Yet again, bucket hooks.

[whodat90]

Kubota B8200Dt with a BF300A loader. When I got it it was smiling pretty badly, top and bottom of the bucket. With some creative chaining and jacking, I removed most of the smile, and in fact put a bit of a frown in the bottom of the bucket. Still wasn't strong enough for me though, so I decided to brace it up a bit. I put a stick of 2"x1/2" C-channel under the top bucket lip and used it to pull the bendies out of the top, and welded it in with stitch welds. Then I put another stick of the same metal flat on the top in behind the top lip to provide more bracing and a place to weld bucket hooks. I put two hooks on the top, angled in slightly. I then welded two pieces of 1/4"x2" strap on the back of the bucket, and welded two more chain hooks to those. My thinking is that if I need to lift the loader's full capacity by chain, then a hook placed dead between the loader pins is the strongest place to put it. If I need more lift but less capacity, I can use the other hook and drape the chain across the front of the bucket. For most operations, I can use a single chain running through both top hooks instead of a center top hook. Finally, if I want to chain something to the bucket itself, I'd rather chain it to the back of the bucket than run a chain completely around it.
The first round of tack welds were done with a lincoln weld-pak 135 or so, with flux core wire. Then I followed up with a Hobart Handler 175 with .030 stainless wire for the final welding. Paint will follow as soon as I get a chance.
whodat

 

[whodat90]

Got a coat of primer on after a good rotary wire-brushing. A couple of clarifications:
The 2"x1/2" c-channel was chosen because I just got a truckload of it free from work. Can't beat that price, and TSC has it for ~$5lf. The tackwelds were done with the little 110v welder and fluxcore because that was the welder that I had at the moment, I had left my hobart at my in-law's house and it had the cables for my stick welder coiled on it. It's also much easier to break a tack weld from the small welder and fluxcore than it is to break a stainless tack weld, in my experience. Used the stainless wire because it was what was in my hobart after a recent project helping a kid put a stainless mandrel exhaust under his volvo. Naturally when I went to pick up my hobart I found the gas bottle empty, and all TSC had was C25, which is a bit different that what stainless wire likes. Add to all this that it was windy, I was outside, and it was pretty dang cold out (30*-40*f) and I had a heck of a time preheating it with a mapp torch. I had to get the bucket put together to use on my garage project (thread in projects). Yes there's rust on the tractor, just got it last month from a woefully neglectful owner, and once I have a garage to work in will receive much lovin'.
whodat

 

[Sandlot]

OK, darn it, I will need to weld a hook on the back of my bucket now too! Can't be out done! Looks good. I am still trying to figure out where to place my hooks on the backhoe bucket.

 

[whodat90]

Thanks, it was actually seeing the placement of hooks on backhoe buckets that made me decide to put mine on the back of the bucket. When you think about it, it's the strongest place both from a weight-bearing standpoint (between the pins) and from a structural standpoint (the metal's thin, but the stress is parallel to it, and the strap I welded it to is tied both into the back of the bucket and the kubota brace that runs across the back.) Seeing how badly bent the bucket was when I got it made me pretty wary of putting any significant stresses on the top middle.

 

[3RRL]

This is how I put the grab hooks on my backhoe bucket.



However, after using them many times, it was always hard to get the chain and whatever object I was lifting with it secured to my liking. I always had to uncurl the bucket to take up slack and then the chain ran over the smooth rounded back of the bucket. So I cut them off and re-welded them on facing the other way. That way I can use the curl of the bucket to tighten the chain and also, it places the object slightly more towards the dipper stick for more lifting power. I like them better that way. Just my 2¢ since I've tried both ways now.