing trees!

[@Snake_808.]

How come no hydraulic thumb? Too much $ ??

[@AidenHubbsCRM]

Hmm very weird

[@seabee0733]

Hydrolic thumbs are more problematic and not usually as strong at holding a heavier load.

[@butchmcintyre5196]

I make my own mechanical thumbs put the money in your pocket in stead of manufactors

[@Demoguy87]

Stationary thumbs they should call them thumbs for people who want to spend more money on their jobs in the long run.they are such a pain in the ass and a waste of time compared to just putting a proper thumb on a machine cheap out in the beginning spend a lot more in the long run

[@joegoecke9711]

I would have rather welded that with six sticks of big fat jet rod on a 440