How to make the curve on a backhoe bucket?

[dfkrug]

When I got to the point where I needed to bend the bottom of the bucket
I tacked the sides to my welding table so the front edge was flush with the edge of the table. Then I used
a ratchet strap to bend it around the sides. I would max out the strap make a few tacks and then reset the
strap.

Good pix, SFRANKLAND.

Your method is very similar to how I made my CADDigger bkt back in the 90s. Too bad all my
pix are from film and not easily locatable. The CADDigger is in my avatar.

Making the curved bkt was the most interesting part of my CADDigger build back then, cuz
I had never used this technique before. I followed the directions in the plans closely and first
welded up the sides of the bkt with the curve I wanted. Just as you did. The crazy thing is
that my bkt called for 1/4" plate, 13" wide! That's crazy-thick, and I do NOT recommend it.
I was able to bend-and-tack as you did, but I used a 2000# cable come-along and lots of
heat from a O/A torch, right at the bend line.

Now I know a better way: use only 1/8" plate, and add 1/4" or 3/16 wear strips afterwards.
MUCH easier to bend, and a lighter bkt.

A very rewarding build.

 

[Billy2]

I have replaced bottoms in several trackhoe buckets, fairly simple. Cut out side plates, weld top cross piece in place, weld cutting edge in place, take flat plate for bottom weld top edge to top cross bar, wrap chain around bucket and pull it down with come along or Caukin hoist, tack spot as it bend in place, will need to place 4x4 under chain when getting close to cutting edge. Heating with rosebud tip will help as it gets shorter. Hope this helps.

 

[Sfrankland]

The ditching bucket I am building is a copy of the factory bucket that came with the tractor. About another hour and it will be done. My factory bucket was only 1/8" with 1/4" plate on the top edge of the sides. And 1/2" where the teeth bolt on. I have dug a lot rocks out and it is just as good as when I bought it.

 

[Hiltz]

I'm contemplating welding up a backhoe bucket. I've got some use for a 24" or even a 30" bucket - and they are available out on the market - but they're darn expensive. It doesn't seem like a very complicated project - except for one thing: how to bend the steel that makes up the main part of the bucket.

making the "sides" , getting a cutting edge, making the mounting brackets - etc. - those are all pretty straightforward. But the "back" of the bucket typically is a semi - semi-circle shape.

I can see how this might get stamped out in a press - which I don't have. I can also see how this might be done in a plate-roller - but it would have to be a big one for the gauge of steel that typically gets used in a bucket. I'm wondering if there is some other way - or if maybe I just need to find a metal shop with a big plate roller and have them do it.

Could you simply cut out a section of steel pipe for your curved portion. If you had access to a scrap yard or fab shop they might have a short section of scrap pipe in the size you need.

 

[Agent Blue]

I bought a new 24" bucket someone turned in at a steel yard. Brand label still attached with pinned teeth. Have to move the top ear to fit my Bradco 611 or modify the boom attaching point which I don't want to do. I don't mind the thirty five cents a pound they charge for used steel, in some cases a real bargain.

 

[NormL]

Could you simply cut out a section of steel pipe for your curved portion. If you had access to a scrap yard or fab shop they might have a short section of scrap pipe in the size you need.

That's how I built the one I have for my minni-hoe. My project remains incomplete but the bucket is ready for the cutting edge and the teeth.

 

[LD1]

I'll describe a method that worked for me, but it really wasnt building a bucket from scratch, it was making a 12" out of a 24" bucket.

After we cut the sideplates out, the bottom springed out somewhat straight. So we were faced with the dilema of how to get the curve back in just like you are facing with building a new bucket.

So...why not use the backhoe hydraulics?

If you make the mount/back of the bucet, and go ahead and weld the side plates to that, and weld the bottom plate to the back of the bucket, then you can use the backhoe to "roll" the bottom into place a little at a time and start tacking it as you go.

Its very similar to the way Sfrankland did it on the table, but using the backhoes hydraulics to help for it into shape. It was a bit heavier steel though on the Ford 4500 Bucket. Once its rolled into place and tacked, you can either weld solid in place, or take back off and weld. Taking back off is what we did, so the bucket can be rolled around and positioned for better welding.

Here is kinda a pic to help describe

 

[charlz]

So...why not use the backhoe hydraulics?

If you make the mount/back of the bucet, and go ahead and weld the side plates to that, and weld the bottom plate to the back of the bucket, then you can use the backhoe to "roll" the bottom into place a little at a time and start tacking it as you go.

Its very similar to the way Sfrankland did it on the table, but using the backhoes hydraulics to help for it into shape. It was a bit heavier steel though on the Ford 4500 Bucket. Once its rolled into place and tacked, you can either weld solid in place, or take back off and weld. Taking back off is what we did, so the bucket can be rolled around and positioned for better welding.

Here is kinda a pic to help describe
View attachment 318126

That is a method I have also seen recommended somewhere else.... IIRC the guy was working on an excavator bucket that was pretty large and some thick steel. When I built my 9" bucket adjustable clamps were all I needed.

 

[crazyal]

I would just find a short section of steel pipe and cut out the section I wanted. Just find a diameter about the size you want. Do you have any scrap steel yards around? If not how about a large steel supplier? One of the two will probably have a cut off that would work. I think that would be easier than trying to bend steel.

 

[hawkeye08]

Lots of good ideas shared. I will try and remember the search function when I get around to making a narrow bucket.. although I am liking the 15" bucket I am currently using so may not make another narrower one. We have clay soil so it can stick to the bucket, just afraid if too narrow that it would stick worse.