Toothbar on L/M bucket?

[tracdoc]

Does anyone have a toothbar on their light materials bucket? If you do, how how has it been working and holding up?

If no one has this arrangement on the L/M bucket, would anybody foresee any significant issues or stresses on the bucket or lift arms if I were to try it?

Thanks for your input.

 

[Spiffy]

Just a gut feeling here, but wouldn't your stresses be less with the teeth than if you were to attack the same tasks without?

Really the only place I'd imagine new stress is the cutting edge, but isn't that the same as the rock bucket?

Great advice out of the guy who just bent a tilt bar! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tracdoc]

I was thnking of adding teeth to supplement the larger heft of the L/M bucket. Your gut impression about LESS stress certainly rings logical. On the cutting edge, yes, it is the same as on the rock bucket. In fact, all the materials used in the L/M are the same as the rock bucket, just larger dimensions.

 

[MossRoad]

I don't know about the teeth on the LM bucket. It should put less stress on the cutting edge. I do know this... when I was hauling massive amounts of moon dust(granulated limestone) at the ball park, the LM bucket got deformed a bit around the bracing that is on the bottom side of the bucket. That is, if I looked at the bottom of the bucket, I could see where the steel has deformed around the bracing because of the weight of the stone.

The small bucket is stouter/sturdier because it is smaller.

I will have to say, the LM bucket is my most used attachment.

 

[KentT]

I'd think that adding a toothbar would actually reinforce the bucket, making it less prone to bowing/bending, since you're adding another reinforcing bar across the top of the cutting edge in addition to the one below. Note tha this does NOT apply to the factory's bolt-on individual teeth, which actually weaken the integrity due to the bolt-holes, and does not spread the stress that may be placed on one or two teeth across the entire cutting edge.

However, adding the toothbar will also mean that you're likely to put more stress on it digging. So, it might be a wash... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[stray]

Why do you need teeth on the bucket anyway. I have yet to see the advantage of them. I guess if digging is required i use the mini hoe.

 

[KentT]

Teeth also make it easier to push into a large pile of material, whether it is dirt, sand or gravel. They concentrate the "cutting force" into a much smaller area, making it easier to push the bucket into the pile.

If you're just scooping up loose material that's spread on the ground, they don't make a significant difference, and they limit your back-blading abilty.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> Why do you need teeth on the bucket anyway. I have yet to see the advantage of them. </font>

That's what I thought, too. The teeth on the little bucket didn't seem to do much. The teeth from the factory are thick steel with a blunt nose. They helped with filling the bucket with loose rock, but did very little in hard soil. Then someone here, forgive me, I have forgotten who, told me to sharpen the darn things. The difference was increadible.

Think of it this way... all of the force of the tractor dispersed across 48" of steel with a straight edge OR all of the force of the tractor dispersed across 6" of steel(if you have six one inch wide teeth).

Knowing what I know now, I would not buy the teeth from PT and would buy a tooth bar for the small bucket from another vendor. At the least, the first thing I would do if I had the factory teeth is take a grinder to them and sharpen the tips and taper the edges.

 

[J_J]

I saw all those expensive tooth bars, plus shipping, and thought why not do this. So I went by Bobcat asking about bucket teeth. He says I have some I will let you have at cost, so here is what I did. I tapped seven of them on, and they fit like a glove. Then I welded them in place. If I need to drag flat, I will use the bottom back of the bucket.

 

[MossRoad]

Nice looking teeth.