Chain hooks on bucket

[BOOMERANG]

I want to weld a couple of hooks on my bucket so I can hook a chain on it for lifting. Any recommendations on where I should or should not place them?

 

[Knight9]

Do a search for bucket hooks and you'll get plenty of hits on this very topic. Even a lot of good pictures and tips.

Kevin

 

[jtn]

I have had 2 tractors with a hook mounted in the center of the bucket. I think this is the best place for balanced lifting. If you put the hooks on the sides you are not going to be as stable as you lift your load higher. Also a hook in the middle makes moving 3ph implements with the fel easy, just attach a chain to the hook and to the pin where you would normally hook the top link, position the cutting edge against the frame and curl the bucket.

On both buckets I have used one of the heavy duty hooks normally seen on full size backhoes. They have both a slot to lock the chain in and a loop for tie straps, etc.

JT

 

[gerard]

Other than the searches which will point you to some good ideas, I would plan on 3 hooks. One on each side and one dead center. There are times you will want to secure from the sides (lifting a long object like a pipe. tree, lumber etc) and there are times you can get by using one hook dead center. Just know I would never pull/lift from ONE side hook as you can twist things too easily. I've attached a picture of how I solved the problem before I could weld. (Now I can weld but this works so well I haveen't seen a reson to change it) Just uses a piece of heavy angle iron with three slits cut in the vertical edge wide enough for the chain to fit in. Couple of bolts hold it on and it has the added benefit of strengthening the top of the bucket and distributing the load.

 

[gordon]

Here is the first of two pictures of the hook I installed on my bucket.

Gordon

 

[gordon]

Here is the second picture of the hook from a rear angle. You can see from this angle that I added a piece of angle iron aross the entire length of the bucket for added strength. As well as the smaller pieces of angle that actually hold the hook.

Gordon

 

[knucklehead]

Here's some pictures of what my Father did because he didn't want to fry his new bucket. To keep the inside of the bucket cleaner, he drilled and tapped the backing plate inside the bucket for the four bolts holding the two center plates together (they show up as four orange dots on the upper left picture).

The center hook itself, and the two side hook plates, are bolted through the bucket with square shouldered carriage bolts. He filed the holes square after drilling to catch the shoulders. There are nylock nuts on the bolts.

Pictures are a little distorted due to ham-fisted sizing.

 

[MikePA]

Mark, my congratulations to you Dad! Great idea for the hooks on the side of the bucket. Where did he get them?

 

[jinman]

Boomerang, since you have a 16LA loader, I'll submit my photo of my bucket hooks which require no welding. You can put a set like this together with parts you buy at Tractor Supply or many other places (even Ace Hardware). It will cost you more than buying/welding on hooks, but you can add different types of hooks and lengths of chain to be flexible to almost any job. I've used mine a lot and they work really well for me./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/forumfiles/13-46255-BucketHooks.jpg>My Bucket Hooks</A>

 

[knucklehead]

Mike - Dad got them at a dealer in NH; they are weld on grab hooks, and he welded them onto a piece of bar stock. I think any dealer has them.