Converting WR-long 4 in 1 to SSQA (revisited)

[joea]

I have a B21 for which I purchased an ATI SSQA adapter. Pricey, but very well built, to my amateur eyes.

Put it on and tested it with a SSQA attachment I had and loved it.

But when it came time to being cutting and welding the WRlong bucket, which has a curved back, for whatever that's worth, I suddenly got cold feet. So cold they froze me in place. So to speak.

Most, no, all, the conversions I have seen, cut off the pin on "ears" flush with the back of the bucket. As I recall, one gent did post pictures of him doing a WR long and even he cut them off "flush" with the bucket. More or less, as it is curved. Then weld the adapter plates right on. Good. So far.

But I then realized (not too swift anymore) that he also used the cut off "ears" to weld on to some "universal SSQA adapters" that did not have pin holes in them to bolt up to the FEL arms.

That's when I realized the angles and distances, in my case, might not work properly.

That is, the ATI has those pin mounts already installed and they fit perfectly. So now need to work out where and at what angle to cut off the ears on the bucket. Some pictures will follow that show how far they stick out and are "not square" to the bucket. I already feel the bucket does not "curl" back far as I would like, so would not be happy if I lost any of that "back curl".

See, I feel that I need to cut and weld so that the "angle", of a line "drawn through" the center line of both pin holes should be the angle of the adapter plates I weld on. Otherwise, I will "lose curl".

Wisdom?

 

[PoTreeBoy]

I think
* when a line through the top and bottom pins on the loader is parallel to
* a line through the pin holes on the bucket (probably best done when both are plumb)

the angle of the mounting plate should equal the angle of the adapter plate. You could teeak it a little for more or less dump angle.

You also have to watch the mounting height so your bottom pin is not in the dirt.

 

[joea]

I think
* when a line through the top and bottom pins on the loader is parallel to
* a line through the pin holes on the bucket (probably best done when both are plumb)

the angle of the mounting plate should equal the angle of the adapter plate. You could teeak it a little for more or less dump angle.

You also have to watch the mounting height so your bottom pin is not in the dirt.

Yeah. I'm thinking to re-install the ATI on the FEL and mount the adapter plate and line the tractor and the bucket up pretty much as in the pictures, then slice off those ears at that angle as close and high on the bucket as I can get. Gotta sharpen up my plasma cutting technique too.

I will remember to remove the cylinders and hoses on the bucket before making heat and sparks. I hope.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

With a plasma you don't need to worry about the sparks like you do with a torch.
Just throw a wet towel over them and you'll be fine.
And yes as far as finding the angle to cut, pin the bucket on, place the bucket on a flat surface then measure both the distance on the lift and curl cylinders.
Install the adapter with a blank SSQA plate and copy both measurements on the loader.
That will give you both plate height and plate angle.

 

[joea]

With a plasma you don't need to worry about the sparks like you do with a torch.
Just throw a wet towel over them and you'll be fine.
And yes as far as finding the angle to cut, pin the bucket on, place the bucket on a flat surface then measure both the distance on the lift and curl cylinders.
Install the adapter with a blank SSQA plate and copy both measurements on the loader.
That will give you both plate height and plate angle.

Must be early. Or something. But not quite following the measurements advice. The "distance" being the length of extension? Say from eye to eye on each of the cylinder? Then after mounting the adapter plate check and reset if needed?

I still have to "eyeball" or otherwise determine what angle to cut at, as well as how close to the bucket I should cut?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Must be early. Or something. But not quite following the measurements advice. The "distance" being the length of extension? Say from eye to eye on each of the cylinder? Then after mounting the adapter plate check and reset if needed?

I still have to "eyeball" or otherwise determine what angle to cut at, as well as how close to the bucket I should cut?

Do as I wrote, them measure the length of the lift and roll cylinder.
There will be no eyeballing, it will be an exact measurement.
As the two measurements will give you the plate angle and plate
How close you cut it will be a matter of making sure the top of thee plate will clear the top of the bucket to allow you to release the levers.