A Question for Those Who Made their own Toothbar

[AltaLawnCare]

My bucket is about 51", with a sharp edge welded across the front.

I want my tooth bar (If I decide to make it myself)
to go across the front with two bolts on each side to hold it. Does it have to have a lip to fit against the bottom of the bucket...or will just the two bolts be enough to hold it??
Thanks....

 

[jdrotert]

The tooth shanks have a "hook" which keep the toothbar flat against the bucket bottom. See the attachment which shows the exploded mockup of a toothbar I put together.

 

[chim]

There are a number of ways to make a toothbar, and some work better than others. Mine is 2 pieces of flat stock welded to a "V" shape that fits over the bucket's cutting edge. One 3/8" bolt on each side works fine. See attached pic. There are a couple of threads around with a fair amount of info...............chim

 

[Fishmonger]

Chim what size flat stock did you use? Also, how much breakout force do you think your tooth bar can withstand.

Fishmonger

 

[Ozarker]

That is a good looking tooth bar but let me make sure I understand what you said. I can't tell from looking at the picture.

You used two pieces of flat stock and made a cap that completely covers the original cutting edge of the bucket? And then welded the teeth to that cap?

 

[chim]

Yes, it fully covers the cutting edge. The ends are held by short pieces of angle, welded to toothbar.

The flat stock is 3/8" x 3". It's hard to see in the picture, but the top bar sticks out farther than the bottom one. I welded them together in that position after clamping them in place on the bucket. The weld is from the front edge of the bottom bar to the bottom of the top bar. I ground a bevel on the bottom of the top bar. Words don't cut it, so see attached sketch.

Not being a REAL welder (electrichicken by trade) I didn't have a plan to deal with the shrinkage that occured on the top bar. It ended up with a slight negative camber - has a teensy smile when viewed from the right angle.

I have picked the back of the tractor off the ground with a single tooth, used the toothbar picking at rocks, some of which have won the battle (I think the other end of one rock is under your flower bed). To loosen up some hard soil, I put the bucket tooth down and rocked the tractor using curl & dump. Like I said, the sandwich over the cutting edge seems to work well. One 3/8" bolt on each side holds up fine..........chim

 

[Ozarker]

Sounds like a good set up and should take more abuse that one flat bar across the top like most I've seen.

 

[AltaLawnCare]

Thanks, this is just what I'm looking for. Are those teeth bought or homemade too?

Has anyone made their own teeth?

 

[chim]

Teeth and the weld-on bases were bought at a local tractor/implement/hardware store. They were around $13 each (per tooth, base and roll pin combined). Some bases are drilled at the factory, some not. If they are not drilled when you buy them, take the advice of another poster here and drill them prior to welding. I even mounted the teeth and drove the roll pins in before welding them on...........chim

 

[WALT]

Chim, I came accross this post while searching for a source for the toothbar "teeth".
I have not yet found the "teeth" availible locally, as I too plan to make a toothbar for my BX 2200.
Any help with a brand/vendor etc. as perhaps I could mail-order them. Nice job on your tooth bar.

Thanks: Walt

 

[chim]

Walt, here's a website for the place I bought them. If I recall, the ones I bought were the smallest ones they stocked. I did a little trimming to get the shape to suit me where they fit to the bar. The trimming was done on a band saw in our fab shop at work. If you want, I can stop in and get the numbers - it looks like you can order them from B&H if you are unable to find them locally. Just let me know.............chim

http://www.binkleyhurst.com/

 

[arkydog]

Really looks nice! How far apart did you put them on your bar and did you turn the outside one slightly outward? I cant find any small ones locally, would like to order them from Binklyhurst. If not too much trouble to find the numbers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. Arkydog

 

[chim]

I'll stop in at the store and get the parts numbers. Spacing is about 7-1/2" center-to-center. The outside edge of the outer teeth are just about flush with the edge of the bucket. To mount the bar, I used some angle iron that I trimmed to suit.

Attached is a sketch of the bars I welded into a "V" and welded the teeth to. At each end the short piece of angle was welded onto the same surface as the teeth. I trimmed the lower part of the angle off where it protrudes into the bucket, and cut the leading edge of the angle iron at an angle. It's harder to explain than it was to do.

The end teeth are actually on top of the angle iron. This makes them 1/4" higher than the rest. This doesn't cause any problems when using it. It would be a simple matter to cut an extra 1/4" off the bottom of the weld-on teeth if you want to.

A 3/8" bolt on each end has worked out fine, especially since the "V" sandwiches over the bucket cutting edge. I have hooked into things that don't move with one tooth, and picked the one back wheel off the ground even with the weight of loaded tires and a RFM attached....................chim

 

[arkydog]

Thanks for the reply. On the teeth on the end, some toothbars I have seen, the teeth stick out away from the others like at 100 degree angle instead of 90 degree. Was wondering if there would be any advantage or disavantage to this setup?

Thanks. Arkydog

 

[chim]

The teeth on mine are almost parallel with the bottom of the bucket. They are slightly lower than the cutting edge. The sketch in my previous post is fairly close to how it looks. Works fine. The only operations I've had better luck without the bar is scooping up crushed stone. It works best for me to remove the bar so the factory cutting edge slips under the edge of the pile.

Stopped at Binkley & Hurst this AM and got the following info:

Weld-on bases for teeth = 12L6DW-8-2A-H..........$9.95/ea
Replaceable teeth for above = T41166................$3.08/ea
Roll Pin = 38-32028...........................................$0.79/ea

The bases listed above are already drilled for the roll pins, but the larger ones I saw were not. The roll pins on mine fit very tight. You'd best assemble the base/tooth/pin before welding. You really need to smack the beejiminy out of them to get the roll pin in. As another poster noted, it would be a job to work between the teeth with a hammer. Good luck, let us know how it goes. Any? just ask...............chim

 

[arkydog]

CHIM-

Thanks for the reply---Just ordered 7 of them from Isacc at binklyhurst. Should go out tomorrow ups.

Arkydog

 

[chim]

You're quite welcome. Judging from the info on your profile, fabrication should be a snap. Attached is a blowup to show the attachment angle and tooth shape...............chim

 

[arkydog]

Just finished the toothbar this holiday weekend. Works great, a lot better than expected. Just got a digital camera and will take some pictures of it next weekend when we go back. Thanks for the input and the advise.

arkydog

 

[chim]

Great. Glad it worked out so well. We'll be watching for the pics..............chim

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I attached similar teeth to the bucket on my old tractor a few years ago. I just welded the tooth holder right to the cutting edge. Then I attached the tooth to each holder by peening the tooth into that dimple shown in the photo, and avoided the drilling step. The whole operation took me about a couple of hours and saved the steps of fabricating the new tooth bar.
This approach worked well, but is a real lazy man's way and you'd loose the option of detaching the bar if working in loose material ( like snow or gravel ).
For my new Kubota, I think I'll go the extra mile and fabricate the removable tooth bar.
Duncan