My B2150 has a pretty thrashed bucket on it. Bottom worn through at the back bend by PO from back dragging. And the replacement cutting edge was scabbed on top of the original cutting edge making it too thick to properly mount my tooth bar (won't go on all the way). Not only that, the resulting ~3/4" wear bar has a 1.5" bow down in the middle due to PO using of a clamp on "fork" as a gin pole (I know, it came with the tractor). And the top edge is mangle from use of chains just run over the top for lifting. I was just pondering options to fix all this when I noticed fatigue cracks where the arm brackets are welded to the back vertical wall. That was the final "I just need to build a new one" straw...
Actually I've been casually looking for a suitable replacement for a since I bought it, and I found a couple for $2-300, but they were never quite right or too far away and "got away" before I got there.
So I have a friend who will cut material for me on a CNC OA cutter (or it's all thin enough I could plasma myself). Most of what he does is heavy 1"+ for the mining industry, so this is nothing for him. But I need to provide a CAD file pattern. Alternative is I draw it out and go down to produce the 2D CAD pattern with him, but I don't want to take more of his time than necessary, particularly if there are proven plans available. So I thought someone here might have already gone through that? Just a shot in the dark, but I thought I would ask. Pretty simple for me to draft up a pattern based on current bucket if nothing shows up.
I've also got to determine material and thickness. My first thought for material is AR plate, but that doesn't weld so well and tends to break in the HAZ in this type of application. And the current bucket is less than 1/4", but I was thinking 1/4", but then more weight means less work capacity. I've also been back dragging quite a bit myself, so was thinking of a wear strip at the back edge of the bottom. That way I can back drag using that edge when the tooth bar is on without wearing through as has obviously happened previously.
But then I got to thinking. I plan to cut the arm pin plates (in great shape) off the back of my existing bucket to use on the new one. But, why not add just a bit more work and make it quick attach. I have a mental image of how at least one style works, but looking for suggestions.
So regarding the quick attach, what is the "best" style given the size tractor I have? I'm thinking of duplicating the style used for the little skid steers (Bobcats etc) due to possibility of acquiring other stuff. But that means I need dimensions/plans for that. And I wasn't interested at the time, but recall reading about upgrades folks have made to improve the locks, and maybe other things. Search is impossible using any terms I can come up with, so pointers (links, comments, suggestions) would be much appreciated.
And, I REALLY liked the recent post about the QC "lift plate". Something like that with a heavy lower lip (1/2" plate or so) welded on would give me a place to mount my lift forks (including the one that seems to have bent my existing lower bucket edge) and other things. It also eliminates a lot of the bucket weight impacting working capacity because the bucket is then more "just a bucket". This idea is REALLY appealing to me.
So to recap/summarize my requests that otherwise may get lost in the long post:
1) I would love to find proven CAD plans for a bucket. Mines 4' wide, but dims are easy to change.
2) Recommendations for the best fabrication material selection (by bucket section if necessary)
3) Should I build a cutting edge from AR plate? Or is this a case of being worth it to buy a purpose made (hardened, alloy, ??) edge. Currently planning on weld on, and another option is to just hard face the edge.
4) One of the most important things, can anyone provide plans/dimensions for building a mini skid-steer compatible quick attach? Or other based on recommendations.
5) Any upgrade/improvements to the quick attach, particularly locking mechanisms?
6) Any general recommendations along the lines of "I saw/have [feature], and you should make sure to add that"? Already planning on strong top bar with hooks.
If you have them handy, links to previous builds along these lines are very much appreciated. I've already found a few, but again search key words have proven a bit problematic on this topic, so there is a LOT of manual filtering to do.
Actually I've been casually looking for a suitable replacement for a since I bought it, and I found a couple for $2-300, but they were never quite right or too far away and "got away" before I got there.
So I have a friend who will cut material for me on a CNC OA cutter (or it's all thin enough I could plasma myself). Most of what he does is heavy 1"+ for the mining industry, so this is nothing for him. But I need to provide a CAD file pattern. Alternative is I draw it out and go down to produce the 2D CAD pattern with him, but I don't want to take more of his time than necessary, particularly if there are proven plans available. So I thought someone here might have already gone through that? Just a shot in the dark, but I thought I would ask. Pretty simple for me to draft up a pattern based on current bucket if nothing shows up.
I've also got to determine material and thickness. My first thought for material is AR plate, but that doesn't weld so well and tends to break in the HAZ in this type of application. And the current bucket is less than 1/4", but I was thinking 1/4", but then more weight means less work capacity. I've also been back dragging quite a bit myself, so was thinking of a wear strip at the back edge of the bottom. That way I can back drag using that edge when the tooth bar is on without wearing through as has obviously happened previously.
But then I got to thinking. I plan to cut the arm pin plates (in great shape) off the back of my existing bucket to use on the new one. But, why not add just a bit more work and make it quick attach. I have a mental image of how at least one style works, but looking for suggestions.
So regarding the quick attach, what is the "best" style given the size tractor I have? I'm thinking of duplicating the style used for the little skid steers (Bobcats etc) due to possibility of acquiring other stuff. But that means I need dimensions/plans for that. And I wasn't interested at the time, but recall reading about upgrades folks have made to improve the locks, and maybe other things. Search is impossible using any terms I can come up with, so pointers (links, comments, suggestions) would be much appreciated.
And, I REALLY liked the recent post about the QC "lift plate". Something like that with a heavy lower lip (1/2" plate or so) welded on would give me a place to mount my lift forks (including the one that seems to have bent my existing lower bucket edge) and other things. It also eliminates a lot of the bucket weight impacting working capacity because the bucket is then more "just a bucket". This idea is REALLY appealing to me.
So to recap/summarize my requests that otherwise may get lost in the long post:
1) I would love to find proven CAD plans for a bucket. Mines 4' wide, but dims are easy to change.
2) Recommendations for the best fabrication material selection (by bucket section if necessary)
3) Should I build a cutting edge from AR plate? Or is this a case of being worth it to buy a purpose made (hardened, alloy, ??) edge. Currently planning on weld on, and another option is to just hard face the edge.
4) One of the most important things, can anyone provide plans/dimensions for building a mini skid-steer compatible quick attach? Or other based on recommendations.
5) Any upgrade/improvements to the quick attach, particularly locking mechanisms?
6) Any general recommendations along the lines of "I saw/have [feature], and you should make sure to add that"? Already planning on strong top bar with hooks.
If you have them handy, links to previous builds along these lines are very much appreciated. I've already found a few, but again search key words have proven a bit problematic on this topic, so there is a LOT of manual filtering to do.
