Toothbar for FEL bucket

[ERNIEB]

Dave, A few general thoughts. When doing something like this I keep safety firmly in mind. Therefore I would never drive up on the piles you describe. Yes, it is done, but in my opinion there's just too much that can go wrong. Also, I would'nt get in a hurry. Take it slow and easy, occasionally stop and look at what you are doing. If it doesn't look safe , it probably isn't. When I work on a face, I try to control the total surface area, height and width. The larger the surface area the larger the amount of material that can slough off. Your method of building a ramp as you go seems OK to me. Also I try to work from the top, down. Rather than keeping the face straight, I want it angled away from me, again to reduce the amount of material that can come falling down. My little tractor is too small for real digging, so I usually just scrape and loosen it when I get enough at the bottom I scoop it up and move it. At the top of the face, I sometimes tilt the bucket down, and use the bottom edge to sort of pull it off. In your part of the World, You are probably concerned about the approaching Winter, but at the risk of sounding redundant I'll say again. Take your time with it. Best of luck, and let us know how it turns out.
Ernie

 

[roysallis]

Dave,
Are you coming up to the pile, stopping, and then just using the force of the loader to scoop? I come up to the pile with the bucket curled down and without stopping I hit the pile and begin to curl the bucket up. Then as the bucket is curling up I stop the tractor or sometimes I give it a little throttle to help it dig. It helps to have the momentum of the tractor to help the bucket dig in. My approach speed is not very fast as this could be dangerous to the operator and the tractor. This is all done in one motion. My rear tires are water loaded and this helps when I give it a little throttle to help the bucket dig. It takes a little practice but it looks like you have a big enough pile to give you a lot of practice. If this is not what you are doing then try it. Just be careful. Also, as previously mentioned you may try to pull some of the pile down with the bucket and then scooping it up. Just be sure not to pull too much down at one time and start an avalance.

 

[DVerbarg]

Roysallis,

Thanks for the idea. I was not doing it the exact way you mentioned but will give it a try as soon as the steering is fixed.

DaveV

 

[DVerbarg]

Ernie,

Like you pointed out, safety is the most important issue. I'll be trying out the ideas that have been given (as soon as I get the steering fixed).

DaveV

 

[gerard]

What I was trying to describe using the ramp was to use the ramp to get higher up and then push the top off the edge. Don't try and fill your bucket and go back down, just keep pushing the top layer off the edge of the pile. This will loosen the soil and the dirt you jst pushed off will be at the bottom of the pile, nice and loose and easy to scoop. If you build a large enough ramp ie wide and not too steep, you should be able to do this safely. Just keep pushing the top off till you get a nice pile, then drive down, move the pile, and start again.

 

[glennmac]

Hey, I'm reading this thread to learn about toothbars and I get all tied up in the drama of the story ... and then it ends like a Saturday serial with the hero in mortal danger!

I gotta know:

Did Dave buy the tooth bar?
Did it help dig the clay mountains?
What hill attack strategy did he end up using?
Did he get buried in the feared avalanche?
Did he succeed in moving the 3 giant clay mountains that forced him to buy his tractor?

 

[DVerbarg]

Glenn,

OK...
-Yes Dave bought the toothbar
-Yes, it helped to dig (did not finish the piles yet, got distracted by other projects)
-I attacked the side of the hill pulling dirt down with the bucket teeth. This created a steep ramp which enabled me to reach the bucket to the top of the pile thus preventing a "cave-in" situation. Use the teeth as a rake to loosen the dirt and then scoop it up. Found the secret is to dig when the moisture is right, too wet and it is gummy, too dry and it is too hard, just right and I can dig right in (using the toothbar).
-I was never buried in an avalanche (but did drop gravel on the hood and left two scratches /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif)
-Have not yet completed the project. Had to finish the house first (make the bank happy). Just got back to doing the "yard" work this past weekend. Had to "work" out there in the hot sun for a few hours on the front yard. After the front yard is finished, a couple more weekends, then I get to move around to the side of the house where that biggest dirt pile is, then the back for another two piles, then the other side for another two piles, then the 1300 ft driveway which has another 4 piles...fun, fun, fun.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
This month is the last payment on the tractor, can't believe its already been a year. Used the 12 months, same as cash deal from NH. Now have over 200 hours of tractor seat time and probably close to half that in TBN seat time.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

DaveV

 

[Anonymous Poster]

DVerbarg,
I posted a very similar question on 7/10. Look back in this forum to see the replies. I haven't ordered one yet, but when I do, I will go with the K.C. Canary unit. I was told they run about $250-$300 and they custom make it for your bucket. You will need to do some measuring. I have a NH heavy duty bucket with the bolt on cutting edge. I didn't want to remove the cutting edge to use the tooth bar and it seems the Canary unit solves this problem. Again, read all the replies, it explains everything.