Angle Iron Bucket Hooks

[Gizmo2]

All that's left is the painting. Had this setup on my 650, worked very well. Makes for a stronger bucket also.

 

[brandoro]

I made one similar, bolted on instead of weld, for my last tractor except I also welded 1/2" coupling nuts on the inside corner of the angle at both ends and two more pointing up about three feet apart. Screwed in bolts that had slightly more than 1" of smooth shank and used them for picking up stuff with 1" nylon slings. Some things don't like being picked up with a chain.
I kept it when I sold the old tractor but haven't managed to get it on the new one yet. I do miss it on occasion. It will need a bit of modification because the bucket is different.

 

[3RRL]

Nice job Gizmo and good thinking.
That addition should work well for all kinds of things and strengthen your bucket top, like you say. I don't know what your fel lift capacity is, but I imagine the angle iron will be strong enough to exceed what the lift capacity is (I assume).
I would watch pulling stuff with it though, as that might exceed ... don't know.

 

[Gizmo2]

Nice job Gizmo and good thinking.
That addition should work well for all kinds of things and strengthen your bucket top, like you say. I don't know what your fel lift capacity is, but I imagine the angle iron will be strong enough to exceed what the lift capacity is (I assume).
I would watch pulling stuff with it though, as that might exceed ... don't know.

I never pull anything straight on with the FEL, just for lifting

 

[bjcsc]

My favorite part of TBN is all the clever stuff you guys come up with. I don't have a CUT or SCUT so I'm kind of on the fringe, but I love the projects! The number of pictures I've saved and pages I've bookmarked keeps on growing!!

 

[gerard]

I did the exact same thing on my bucket and also used bolts as I couldn't weld when I got the tractor (can now). Works great and I'll never bend the top of my bucket. I like the idea of leaving the bolts extended for slinging, I might have to modify mine now.................

 

[SkunkWerX]

My favorite part of TBN is all the clever stuff you guys come up with. I don't have a CUT or SCUT so I'm kind of on the fringe, but I love the projects! The number of pictures I've saved and pages I've bookmarked keeps on growing!!

I agree, I get many good ideas from topics just like this one.

 

[Gizmo2]

Done! Thanks for all the nice comments.

 

[Bill Barrett]

That is about as clean and simple as it gets!

 

[mjncad]

Done! Thanks for all the nice comments.

View attachment 104159 View attachment 104160

Looks great! Did you put some reinforcing ribs on the back side of the angle to tie the two legs together? That would really beef it up. I also like that you took the extra time to round the corners off the angle. Your body will thank you for that if your are walking by the bucket and slip or cut the corner too quick. It gives the bucket hooks a finished appearance.

I made something similar as my first welding project; but I chose to bolt mine on the bucket.

Picasa Web Albums - Matt - John Deere 42...

 

[Deerlope]

If you want areally strong bucket, weld a piece if 2x2x3/16 square tube across there and weld some hooks to it.

 

[radman1]

Not trying to distract from your project, but I am not crazy about the slots in the angle iron. The slots are too vertical. If the bucket gets tipped too far forward, the chain could slip out of the slots. Also, sometimes I need all the height I can get from FEL and need to tip the bucket forward. This allow the FEL to overall lift higher because the chain point is lower.

 

[accordionman]

HELLO TO ALL,
i had the same thought as RADMAN 1. there is nothing
to prevent the chain from sliding out of the slot when the
bucket is tilted forward. bad idea. a chain hook is still the
best method.
accordionman
wlbrown

 

[Gizmo2]

Sorry guys but I ran this same set up on my 650 for 20 some years, never had an issue with it.

 

[brandoro]

Having built/used this method for attaching chains I considered the possiblity of the chain slipping out. Since the operator controls the FEL and bucket attitude I didn't perceive this as much of an issue and, over the several years that I had it mounted on my old tractor I did not once have a chain slip out. Should it be neccesary to turn the bucket that far that the chain could slip out of the slot it would not be difficult to pin a piece of flat bar over the chain so it was completely captive in the slot.
I do agree that hooks are a very good method of holding a chain and plan to add a couple of hooks to my arrangement when I mount it on the tractor I have now. Then I will have hooks and slots for chain and the bolts for 1" nylon slings. It would be close but I believe I use the nylon slings more than I use chains. Never had a sling slip off the bolt either even though it would only have to get over the head of the bolt to escape.