Show us your Arb Diggers please.

[doobin]

5 hours ago, billpierce said:

What size machine do you have that on? I worry that on a 1.7t machine I'll use half its lift capacity  with a fixed rotating grab

Yup I’d say that’s a fair assumption. That’s the 2.7t, photos earlier in the thread were the same grab on the 1.9t. 

[Slicer Dicer]

These pictures highlight why for me  a thumb will always win when it comes to getting the maximum lift and height capacity out of a machine whilst maintaining a degree of mechanical sympathy to it. 2 rocks both similar in weight. Look how far the grab rock hangs below the dipper pin whereas with with the thumb the rock is more or less level with it- a considerable diffence in lift height on a small machine. In order to get the grab rock into a dumper I have to lift the dipper much further out to get the height subjecting the grab and bracketry to a horrible angle and also more stress on the slew with it being further reach with that kind of weight in in. The thumb holds the weight much nicer closer into the machine and gets more lift height  as a result

[woody paul]

If you want just lift hieght grab wins but weight will be further away. 

 

[Slicer Dicer]

1 minute ago, woody paul said:

If you want just lift hieght grab wins but weight will be further away. 

 

Correct. But with small machines weight is normally the issue at far reach unless your just fiddling around with small stuff. A thumb whill still get things up to a few meters in height which is ample for most applications. If the OP is running a 1.7 I'm confident he'll get more weight up to height with a thumb than a grab. All whilst being more durable, half the cost of the grab and always on the machine when he needs it. I have a thumb machine, fixed grab machine and a rotating grab so I'm not just biasing the thumb because that's all I have which is generally what a lot of people do when they're trying to defend theyre own gear.🤣

[doobin]

8 hours ago, Slicer Dicer said:

Correct. But with small machines weight is normally the issue at far reach unless your just fiddling around with small stuff. A thumb whill still get things up to a few meters in height which is ample for most applications. If the OP is running a 1.7 I'm confident he'll get more weight up to height with a thumb than a grab. All whilst being more durable, half the cost of the grab and always on the machine when he needs it. I have a thumb machine, fixed grab machine and a rotating grab so I'm not just biasing the thumb because that's all I have which is generally what a lot of people do when they're trying to defend theyre own gear.🤣

I run all types too as per my

post with pictures earlier and I love my grapple with hydraulic backstay for the reasons you mention- you can get the weight right back under the dipper.
 

I still don’t like a thumb as they are a bodge to me when it comes to tree work. I’d sooner take a couple of minutes to change attachment to something more suitable. 
 

Were I trenching all day and having to frequently remove rocks from the trench, then a thumb would be ideal. 

[Martin du Preez]

On 25/11/2023 at 10:38, monkeybusiness said:

A fixed (ie non-swing) rotating grab gives massively more control and dexterity than any other type BUT is subjected to a great deal more forces than one that swings, so needs to be used with a degree of mechanical sympathy and built as strongly as possible. For the money suggested above I’d probably consider the Kelfri free swinger, as I’m not sure how well a cheap grab would stand up to being fixed onto a digger.

Intermacto or however you spell it. Hands down the best, most robust grab for smaller machines. Ours gets used with zero sympathy, used daily, for tree work, demolition, forestry, ripping out smaller stumps, ripping old fences, used as bucket when I forget one, you name it. 6 years and not a fault 

[woody paul]

Got grab off little loader to fit digger for job tomorrow, just happens adaptor for digger to fit volvo buckets fitted with pin sleeved. 

Big job tomorrow topping conifers got digger coming in with shear. 

[Conor Wright]

That's a brave spot to put the six way valve!

[woody paul]

1 hour ago, Conor Wright said:

That's a brave spot to put the six way valve!

It's do over 6 years like that on loader and how it turned up from RSL engineering, good drivers. 

[Treeman123]

First day out tomorrow with the Sunward SWE 25 UF