davesisk
Platinum Member
OK, I mentioned before that I'm thinking about buying an 8" trencher bucket and building a mount to hook it to the front of the PT1418. Given that I can dig reasonably well with the 48" toothless bucket, then I should be able to dig quite well with that small of a bucket (just shallow, of course, but that's fine for my needs).
So, I'm looking at probably ordering one of the 8" skid steer backhoe buckets from NorthernTool ($175 seems like a really good price). I'm assuming it has 4 eyes welded on as the attachment points. I'll then have to make a "frame" to mount it to, then mount the frame to the PT. I'm thinking 3" wide 3/16" thick steel angle stock for the frame. I'll use 3 pairs of heavy-duty u-bolts for eyes to mount the frame to the PT's 3 pin holes (2 lift arms and 1 curl arm). I'll probably bolt the bucket to the frame. I have a small 90 amp wire feed welder, but I'm not sure it'll make enough heat to weld the thicker metal together (although it might), so I'm looking at using mostly bolts to hold everything together.
On my 48" bucket, the 3rd eye (the one the curl arm attaches to) is only about 6" above the 2 eyes that the bucket tilts around. I'll have to measure it, but I'm thinking I'll increase that distance with the trencher bucket to around 9-12" (the largest number that'll still curl enough to move the bucket), that way it'll get considerably more leverage. I'm thinking here that the process of shoving the bucket into the ground will come from angling it down, lifting the front end of the tractor with the bucket edge, and possibly driving the machine forward (the same way I dig with the 48" bucket on). Pulling out a bucket of dirt (and rocks and roots, etc.) will mainly consist of curling the bucket up, then raising the lift arms. I could possibly also drill all the necessary holes so that I could mount the bucket on the frame so that it faces down instead of up, but I'm not sure that'll be as effective without an additional arm and cylinder.
Anyway, I'm obviously still formulating how to do this and how it'll work most effectively. Do you think 3/16" thick steel angle and large bolts will be rugged enough to handle the forces I'll be putting on it? Any other suggestions? (I have to keep this reasonably simple. I have a pretty good imagination, but I'm still a newbie at fabrication...) If you have any suggestions, please post 'em!
Regards,
Dave
So, I'm looking at probably ordering one of the 8" skid steer backhoe buckets from NorthernTool ($175 seems like a really good price). I'm assuming it has 4 eyes welded on as the attachment points. I'll then have to make a "frame" to mount it to, then mount the frame to the PT. I'm thinking 3" wide 3/16" thick steel angle stock for the frame. I'll use 3 pairs of heavy-duty u-bolts for eyes to mount the frame to the PT's 3 pin holes (2 lift arms and 1 curl arm). I'll probably bolt the bucket to the frame. I have a small 90 amp wire feed welder, but I'm not sure it'll make enough heat to weld the thicker metal together (although it might), so I'm looking at using mostly bolts to hold everything together.
On my 48" bucket, the 3rd eye (the one the curl arm attaches to) is only about 6" above the 2 eyes that the bucket tilts around. I'll have to measure it, but I'm thinking I'll increase that distance with the trencher bucket to around 9-12" (the largest number that'll still curl enough to move the bucket), that way it'll get considerably more leverage. I'm thinking here that the process of shoving the bucket into the ground will come from angling it down, lifting the front end of the tractor with the bucket edge, and possibly driving the machine forward (the same way I dig with the 48" bucket on). Pulling out a bucket of dirt (and rocks and roots, etc.) will mainly consist of curling the bucket up, then raising the lift arms. I could possibly also drill all the necessary holes so that I could mount the bucket on the frame so that it faces down instead of up, but I'm not sure that'll be as effective without an additional arm and cylinder.
Anyway, I'm obviously still formulating how to do this and how it'll work most effectively. Do you think 3/16" thick steel angle and large bolts will be rugged enough to handle the forces I'll be putting on it? Any other suggestions? (I have to keep this reasonably simple. I have a pretty good imagination, but I'm still a newbie at fabrication...) If you have any suggestions, please post 'em!
Regards,
Dave
