Fixing bucket, straightening bent cutting edge and welding on a new one.

[Aczlan]

Yep, on my todo list. Haven't used the tractor recently so it hasn't been a risk.

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

Just bring it by my welding shop and 15-20 minutes will have it fixed up.

 

[Aczlan]

The commute is probably a little far...

 

[California]

The commute is probably a little far...

UPS!

 

[Aczlan]

UPS!

It would cost many times the $50 that I paid for it to ship it via UPS...

Aaron Z

 

[California]

It would cost many times the $50 that I paid for it to ship it via UPS...

Aaron Z

$50? You did ok!

Yes, I doubt UPS would even touch that. I think their limit is 150 lbs, and real expensive. So truck freight if you were to ship it, a huge nuisance.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I used Yellow Freight to move my household goods from Canada. Cheapest rate ever.

 

[Aczlan]

Picked up a 6' bucket for cheap a couple weeks ago, the reason it was cheap was that the cutting edge is not exactly straight:
View attachment 742
View attachment 743

Spent a few minutes yesterday with a battle jack and chains, the bucket is now straighter than it was but I'll probably try a little bit more before I put the new cutting edge on.



Aaron Z

 

[California]

Looks good. You might be able to focus more force there if you put stiffeners in the bucket - vertical 2x4's cut to size - so the chains can't flex the top of the bucket.

 

[Joe Miciotto]

I was a dumbass about a year ago and bent the bottom of my bucket in. I had to cut the entire bottom out and wled back in a new one and a cutting bar. It saved my about $500 but that was a real pain in the ass to weld. Be sure to make sure it's square before you weld around it. It works better now than it did before. Good luck.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I agree with California that you need to put a stiffener on the buckets top lip so as not to bend it. Looks like you need to do a jack up on the top of the bucket now.
If you have some more scrap iron, law a piece across the top edge of the bucket and finish straightening the bottom lip. Afterward you can drop the bucket to the ground and raise the wheels on your tractor to put pressure on the bottom of the bucket and use your jack to straighten the top edge. That edge should bend back easily. You may wish to put a permanent stiffener on the top edge if you plan to use it for lifting from the center at a later date.

 

[Aczlan]

Top came back (relatively) straight after I took the pressure off.
Will probably hit it with the jack to fix anything that is left when I am done.
Will probably try using a chain fall next to straighten the cutting edge, the links of the chain kept catching on the edge of the bucket when I was using the jack.

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you plan to use that center hook for lifting, put a stiffener on the top edge (after straightening it ) to help prevent a bow in the top lip. I see so many FELs with bent top edge because of lifting from the center. That is why I dont put a lift lug in the center. If I need to lift from the center, I use a piece of chain attached to both lugs on the side to make a Y then attach my lifting chain to the bottom of the Y so everything is balanced in the center. If you have a long enough chain, you can make the Y and still use the pigtail to hook on to the item to lift it up. It does take a little trial and error to get the chains the right length between the lifting lugs on your bucket though.

 

[Aczlan]

That is what I did when I re-did the bucket for the B7500, it has worked well so far.

Probably going to sell this tractor as a incomplete project, its not big enough to lift our big round bales and the wife doesn't like driving it.

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

Had to revist this post to see if we can get some progress photos on it. It has been a few months since the last reported work and I hope ACZLAN has had some time to fix that bucket so it is safe to use.