Weld on bucket teeth - advice wanted

[GaryE]

I do not think it would cost you all that much for the extra piece of steel and two extra welds (ok four extra welds if you count both sides!) to make a "tooth bar". In the long run you will be much happier.


And even if you never take it off, you will have the extra strength of the extra steel.


Just my opinion


Gary

 

[john_bud]

Welding heat is likely to take the temper off the cutting edge steel. Who needs a soft metal cutting edge?

Not to quibble, but the factory edge is what's called a "weld on edge" that's because it's weldable steel, not tempered. Bolt on edges are usually high carbon steel for the wear resistance.

 

[machmeter62]

I have a NH TC40DA w/the 16LA loader. I'd like to see what opinions the TBN folks have about my idea to skip the tooth bar & just get some weld on shanks instead??

It'd be a fair amount cheaper & I don't think that once on I'd even remove the tooth bar...

I don't think I'll have any problem welding them on w/my 180A Miller as I can use O/A to preheat the shanks & bucket edge.

In the future you may want to upgrade/downgrade your tractor size? I always think about resale when I modify anything; those welded teeth may end up biting any future sale?? I vote for the tooth bar! It may cost less now, but the resale will more than kill any savings!!

 

[MarkV]

I am going against the crowd this time. I put a tooth bar on one tractor seven years ago and it has never been removed. My newer tractor has a Bobcat bucket with the weld on teeth that do not wrap around the cutting edge. What I like about the weld on teeth being flush with the bottom of the bucket is that it allows me to set the bucket flat and skim a surface much like a wood plane does on wood. After some practice you can get a very smooth grade that you can not do with the teeth that wrap around the bucket edge.

If I were cleaning out stalls or removing snow non-removable teeth could be a problem. The Bobcat bucket also has a substantial cutting edge for strength.

MarkV

 

[patrick_g]

Mark, your teeth that don't protrude below the cutting edge are a good compromise that eliminate many of the objections raised against weld-on vs bolt-on. If resale is not an issue and you never ever do those tasks where teeth interfere then your setup is certainly acceptable for your use.

I had never thought about the potential for reinforcing the bucket's cutting edge by using a bolt-on tooth bar. I get pretty darned aggressive with my bucket and have never done it much damage, never needed repair but if you have a lighter duty bucket I can see how that might be a really good idea.

I'm sure everyone for the most part learns to operate within the limitations of their particular situation and begins to think of it as the standard to which all other arrangements are compared. For me, keeping my options open (not including resale) is important as versatility is one of the chief attributes that endears my tractor to me.

I really just love the effect I can get in freshly worked dirt by back dragging. Maybe it is a problem with my limited experience and skill but I NEED to back drag with the bucket to do a good gravel job. When materials are dumped on the ground (maybe where they shouldn't have been) I was able to use it up and leave the area nearly clean and undisturbed.

Pat

 

[hill]

Not to quibble, but the factory edge is what's called a "weld on edge" that's because it's weldable steel, not tempered. Bolt on edges are usually high carbon steel for the wear resistance.

Who me?..........quibble?

I've assumed by the apparent toughness of the front beveled surfaces of my welded on edge that the 'cutting edge is hardened though the remainder of the piece may not be. I know that it's not uncommon to renew a tractor implement contact surface by using 'hard face' welding rod to rebuild the surface and that it's quite possible to put a hard edge on a knife blade while keeping the remainder of the blade not as hard so that brittleness will not bring a problem and a blade can be both resilient and tough, springy sometimes, while holding it's sharp edge at a high rockwell rating.

 

[patrick_g]

The cutting edge of my bucket is not just plain mild steel. It is way harder. I'm not sure what Rockwell or how far from the edge it is hard but the actual cutting edge is quite hard, especially compared to mild steel or the sides or back of the bucket.

I do have one quite small chunk knocked out of the edge and ir broke out leaving a crystalline structure where it parted that is typical of harder alloys.

Pat

 

[3RRL]

Hi Tom,
To each his own I say. You've gotten some good advice from both camps and would consider it. Having said that, I would do whatever you wanted in this case, since you said what you said about how you plan to use it. Make sure your cutting edge is plenty strong so you don't tweak it when popping out trees, shrubs or rocks. But that can be fixed too. I've had my bolt-on toothbar on for 2 years now and it's never come off yet. I say go ahead and weld the teeth on if that's what suits your needs best. Circumstances might be different for other users.

 

[hogi]

Has anyone ever seen brazed on teeth? Would it work? I have read many times that the strength of a brazed joint will often exceed the strength of the base metals. Because you can braze at much lower temps wouldn't you avoid weakening the teeth and cutting edges?

 

[glmf]

even welded on teeth are not permanent,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,