Bolt on vs clamp on bucket teeth

I'd suggest looking at a tooth bar instead. Serves two purposes, provides you with the the teeth you are looking for and reinforces (stiffens) the lip/cutting edge of the bucket itself.

Removal and install would be easier as well.

If the clamp-on bar is the one I saw at Canada Forks it looks like there's a lot of stuff sticking up that could interfere with dumping material out of the bucket. Some of the bolt-on bars don't seem to have that issue, and if I wanted a bar the Piranha Bar has gotten many positive reviews.

ok, now I see what you were referring to. It's a tooth bar with a bolt/threaded receiver to provide the attachment to the bucket. I suppose they'd work ok, but could be a problem when large rocks are encountered.

I have no experience with that kind of attachment to the bucket. I have two tooth bars that attach by bolts passed thru the sides of the bucket. They work very well.

I bought the same teeth my 4672 backhoe used and bolted them on. They work great but at the time I had never even heard of a tooth bar. I would probably go that route if I did it again.

I would recommend a Piranha tooth bar. Need to drill 2 holes in the sides of your bucket. Works great, you can uproot saplings with it and it doesn't interfere with scooping gravel .You can dig with it 2-3 times easier in dirt.

The Piranha bar seems to be pretty good at digging and works well on cutting smallish roots for example. Seems to handle situations with vines also. Seldom hear of someone being disappointed with one.


Bolt on tooth bar is sturdier I think in the long run versus bolt on. I really like the tooth bars. I have to dig in clay soils and it works fine. Also have to deal with popping up concrete patios and drives, although I often use a stump bucket part of the time (the stump bucket also a set of heavy teeth). The tooth bars dig well in rockier soils also.
Really really really like it as a rake. Being careful to not bend a hydraulic cylinder the tooth bars work GREAT when back dragging gravel and lose soils. The teeth can leave a pretty uniform level of material. You can change the height being raked by changing the angle of the bucket. That’s really nice when doing grade work or some types of landscaping. Also handy when back dragging for pulling out trash from the loose soils such as tree roots, larger rocks, etc.

barrywlarson said:

Hi:

I'm looking for advice on bucket teeth. What do folk prefer? The style where you drill holes in the bucket to bolt on or the type that clamps-on that do not require drilling? I guess one advantage of the bolt on type is that you are less likely leave the teeth in the pile! I'm in Ontario, Canada and I can find both styles for sale relatively close by- HLA has bolt on and Canada Forks has the clamp-on type; actually Bucket Solutions products). I have a Kubota L3560 tractor and 805 FEL with 72 inch bucket (SSQA bucket). Any and all advice is appreciated.

Stay well.

Barry W. Larson

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I prefer weld on teeth. Bolt on is my second choice. These teeth get a lot of abuse so clamp ons arent on my radar.

I have the HLA bolt on bar and would be glad to sell it to you. Used only a couple of times and now leaning against the wall in the barn. Only problem is it’s for an 84 inch bucket.

If I were to buy another bolt on Id get the piranha bar over the HLA.

How you put teeth on your bucket depends a lot on material you'll be working with and how often. If you go 'light duty' then have to rip into rock for 5 weeks, well, the LD unit will wear down pretty quick. Course if you buy the supre heavy duty unit and just turn compost, well, that's good money not spent wisely.
Like life, it's a compromise.
In my case, the SSQA bucket on my BX23S has 7 perfect 5/8" hole behind the cutting edge. I looked at the Piranah Bar but it's almost $400 Canucks once it crossed the 49th ! I only need a light-medium duty bar, so I made my own. Less than $50. Sure I have to resharpen the teeth once a year, not a big deal, 15 minutes. I might make another with tougher points or add 'hard weld' to the current unit, maybe.
Best advice, write down on paper what you NEED it to do, then compare 3-4 units, make columns for features, pro and cons, cost( include shipping at ,arrgh 13% GST). When you SEE it on paper , you can make a better decision.

Jay