Hey guys, I plan on building a stone retaining wall with some armor rock. Its 50' long, and at the high end Is 4'....and 2' at the low end. I'm using my kx 71, and wondering what size stone to get I talked to the quarry and they said they weigh aprox 1 ton each:cool2 Do you think the bucket with the thumb will do the trick, Or Is there other ways of lifting, and placing the stone. Thanks
The bucket and thumb will do the trick. For some the drawback may be scarring or scratching the rock during handling. To eliminate this you can use chunks of carpet (can be cumbersome and time consuming) with the bucket/thumb or you can use straps. Straps will take more time too, and can be difficult if you aresetting rounded stones (like river rock). I have done many rock walls with bckt/thb. You just have to exersize a little care while handling. BTW in my experience the Kubota thumb is a little weak and has a tenancy to break, near the point at twhich it mounts to the dipper sides, when using for rcok handling.
I have a Kx-71-3 with a progessive thumb and it is amazing what size rocks I can pick up. I dont think you will pick up 2000 lls rock but you can roll them in place.
General rule of thumb (no pun intended) is that an ex will lift 20% of it's weight, the SWL will be less than that. Also the 20% rule varies insofar that at full arm extension this will be less and don't swing a big load over the side, always over the blade and carry it as low as possible, even rest it on the backfill blade.
:notworthyIts on a bit of a slope, But this Is a pic of where the rocks are going, I was going to cut a shelf In there to place them on. I do have a good size 6400 John Deere, I'm thinking that the tractor may be the way to go.....just lift them off the truck with the forks, then back down the hill, then up to place them..The rocks are going between the 2 yellow lines Coments allways welcome
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I just bought a kx71 and have a similar project in mind. I would love to see more pictures as the project progresses!