Repair of LMT

[BigDaddyEureka]

Well since it's bending I like your idea of adding bars to it @ponytug . As far as material, buckets seem to either fatigue out (crack) or wear through (abrasion-related holes). For fatigue, usually you want a moderate carbon steel like a 1040 and some strategically placed plates or bars. The goal is to make the cross-sectional area larger so the same force has to act across a larger area.

For abrasion you can either switch to a hardenable steel (1065 or higher carbon) OR add a sacrificial bolt-on section that you replace regularly (like the bucket design at the bottom of the pics I posted yesterday). The challenge is that hard steel isn't tough steel, so you can wind up trading one problem for the other. This is why the sacrificial bolt-ons make sense for some applications.

Speaking of sacrificial material, this reminds me I need to track down some rubber to replace the bottom of my blade next season. I went with the rubber bottom on it so it wouldn't dig into my driveway when I scrape it clean, but that does mean ya gotta replace the rubber when you've had your fun.

 

[ponytug]

@BigDaddyEureka Thanks! Wear isn't my problem yet, just the bending. I do have fairly hard soils when dry, and often back drag to get enough down pressure with a good cutting angle for good soil cutting. Hard spots bend the back blade. I will try to find a 1040 1/4" or 3/8" bar and weld it on to see how it goes. I will probably reinforce the bucket sides at the same time so as not to trade one problem for another...

All the best,

Peter