Input for my homemade rock bucket design?

[jinman]

I think you need bigger steel than 1". Mine is 1-1/4" and still gets bent when I force a rock or big root between the tines in front. Keep a 3' piece of 2" galvanized pipe with you for straightening tines.

I can't tell you how handy it is to have a grapple on that bucket, but you probably don't have time for that.

Also, make sure you put a "saddle" in the back of your bucket to hold rocks. Those rocks will not be in a pile just waiting for you to come scoop them up. You will have to do some digging with the tines. If you don't have a saddle at the back of the bucket, you will lose rocks while digging.

Don't expect to get many rocks in each scoop unless you get off and toss them into the bucket by hand. In the pictures below, I scooped up about 2/3 of these rocks from a very nice pile and pitched the rest in by hand. YOU WILL NOT get a bucket full like this by only scooping with the rock bucket. If you get half a dozen football size rocks at once, that's normal. When you curl the bucket back and shake the rocks, the soil will mostly clear unless it is too wet, too much clay, or full of sod. That's just the reality of using a rock bucket. It ain't a precise science.

 

[joes_427_vette]

Jim;
The tractor looks like it has all it wants to contend with as the rocks are piled pretty high. I would think 5' wide would be better overall....... less weight, more force directed into a half exposed rock, and able to get a slight more angle when needed. The extra foot isn't that necessary . It might be faster gathering smaller loads in less time, that is if your not transporting them a quarter mile away.

 

[John D]

I built this one last year and it worked well. Not as wide as my bucket but I had the material at the shop so I made it that size.

 

[jimgerken]

JohnD, is that 1 inch bar? How long are the fingers (measureing from the frame area to the sharpened tips)? What is the width of the rock bucket? And, what is the lift capacity of the loader you use it on? thanks for posting!

 

[spruce Deere]

I think 1" dia bar will be fine with a 2520 tractor. jinmans tractor is a bigger, heavier animal. I have yet to bend the bradco with the 790. I run out of traction well before momentum. Build away!!!

 

[jinman]

Jim;
The tractor looks like it has all it wants to contend with as the rocks are piled pretty high. I would think 5' wide would be better overall....... less weight, more force directed into a half exposed rock, and able to get a slight more angle when needed. The extra foot isn't that necessary . It might be faster gathering smaller loads in less time, that is if your not transporting them a quarter mile away.

That's excellent advice. My bucket is a 5-footer. I knew a 6-footer would be way too big. I think that's true for even bigger tractors. Most of the time when you are working rocks, it's just a few at a time. Being able to dig under and dislodge them is very important. Big buckets are for loose dirt or gravel, not digging rocks. My bucket and grapple by themselves weigh 750 lb. That only leaves me with 1000 lb to work with. For rocks, you want something tough and small. That's been my experience.

 

[jimgerken]

Do you guys realize what a fantastic resource we all have available to brainstorm our ideas and ask questions of actual users and builders? It is priceless.
These posts are very timely and helpful to me right now as I finish the design and am already in construction. My bucket will be 48 inches wide inside, and fingers about 30 inches out in front of the frame. It will come in at just about 300 lbs.
I made some progress last night, but sorry no pics yet. The base frame is done and fits the loader better than any of the other 4 or 5 attachments I have built for the loader (OK, you'd think I'd be getting it figured out by now). For the few remaining additional loader attachments I have planned, I do now have the ultimate design, with plasma cut parts, the lightest tubular framework I can make, simpler construction, and perfect fit to loader. Basically it is a picture frame (mitered corners) of 1/8" X 2 X 4 steel tube, with lower tapered-pins TIG welded into tight fit bored-thru holes, and upper hooks NC plasma cut and combined with slit pipe segments. Pics tomorrow, promise. Tonight I have some other stuff to do, but hope to find time to draw the one remaining part, a flat metal backbone to cut the span in half.

 

[John D]

Jim it is 1 inch round stock. I dont remember how long I cut them but it was around 30 inches or so. I made it a QH like my bucket and hay fork and its only as wide as the arms on my FEL wich is a JD 512. Nuthin fancy and I havent even painted it yet?? Looking forward to seeing your project. jd

 

[jimgerken]

Finally have pics. Made more progress too. Should finish on-time, Saturday.

 

[jimgerken]

More pics...