A hole must be drilled or burned into the loader bucket at the center and back 18" from the leading edge of the loader bucket. Once the hole has been drilled, the boom is installed by holding it as shown, threading the square washer onto the all thread, pushing it through the hole and into the boom. Then fasten the bottom nut and tighten just finger tight.

    In the case that no boom mover will be used then a "U" bolt should be installed to secure the boom from moving. This requires two holes to be drilled or burned into the loader bucket preferably about 1" back from the leading edge. Or the channel iron can be secured with two 1/2" bolts as shown below.

First what cylinder to use

    As a maximum, it takes approximately 1,000 lbs of force applied to the eyelet to move the boom all the way out when the 16"  bucket is full of moist soil. Using hydraulics, a 2" cylinder will work but you must be careful not to overload the eyelet when the boom is at the most outward position because this cylinder will have a force of about 4,000 lbs. Using air, a 4" cylinder is the minimum. A cylinder with a 5"  bore works better. We have used a 5 hp compressor with a 20 gallon tank on a 4" cylinder. The cycle time is about 5 minutes using this cylinder. Also note that using air does not allow the widening of the ditch because the air recompresses and the cylinder can not keep the required force to the side of the ditch.

Installing the cylinder


    The cylinder brackets are two parts. The stationary end bracket that bolts onto the bottom of the loader bucket and the moving end eyelet that bolts onto the channel iron. The cylinder can be mounted on either side. It is suggested that you make provisions for mounting the cylinder on both sides so that you can swing the load left or right.
   
    The bracket requires two 1/2"  holes to be drilled or burned into bottom of the loader bucket. First position the boom vertically with the ForeHoe bucket off so you can reach your work. Move the ram on your cylinder out about 3"  before you start your layout work. This will allow a slight over-movement when you move your boom back to the digging location. Measure the distance between the pins on your cylinder. Hold the bracket out this distance on a horizontal line and mark the location of where the holes go. Extend the cylinder and measure the distance between the pins. Next move the boom to the outward position. Hold the bracket where you located it before and measure to see if you have enough stroke to move the bucket all the way out. The minimum stroke for your cylinder is about 9" . Modify if necessary, then mount the bracket.
   
    When installing the cylinder, pin the eyelet first then slide the cylinder onto the bracket. Insert the cotter pin. Then slip the eyelet bolt into the hole on the channel and secure.

     The view on the left/top (normal storage configuration) shows the boom and Unitized winch assembly ready for mounting onto the tractor as seen on the right/bottom. Once the three holes are burned/drilled the mounting and unmounting can be done in less than 5 minutes. If cable replacement is required, the winch plate is removed from the boom and placed on the work bench where the "U" bolts can be  relocated into existing holes that will help determine the correct cable length. 

    This method of moving the boom seems the most favorable because it can swing the boom to either side and most importantly, it allows the ForeHoe to be operated independently of A.C. power requirements. However, the winch requires that you have a generator or alternator output of at least 80 amps.