Bucket Hook Project

[Inspector507]

Dougster, AW Direct is a good place to get them. Nice people to deal with too

 

[Dusty]

My local JD dealer has them in parts bins on the parts room floor for customers to pick out what they need without assistance. They sell a lot of parts that way to people that come in for a specific part that is behind the counter. While you are waiting for your part, you just browse the isle of all sorts of goodies. My local Kubota dealer has a similar set up, but not nearly as extensive.
Dusty

 

[Sandlot]

Dougster,

I don't mind at all. I have an industrial supply store in the area and they just had them in a bucket. I think they were about $7.00 ea.

 

[Dougster]

Dougster, I don't mind at all. I have an industrial supply store in the area and they just had them in a bucket. I think they were about $7.00 ea.

Thanks guys. I'll take a look around here, but I'll bet I'm going to have to send away for them. It's definitely worth it for the professional look and extra strength.

I just wish I could weld like that too!

Dougster

 

[weldingisfun]

Thanks Guys,

Yep, those fuzzy people are spoiled rotten!
I welded the ¼” plate all the way across, just in case I wanted to add hooks facing the other direction. With the bucket tilted in the full up position and load close to the tractor, hooks facing opposite the norm maybe handy. I think I will add a bit more weld to the plate at each hook; the rest is just more or less a seal weld to keep water from getting under the plate. I bought the hooks like that from an industrial supply store in town. I have more plate leftover, for the hoe bucket. That will be another weekend. I had the Lasik surgery 6 months ago, but it was for distance, now I need reading glasses. It was a fair trade off. I needed glasses for everything but real close, now just for reading. I’m satisfied.

Sandlot, next time you go to that industrial supply store, ask them where they get those hooks. I sure like to get my hands on three of them. Can't seem to find any in my neck of the woods.

 

[wushaw]

Have you tried you local steel supply? That's where I got mine.

 

[3RRL]

Sandlot,
Excellent welds! They are just beautiful.
That is my slogan you quoted in your opening post and it's true, isn't it? Hahaha
Just another thought on hook placement and angled or straight. Mostly, it's a matter of preference and I chose to angle mine inwards a bit. I use 2 chains to lift and the object is generally closer to the center of the bucket. So I angled mine in. I try not to lift with just one hook, especially if it places a lot of force on the one fel arm. I also welded my hooks on the back of the bucket (on a support plate) not on top of it.



PS,
My welds are not as nice as yours, but they used to be.

 

[weldingisfun]

Sandlot,
Excellent welds! They are just beautiful.
That is my slogan you quoted in your opening post and it's true, isn't it? Hahaha
Just another thought on hook placement and angled or straight. Mostly, it's a matter of preference and I chose to angle mine inwards a bit. I use 2 chains to lift and the object is generally closer to the center of the bucket. So I angled mine in. I try not to lift with just one hook, especially if it places a lot of force on the one fel arm. I also welded my hooks on the back of the bucket (on a support plate) not on top of it.

I am getting ready to weld hooks onto my bucket and also plan to reinforce it under where the hook will be welded. I am curious why you chose to weld your hooks to the back of the bucket rather than the top? What advantage to you see being gained by doing that? Not being critical of your decision, I just want to do the job the best possible way and to gain the maximum advantage.

 

[3RRL]

I am getting ready to weld hooks onto my bucket and also plan to reinforce it under where the hook will be welded. I am curious why you chose to weld your hooks to the back of the bucket rather than the top? What advantage to you see being gained by doing that? Not being critical of your decision, I just want to do the job the best possible way and to gain the maximum advantage.

Thanks for asking.
One advantage of the grab hook style is you need constant pressure to keep the chain in. In my use, by mounting on the back, the chain drapes over the top adding that tiny little bit of added resistance to it falling out of the hook.
I also imagined hooking the chain with the bucket dumped to some degree so I would have more lift using the curl and also to set the chain tautness without lifting the bucket up.
In the dumped position, which now exposes them upwards, they are not between what you are lifting up (if it's close to the bucket) so they're easier to get to in that case. Plus personally, I think it looks better to have them sort of out of the way....maybe a safety factor there too?
These are of course my personal opinions for the manner in which I use my hooks, so others have their opinions about the top of the bucket placement which works out better for them. I don't know how much difference it REALLY makes though, so it boils down to personal preference. Both positions will certainly work.

Another reason is that I was planning on adding a bucket grapple and did not know (at the time) how and where it would go. So I left the top lip open for that project.

 

[Sandlot]

Weldable Grab Hooks

I found this link for the hooks. I haven't been back to the big city for awhile to ask the industrial supply store where they get theirs. Hope this helps.

 

[weldingisfun]

I called every hardware, industrial supply, farm and tractor supply place within 25 miles and not one stocked the hooks. I gave up and went online to this place:
TrucknTow - Weld-On Grab Hooks (Pellican Hooks)

They are sending 3 hooks to me. Cost $8 S&H, but I'll have my hooks on the 30th. Thanks for checking into it for me.

 

[wushaw]

That's not a bad price, ya should have ordered a few extra for the project that you haven't thought of yet since you don't have a local resource...you may need one or two on something like on a trailer or some implement other than the FEL bucket.
I have an extra hanging on the wall waiting on that "I shure ccould use a hook on this"....whatever it may be.

 

[WayneB]

nice job and I like the critics too!

 

[HangarDebris]

Some off the wall considerations for hooks, especially for us guys with small cylinders. Placing your hooks where the lift point is as far to the rear as possible means a reduced moment arm and increased lifting capacity (for the sake of lifting as opposed to dragging). Lifting plumb from the rear of the bucket as apposed to the front lip of the bucket reduces the MA the width of the bucket or about 20%

 

[bcarwell]

Sandlot,
I am a beginning welder and to my unpracticed eye it looks like your welds were a single pass, correct ? I got a used Dialarc thinking I'd need all that "oomf" for thick 1/2 in. plate steel and assumed a 100VAC Mig might do nice looking welds but maybe would require multiple passes for thick stuff encountered in farm/ranch fabbing. But if done single pass on your 1/4 in. plate that nicely I'm rapidly thinking maybe now's the time for a Mig welder... (Christmas, hmmmm....) I know I want to still keep paying my dues with a stick welder, but ...

Bob