Bucket Hooks Weld hooks or bolt them ?

[godaddy]

I think everyone is thinking to hard about this! It's not a big tractor I think so, he's not going to be lifting a building! I bolted good 2 hooks on my loader of my jd 790 when I got it 11yrs ago and have had not 1 issue with them. I did use good bolts,washers and nuts. I burned the holes with a torch. No issues! Works like a charm and can not tell it was done with a torch.

 

[J_J]

Just bolt them on with 1/4 backer plate front and back.

You could also bolt a 2 in receiver in the middle top.

 

[Tractorguy1038]

I bolted them on today. And RandalKurt asked, "How difficult do you think it will be to drill through the FEL?"

It wasn't difficult at all. I use a centerpunch, then a 5/16" centerdrill, and a 3/8" high speed drill for the 3/8" bolt. I cheat on this thin stuff and push the centerdrill all the way through.

 

[Tractorguy1038]

Thanks for the tip Joel. I had already bolted them on but if they is any problem I will let my son try to weld them using the generator.

 

[Dargo]

I started welding at an early age. In the beginning I had no instruction and had to learn on my own...

Oh, I almost forgot what I wanted to say. I stopped by my local welding supply shop for some gas and wire and they had the Miller factory guy there demonstrating their new MillerMatic 350P machine. What was really bad was the shop owner asked me if I wanted to give it a try. Don't laugh, but in all the welding I've done, I've never done any spray transfer welding; this was my first attempt. Holy cow! So THAT is how they get those beautiful robot welds you see on heavy loader arms and such!! Wow! I welded two pieces of 1/2" plate together and I've never seen such a smooth and consistent weld. Heck, I was having so much fun I welded the entire 12" pieces together in one shot.

Then came the killer part. Usually when I've seen those 'really pretty' welds, they are cold and not any good. The Miller guy sliced my weld in half and I had at least 1/4" to 3/8" penetration. Man, I was excited! Then they told me the price and I left.

 

[SixHoeBob]

Weld beads shrink as they cool. If you weld on one side of any piece of steel, the steel will tend to be concaved on that side. Welding reinforcement channel or angle to the inside of the bucket will tend to make the top edge bow down.
Welding it to the outside of the bucket will tend to make the top edge bow up.
The correct solution is to preload the bow upward to help balance the chain pulling downward. C-channel usually blends in nicely with the top of the bucket.

Take the bucket off, take it to a weld shop, have them glue the channel and hooks on with the electric clamp. When painted, it should look like it was done at the factory.

 

[IslandTractor]

Weld beads shrink as they cool. If you weld on one side of any piece of steel, the steel will tend to be concaved on that side. Welding reinforcement channel or angle to the inside of the bucket will tend to make the top edge bow down.
Welding it to the outside of the bucket will tend to make the top edge bow up.
The correct solution is to preload the bow upward to help balance the chain pulling downward. C-channel usually blends in nicely with the top of the bucket..

I'm no expert but I believe the other accepted way to prevent the distortion you describe is to weld short bits at a time all around the reinforcement and leave skip areas that can be filled in later. That way the underlying metal doesn't heat up as much (another reason for distortion) and the welded "stitch" areas will stabilze the flat surface.

 

[RoyJackson]

Man, I was excited! Then they told me the price and I left.

We were demoing new MIG welders at a company I worked at a few years ago. The welding machine was somewhat programmable and could automatically adjust certain parameters.
Basically, all the operator had to do was pull the trigger of the MIG gun and move it along the joint.
Pretty much took any skill requirements away from the operator...but at a pretty significant price (as you found out). But you could hire anyone off the street and have them welding in a few days...

 

[JB4310]

You could also bolt a 2 in receiver in the middle top.

Thank you,

Every time hooks come, up I post pics my handy "Bucket Buddy"

I'll tell you these JD bucket tops are pretty well designed, double wall with a strategic bend makes it brutally strong.

This, from the other day, is a 40" dia (at the bottom) red oak log cut off the stump, don't know how heavy, but very heavy. Not even the slightest deflection in the top of the bucket. I only have a small plate under the tube and under the nuts, no extra reinforcement across the top of the bucket.

JB