Backhoe Bucket Tooth Wear

bindian · Feb 12, 2011

jinman said:
Brandi, I hope your healing is going well. To hear somebody from Willis talk about ice is really, really strange. This storm really kicked our collective butts here in Texas.:confused2:

Jim,
Thanks. Houston had more ice and rain fall then we did.
hugs, Brandi

SixHoeBob · Feb 12, 2011

To install the split pins; I clamp the split pin as tight as possible with large vise grips to compress the rubber. Align the pin with the hole, and tap on the vise grips to install pin. Some pins have a front and back, some don't. The specialized pin removal tool works well for removing the retainers, or use a punch.
I found out that if you hit the tooth hard enough, metal can flake off and bury itself in your palm like shrapnel. I pulled the sharp flake out and eventually the blood stopped flowing. 18 months later the second chunk worked it's way to the surface, and I dug it out with a utility knife. Finally, the soreness went away.

Morals of the story; A. Wear safety glasses

B. Use a hard wood block between the hammer and the
tooth

jinman · Feb 13, 2011

SixHoeBob, thanks for the instructions and advice.:thumbsup: My pins do have a front and rear with "rear" embossed on one side. I also noticed that the holes through the stub are larger on the right side, so I think they are made that way to have the pins inserted there and then driven into place. I will try the pins the next time I change teeth.

dcyrilc · Feb 13, 2011

jinman said:
SixHoeBob, thanks for the instructions and advice.:thumbsup: My pins do have a front and rear with "rear" embossed on one side. I also noticed that the holes through the stub are larger on the right side, so I think they are made that way to have the pins inserted there and then driven into place. I will try the pins the next time I change teeth.

Speaking of changing teeth... How are the new ones holding up to that material you're digging?

jinman · Feb 13, 2011

Cyril, I only dig in nice weather. That's the benefit of being retired.

Lately we have been sub-freezing and my flooded basement has kept me busy. Because of that, I've only been digging twice with the new teeth and they are superb. I've busted up lots of big chunks of caliche and then pulverized them by dropping the teeth on them.

As a side note, I looked at my excavation yesterday and there was a pool of water about 8' in diameter where it doesn't drain off. The water was so clear, I thought I was just looking at wet mud before realizing there was a foot of water on top of it. I hope that indicates that this is going to be a beautiful clear blue pond. Being 90% in caliche, I think it has that possibility.

dcyrilc · Feb 13, 2011

jinman said:
Cyril, I only dig in nice weather. That's the benefit of being retired. Lately we have been sub-freezing and my flooded basement has kept me busy. Because of that, I've only been digging twice with the new teeth and they are superb. I've busted up lots of big chunks of caliche and then pulverized them by dropping the teeth on them.

As a side note, I looked at my excavation yesterday and there was a pool of water about 8' in diameter where it doesn't drain off. The water was so clear, I thought I was just looking at wet mud before realizing there was a foot of water on top of it. I hope that indicates that this is going to be a beautiful clear blue pond. Being 90% in caliche, I think it has that possibility.

I guess you have been a little distracted. My bad, I wasn't thinking.:ashamed:

Let us know how they hold up when you get some time on them.:laughing:

crazyal · Feb 13, 2011

Boy I wish I could wear teeth down. All I ever do is break them. I just buy them at the local Case dealer, it's cheaper for me than on-line once you figure in shipping.

jinman · Feb 17, 2011

dcyrilc said:
I guess you have been a little distracted. My bad, I wasn't thinking.:ashamed:

Let us know how they hold up when you get some time on them.:laughing:

I've used the backhoe some this week to dig and move about 100 yards of caliche. It is working very well. It's such a pleasure to do my checks, fuel up, and grease up then head out to do some work. This LB75B is really spoiling me. I've done some very rough calculations and I think I'm using about 1 gallon of fuel for every 8 yards of material dug up, moved, and spread. At $3.30 per gallon, that means I'm moving material at a fuel cost of $0.41 per yard. I'm guessing that with the other maintenance items, I'm looking at an operational cost around $0.50 per yard. I don't know how that compares to what other people might see. If I was digging and hauling in a trailer, I don't think my overall costs would be any less. My wife told me that the loader bucket was so heaped up when I was hauling loads to the fill area that it looked like there was more dirt outside the bucket than inside. I'm sure those heaped buckets are over 2 yards.:thumbsup:

bindian · Sep 9, 2011

Jim,
I finally got around to ordering my fork teeth yesterday and was told they are back ordered. So now I wait longer.
hugs, Brandi

tonyoz · Sep 9, 2011

A ripper is a good idea to use in tight ground. Over here we get a ripper off a dozer and weld a box on the top with the ears off that so that it looks like the area of the bucket where you attach it to the dipper. If you have a quick attach then weld the pins into the ears then all you have to do is dump the bucket, pick up the ripper, do your ripping then change over etc. In tight or rocky ground they are the go.
Hardfacing bucket teeth is no more than false economy cause the cost of rods,time etc and also it stuffs the metal under the weld. You can end up getting real busy, don't have time to reface the teeth then they wear at twice the rate.