Making a Case BH bucket fit a Ford BH

[LD1]

Well, for some time I have been wanting a 24" bucket for my ford 5500. But dont want to pay a fortune. I have a 36" bucket which is great for doing big holes, but not so good for tile. And anything much smaller than a 24 plugs up too easy.

So browsing c-list, I found a guy that had 2 buckets. A 36" which we will fit for dads 4500 (he already has a 12" and 18"), and a case 24" bucket. $100 each. Thats a steal for a bucket in this area.

Only problem is the mount. Where the dipperstick attaches, its 10" spacing, and where the cylinder linkages attach, it is 5". I need 8-1/4" at both locations.

So heres what she looks like...

 

[LD1]

Step one is to get rid of the mounts so I can re-work them

 

[LD1]

No I am faces with the task of flattening the bends out of the 1/2" thick plate without a press

So I used a grinder and slicer disk to cut about half way through, and a little "hillibilly ingenuity" with my kubota and an 8 ton bottle jack

 

[LD1]

And here they are tacked back on. Still have to weld them solid and bore the cylinder holes from the 1.5" to 1.750" to fit my backhoe. Should have it finished up before lunch.

And no I didnt clean up where I torched the mounts off. Its just cosmetic and just a darn backhoe bucket so I though why bother. It aint hurting anything and "its good enough for who its for":laughing:

 

[LD1]

All done welding. And pins line up nicely.


Tad bit of a set back though....I was just going to use my expandable reamer to go from 1.5" holes to 1.75", but it turns out case uses hardened bushings in the bucket:banghead:, The ID of the hole without the bushing is 1.875. So I am going to make some bushings with a 1.75" ID

 

[Shield Arc]

Very nice job on keeping the pin holes aligned!:thumbsup:
When ever I do something like this I back step, and move around a lot when welding. And keep a close eye on things.

 

[LD1]

yep, moved around alot.

I kept the rods In while welding, and ever inch or so when (when stopping to "move around"), I would see if the rods would still spin freely. and every so often, a little persuasion with a BFH before continuing.

And once cooled, I verified again that I was good to go.

Looks like she will work for $100 + half a days work:thumbsup:

 

[Shield Arc]

Looks like she will work for $100 + half a days work:thumbsup:

Gotta love having the tools and knowledge to do something like this. Think of the money you saved yourself.:cool2:

 

[LD1]

Gotta love having the tools and knowledge to do something like this. Think of the money you saved yourself.:cool2:

And the enjoyment factor as well. I like projects like this:thumbsup:

Allthough I think I would have liked it more if it was a ford bucket already for the same price. But this one dont look like it was hardly ever used.:thumbsup:

And the 36" bucket is almost just as nice, and it was only $100 too:thumbsup:

 

[crazyal]

Keep a good eye on it. I've ripped apart two buckets with my 580K. I have lots of ledge and stumps around here that make it easy to put lots of stress on the welds. The first bucket I didn't catch in time and twisted the metal. After that I kept a closer eye on it.