I am designing a trencher for my bx25. need advice

7lakes · Dec 7, 2015

I want to make a 2 ft trencher for my bx25d. My issue is that I only have 17 inches available in order to complete the curl to put the trencher away on the backhoe. I have a quick removal for the bucket, so I have 2 thoughts. One is to make it at the desired depth and just not ever close the backhoe without removal, but I am worried that it might also touch the ground and not clear the ground at the bottom position. The other is to make it to the 17 inches I guess hand dig the remaining few inches. I will really only get 14-15 inches due to the fact that my 17 inch measurement includes part of the quick bucket attach. The trencher will be 4 inches wide and will hopefully, actually remove the material and not just scrape at it. My design started with a purchased 4 inch wide enormous bucket tooth I found. Here is the design so far and a picture of a similar tooth to the one I purchased. I think it is called a Twin Tiger

TMGT · Dec 8, 2015

I'd just leave it on and not bring the stick all the way in or just gently set the bucket against the boom, ever seen a construction backhoe with a breaker on it.

Make it the full depth you need, hand digging narrow, deep trenches is not fun.

As for tucking it in for transport, stick out, curl in all the way and then stick in.

7lakes · Dec 11, 2015

Well I finished up the trencher. It has a replaceable 4 inch wide and 6 inch long tooth. There are 3 tooth option, and I put the forked one on for now. It seems like a slight pain to change them out as you have to beat the bejeebers out of the pin to get it in and, well, I haven't tried to remove it yet. I think that it will cut about 18 inches deep and should also remove the material without it getting all jammed up like in a skinny bucket. The thing weighs about 50 lbs I think. That is probably overkill, but this is just a prototype. I will try and test it out this weekend and add some pictures. And for some reason, all my pictures upload to this forum upside down. They are right on my computer, and wrong here. I don't know. Oh well.

Dakota_male · Dec 11, 2015

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You'll have lots of uses for it, I built one too and it is great for flipping stones out and only leave a hole the rock size instead of the backhoe bucket width. I added a cable conduit for laying wires with it too.

TMGT · Dec 12, 2015

What model tooth is that and what type of pin? My bh bucket uses a similar but slightly smaller looking tooth and the pins change out pretty easy.
My pins have rubber/urathane sandwiched between metal halves.

7lakes · Dec 14, 2015

I am not sure on the model of the tooth. I went to the store and found it at 3.5 inches wide and 6 inches long. The pin got hammered through what looks like a split ring without the set screw.

7lakes · Dec 14, 2015

I dug with it over the weekend. It cut way deeper than I would have thought as it is not much wider than the quick attach I have on the backhoe and just keeps digging down. I guess the only issue there is that if I go deeper than the 18 inches, the top of the cut is wider than the 4 inches.

cschulz · Jan 3, 2016

Id keep what you have there. A little wider at the top is better in my eyes. Easier to work in and less cave in to the ditch. Also when back filling you have less chance of air pockets to sink in.

Chris