One Large Scoop, Please...

[Harv]

Has anybody but me been frustrated by the capacity of a standard bucket when you have more bulk than weight to deal with?

Nearing the end of my first full season as a tractor owner, I find that I am often faced with the chore of just shuffling massive amounts of weeds, leaves and other debris from where they lay to the compost heap or brush pile. As y'all know, this can amount to many trips with almost no weight in the bucket. A little better than a wheelbarrow, but not as satisfying as it should be.

Well, on this last trip to the property, I got fed up and tried to do something about it. Still being welder-challenged, I turned to my only resource -- my woodshop. My goal was simply to extend my bucket to hold more bulk. All I had lying around that was of any size was some scraps of plywood, so that's what I used.

The attached picture shows the "prototype" I used for proof of concept. None too elegant, that's fer sure, but it was enough for me try out the idea.

 

[Harv]

The attached pictures here show some "live action" shots during the trial run. As far as I'm concerned, the idea is worth pursuing. I moved many bushels of dried leaves and debris in a fraction of the time it used to take.

BTW -- in the top pict, you can see what we use snow shovels for here in California. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

For the "final" product, assuming I follow through with this, I would use 1" plywood and angle iron along the seams, just for durability. I would also make the sides higher (maybe 30" instead of the 20" you see in the pictures), plus I would add a rear wall of equal height.

If the two trailers my dad left me had not somehow disappeared, I might be pursuing a whole different approach, but dropping this simple structure into the bucket and fastening it with two bolts makes it a pretty convenient way to tackle these chores.

 

[Bird]

Nothing wrong with that, Harv, for light weight stuff. Looks good to me.

Bird

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Harv,

I saw your title... and got excited... I was ready for some ice cream... /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

Harv,

<font color=blue>Has anybody but me been frustrated by the capacity of a standard bucket when you have more bulk than weight to deal with?</font color=blue>

Yep, and still am./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif I like your idea/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif My approach was a little different. I used 3/4 inch plywood and check chains from the top of the loader to eye bolts in the plywood. It worked OK to carry some large plants for transplanting. I like your approach better but I think I will spring for a tilt bed trailer.

Al

 

[GlueGuy]

Splendid idea Harv. I might do something similar, but I think I might investigate some way to quickly attach/detach. Thanks for sharing!

The GlueGuy

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>I might investigate some way to quickly attach/detach</font color=blue>

I would be interested in what you come up with. I wanted to do the same thing, but my watch said I had one hour left to either fiddle with an elegant attachment or get out there and use the thing. So out came the drill.

This semi-monthly warrior stuff really sucks sometimes.

BTW -- I was thinking of fashioning something that would hook over the top lip of the bucket, but wasn't sure if that would be enough. I could speed up the two bolts by investing in a pair of wingnuts, too. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[mlmartin]

I likes it. I think I'll make a similar one for the fall.

What would you change in your design?

Matthew

 

[SteveV]

You'd be called a true yankee around NE when stuff starts appearing on the tractor!! We need large capacity snow buckets around here and they are sometimes purchased, often times adapted from larger machines, or built from whatever is around. I'd like to add another 15 degrees or so of rollback when I build mine. This would make flipping things in the bucket easier with a nice headboard to keep them from landing in my lap. SteveV

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>What would you change in your design?</font color=blue>

This one was whipped together so fast I would hardly call it a "design", but like I said, I would go with 1" plywood, higher sides, add a back (same height as sides), and reinforce the side seams with angle iron.

Like GlueGuy, I'm still cogitating on some form of quick attach, too, although the two bolts don't really take much time.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>I think I will spring for a tilt bed trailer</font color=blue>

If you've got the bucks, that's a very good way to go. You wouldn't be limited to the fluffy stuff, either.

One nice feature of my silly scoop was that I could set the bucket and scoop right on the ground and just rake stuff in. At one point, where I couldn't quite get the tractor close enough to the weed piles, I used a wheelbarrow for the short shuttle, and just walked it right into the scoop and dumped. Thought that was kinda nice. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

That looks absolutely splendid Harv! Well done. Nice, cheap, and a great time saver. Good idea!

 

[glennmac]

Instead of a bolt and nut, maybe a tractor pin of some kind with clip fastener would work.

 

[woodstock]

Harv,
I can't draw like you but maybe my explanation will be enough.
A quick hook up could be achieved with two bottom reinforcing angles.
Place the angles 1/3 the way in from each side and run them from the front of the box to the back of the bucket.
Bolt the angles to the bottom of the box using spacers so the bucket can slide in between the angles and the box.
Retain the existing bolt hole and change the nuts to wing nuts and that should do it. No welding here.
Harv do the picture thing please.

Winnipeg, Manitoba

2001 BX2200 (26 hrs)

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>maybe a tractor pin of some kind with clip fastener</font color=blue>

I had similar thoughts, but because it's wood it seems better to have the scoop cinched up tight to the sides of the bucket. More of a feeling than an engineering certainty, I guess, but hunches are all I have to go on sometimes. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

 

[pocowok]

Harv,

Your idea is actually more useful than the trailer when dealing with light and bulky material like branches and mulch. While waiting for my new TC45D to be delivered (hopefully this Friday /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif), I was thinking about this very same problem for my mulch spreading and leave pickup projects. NOW that you have wetted my appetite, I am thinking of making a "three sided" tall box with 20 gage metal. It is probably using a tapered sidewall so they are shaped similarly as the bucket. Optionally, a light duty cutting blade at th front edge). I would also weld two or three "fingers" at the backside of this metal box so it will simply hook (or grab) to the back of bucket. For stability, it is possible bolts may be added to fasten the fingers to the back of bucket (note: you don't need to drill holes to the bucket, just tighten the bolt for compression fit). You can certainly modify the wooden model for this quick attaches idea. With the metal model, you can also use it to scoop up 1 1/2 yard of mulch each time. Finally, THIS is not a proven working prototype. This is just some ideas that you got me thinking while waiting for my TC45D lady friend to show up! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>Harv do the picture thing please.</font color=blue>

Afraid I don't have time to do a drawing right now, Woodstock. I've spent too much time not working today already. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

I think I follow your description, though. We would wind up with a pair of angle irons running front to back under the scoop, with enough of a gap to slip the lower bucket surface into.

That certainly would make for a strong scoop. From what I experienced with the prototype, a full 1 inch of plywood with angle iron along the lower seams would be plenty strong enough for the chores I had in mind. I also like being able to set the scoop flat on the ground for ease of loading.

If we're going to retain the bolts, I'm not sure how that is any more of a quick hookup than the original. But then, I don't see a lot of things. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

 

[GlueGuy]

<font color=blue>I was thinking of fashioning something that would hook over the top lip of the bucket</font color=blue>

Precisely what I was thinking about. Why 1" plywood? That seems awfully heavy unless what you used was really bending (which it didn't look like). My thinking was that if you just clamped it onto the upper lip, then it could rest on the bottom of the bucket (cantelevered). I think that's all that would be needed. Could still make it out of wood, but there is the "storage" issue. I wouldn't want to take up room in my shop/garage, and I wouldn't want a wood contraption sitting outside.

The GlueGuy

 

[Harv]

Jack -
I am so jealous of you metal-enabled folks. As soon as I rejoin the financially comfortable, I swear I'm gonna get me a welder and start tinkering with the hard stuff.

<font color=blue>just tighten the bolt for compression fit[/b]

Excellent idea! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif If I/we shaped the side panels to match the bucket sides all the way to the back of the bucket so the whole thing fit "snug", I bet the compression bolts would hold it in place jes' fine. Now, could I prevail upon you to come weld up the holes I just punched in my bucket? /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

GlueGuy -

<font color=blue>Why 1" plywood?[/b]

It's not so much the weight of the material that concerns me. It's the fact that we're waving this contraption around on the front end of a tractor. Let's face it -- no matter how careful we try to be, it's going to get banged around some. In my brief test run, I had to be very careful to not apply any down-pressure on this thing, which is sticking out over 3 feet in front of the bucket. It's the same reason I am planning on reinforcing the bottom seams with angle iron. Gotta anticipate a few bumps and bruises now and then. Of course, with 1" plywood, I might be tempted to haul slightly heavier material from time to time. Oh, boy! Watch for me in the safety forum! /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

<font color=blue>there is the "storage" issue</font color=blue>

Don't think that one hasn't crossed my mind. My prototype is still on the tractor (just fits in the shop that way), but this is one bulky doodad once you take it off. Don't tell anybody, but I am considering ways to design the "real" one to fold up flat when not in use. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[snowman]

Very good idea...it looks like something even I could do.

I have to move large amounts of dirt a long way (about
3 acres); I don't have a trailer or anything else I could
dump it into. The FEL bucket seems so puny when I have
to travel this distance. Even though dirt would be heavier
than the dead leaves, etc., if something like this would let
me even double the FEL capacity, that's half the number
of trips. Don't know how I would get the dirt in other then
manually shoveling it.

Re: folding - couldn't you just put strong hinges on the inside
of the box, then just let them fold down? Would probably
leave some gaps along the hinged edges, but that shouldn't
cause a problem for the material that you're carrying.

Could use some sort of chains or eye bolts to lock the sides
in the upright position.