What size plate for building a FEL bucket?

[Danno1]

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I think my bucket is fabbed fr 3/16 thk steel. (B219 FEL)

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[rhamer]

I made mine out of 6mm, but I havent actually used it yet because it's still a work in progress.

It is very heavy (partially because it's also a 4 in 1) and I do have a small concern that I might have over done it, given the size of my tractor.

Anyway, time will tell I guess

Cheers

Rohan

[Renze]

Originally Posted by rhamer

It is very heavy (partially because it's also a 4 in 1) and I do have a small concern that I might have over done it, given the size of my tractor.

For a 4 in one, i'd also use quite some heavier material, given the abuse it will get from grabbing stuff...

[rhamer]

Originally Posted by Renze

For a 4 in one, i'd also use quite some heavier material, given the abuse it will get from grabbing stuff...

Ah, that's what I like to hear.

It's always a bit of a relief when something you did, just because it seemed like a good idea, actually turns out to be the correct way of doing it

Cheers

Rohan

[Renze]

Rohan,

I do work at a loader manufacturer, but my experience with 4 in 1 buckets is very little, as the concept itself isnt very popular in Holland... My comment was merely a belief too..

Dont know why 4 in 1's didnt catch here... The standard here, is a slatted rock bucket with inlay (to scoop loose sand)

One of our customers had his bucket in for repair, the bottom was worn thin from scooping off concrete bunk floors, so the bucket department welded new slats and a cutting edge on it.. The slats had worn down to 20x20mm size, which is way too weak for a 15 ton payloader... but it has worn light enough to be used on my tractor FEL when chopped down from 9 foot to 6 foot width..

...Not that i am in need of a rock bucket right now, nor do i have the time..
but because the scrap price is so low, my boss doesnt bother about asking money for a batch of old buckets, and cutting edges i need for my 6 way grader blade project...

Its my personal belief, that free scrap is allways a good investment

[dfkrug]

Originally Posted by Renze

Dont know why 4 in 1's didnt catch here...

Maybe because of lack of exposure? You have to see them work, then
try them to see how versatile they are. Then, of course, someone has
to pay extra to have one shipped from far away, since dealers there don't
have them. A viscious circle.

I agree with SHMISM, a perfectly good FEL bkt for CUTs will have 1/8"
plate carcass, somewhat thicker sides, a 1/2" beveled cutting edge, and
some top lip strengthening. Adding wear plates on the bottom is good, too.
Many OEM light duty bkts have 1/8" carcasses and NO wear plates.

When I built my CADDigger 13" hoe bkt, I used 1/4" plate for the whole
carcass. It was VERY heavy....3/16" with wear plates would have been
better and much easier to bend.

My recent 4-in-1 project adapted a very light duty bkt from WRLong. The
carcass was only 1/8" thick and when I pinch rocks inside, the back gets
dented. They should have used 3/16"! This would not be a problem with
regular bkts.