Bucket Teeth from Ebay

[EddieWalker]

I'm always browsing stuff on ebay. I just go through the listings for ideas and maybe something that I need. A few weeks ago, I saw some bucket teeth that I thought were a good deal. Six teeth with weld on shanks and pins for $60. After shipping, it came to $88. I got to wondering and did some searches for weld on teeth. The shanks were in the $10 to $15 range and the teeth were about the same. This looked like a pretty good deal. The seller has a good rating, so I bought them.

The package arrived from UPS damaged. When I looked through the box, I found that I was missing a tooth. I contacted the seller, who said that I needed to file a complaint with UPS. Once that was done, he would send me a replacement tooth. I called UPS, told them about the missing tooth and damaged package. They said to hold onto the box for five days in case they wanted to inspect the package. Then the seller contacted me and told me that UPS said they would pay him for the lost item and he was shipping the replacement tooth to me. It was here a few days later.

The teeth themselves seem home made. I'm not sure about them, but then I don't really know what I need them to do or what they should be made out of to be better. They are big, solid and heavy duty. They are welded together and it looks like quality work. I was expecting a cast looking tooth like on my backhoe bucket.

The shanks have an angle to them that fit the edge of my bucket. I also have a bolt on cutting edge on my bucket, but these don't touch it or interfere. I can easily remove and replace the cutting edge at any time. I cleaned up the metal on the bucket and welded on the teeth every 15 inches. If I was buying individual teeth, I think I would have bought 7, but since they came in a set of six, that's what I worked with.

The teeth are held in place with pins. I had to hammer the pins on, which took a bit of effort. I think that's good. It should make it harder to loose a tooth. I thought about welding each tooth to the shanks, but haven't done so. I still might. Anybody lost a tooth that was attached with a pin?

It's too muddy out to test it out. I'm curious if I'll notice a difference. I've never read a complaint about having teeth on a bucket, and from what I've read, everyone loves them. For what I spent, I don't think I can go wrong.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

Eddie, those are good looking bucket teeth and surely a good buy at the price you paid. The only thing I see that might be a problem is there is no lip that fits under the bucket to give the teeth strength when back-dragging. If you hit a rock of stump, it's possible to bend the bar the teeth are welded to or break your weld bead. I'm including a picture of my bucket teeth that shows the lip I am talking about at the yellow arrow.

 

[EddieWalker]

Hi Jim,

Your teeth are totally different then mine. One of the things that I didn't want with teeth was for them to stick out below my bucket. I love to back-drag with my bucket and wanted to keep the smooth, flat surface under the bucket. It's kind of hard to see, but in my second picture, the teeth are above my cutting edge. With my bucket flat on the ground, my teeth should not be touching the ground at all. That's my hope. LOL

Eddie

 

[denmansoft]

OK Eddie :
What new project have you got planned for us to watch and marvel at ?
Are you getting starte on the RV park ?

 

[jinman]

One of the things that I didn't want with teeth was for them to stick out below my bucket. I love to back-drag with my bucket and wanted to keep the smooth, flat surface under the bucket.
Eddie

Yep, I absolutely understand and wish that was possible with my bucket, but my impression is that the teeth are vulnerable if they don't hook under the lip. In your case, you have a cutting edge below your bucket edge to add more strength. If your welds are strong enough, it will be a non-issue. I cut with my teeth when going in reverse, using them as scarifiers. I often hit rocks, stumps, or roots as I'm doing this. I don't put the teeth at 90 degrees to the ground to keep from having large hydraulic pressure spikes if I hit something, but I scarify often in reverse with the teeth digging. For smooth backdragging, I've learned to use the heel of my bucket with the teeth or I change to my other bucket without teeth if I want to use the cutting edge.

 

[gordyy]

those look good let me know how they work
I was thinking of something just like that for my little toy

 

[dex3361]

Looks good Eddie and you will notice a big difference when you go to breakout compacted soil.

 

[EddieWalker]

I spent most of the day digging with the backhoe today, but just had to see how those teeth worked. So after parking the dump truck, I tried to dig into some hard pack soil. To my surprise, I was able to do it. The soil is moist from all the rains, so it's not as hard as it will be when it dries out, but it's still virgin soil, and very hard.

I had to play around with the angle. Going in flat, I sort of skidded across the top of it. But with a little angle to dig the teeth in, it just kept going until I had a full bucket.

I'm impressed.

Then I dumped it in a low spot that's getting worse with the dump truck going through it all the time. I actually dumped six yards in this low spot. Each time, I back-dragged the bucket to see how it worked. Never did the teeth get in the way. I was able to use the back of the bucket to get a hold of the dirt, and then angle it up to feather the dirt out. I was able to do it just like always, which is what I was hoping for.

Six loads isn't enough to see how strong they are or how they will work out, but at least I can see the difference from before. It was money well spent.

Eddie

 

[PILOON]

Eddie,
I recognize the teeth, they are FABCO, same as I used to make my toothbar.
Believe them to be the 8023 teeth.
I used a different style holder however.
3 years of frequant usage and no noticeable wear as of yet.

 

[JoelD]

The excavator I used two weekends ago had pin on teeth and they weren't going anwhere.

I'm thinking you've got nothing to worry about.

Interesting you welded directly to your bucket. For me I'd be affraid that I could not as easily scoup up from my driveway, loom, mulch and the like.

Nice welds.

Joel

 

[J_J]

The excavator I used two weekends ago had pin on teeth and they weren't going anwhere.

I'm thinking you've got nothing to worry about.

Interesting you welded directly to your bucket. For me I'd be affraid that I could not as easily scoup up from my driveway, loom, mulch and the like.

Nice welds.

Joel

Look a little closer, he welded to the cutting bar/edge which is bolted to the bucket.

 

[EddieWalker]

Look a little closer, he welded to the cutting bar/edge which is bolted to the bucket.

I'm not sure what you are seeing, but I welded onto the bucket. The cutting bar is below the bucket and is still removable. You can see the bolts for the cutting bar through the bucket, and between the teeth.

It might be that I painted the inside of the bucket, but stopped with enough room to weld on the teeth?

Eddie

 

[J_J]

I'm not sure what you are seeing, but I welded onto the bucket. The cutting bar is below the bucket and is still removable.

It might be that the design of my bucket is different then on a CUT?

Eddie

My eyes do deceive me. I go in for cataract surgery next week. Hope that helps somewhat.

 

[frwinks]

thanks for the pics.. Now I have proof that these do exist every dealer around here only carries the ones that go under the bucket, which as you pointed out, limits the uses of the bucket. Thanks to Piloon for the part #, now I'm armed with a PDF with part #'s, I should finally be able to buy the parts I'm after.....

 

[gengine]

Great looking teeth! Been looking at doing something like that on mine. As for the Pin on teeth, you should be just fine. All of the heavy construction equipment that I have ever operated uses pin on teeth. Makes it cheaper to change teeth when they get wore out. About yearly on ours. Just remember to replace pins everytime you change teeth, and if you lose one, don't use the stub too hard or you'll be cutting it off to get a new tooth on there.

 

[CCWKen]

My eyes do deceive me. I go in for cataract surgery next week. Hope that helps somewhat.

That's okay JJ, I thought the same thing when I first looked. I had thought about using an old cutting bar on top to mount teeth so that they would be removable. Also, good luck on the surgery. They'll probably do one eye at a time but it will be like night and day difference.

Eddie - Nice job on the install. Do the pins allow the teeth to roll back any when back dragging? They look like they'll pivot a little.

 

[EddieWalker]

I used a 4 pound hammer to put the pins in. They are two pieces of metal with rubber in the middle of them. They are thicker at the ends, which I'm hoping will stop them from sliding out. They are very tight. At least they are so tight that I cannot feel any movement in them.

Eddie

 

[3RRL]

Eddie,
After trying out those teeth like you did, you certainly realized they do make a difference in the ability to dig with the bucket, right? Now you can attest personally to the difference having tried it with and without a toothbar. I have not had mine off since I installed it 4 years ago. In fact, I might need to replace the teeth since they are wearing down. The teeth also helps with my bucket grapple when grabbing rocks or logs. It's been one of the best additions for digging for sure.
Rob-

 

[EddieWalker]

Hi Rob,

Yes, they allowed me to dig into soil that I wouldn't have thought possible without them. My real problem was in loading up a pile of dirt that I made with the dozer. A pile might be a hundred to a thousand yards of dirt. While the outer edges of that pile are pretty easy to get a full bucket, the inside part of that pile gets compacted by the dozer in building that pile. The if it sits there for a few months, which is how long some of those piles take to move, it gets even more compacted. I've resorted to breaking up soil with the backhoe just so I could load it with the front bucket!!!!! I'm hopeful that with the teeth, I can load a pile regardless of how long it's sat there, or how compacted it's become. My last pile was about 300 yards and it's what pushed me to find something to make loading faster and easier. Only time will tell, but having the shanks with removable teeth will allow me to try different types of teeth. I like that option too. If these teeth wear out quickly, I can always buy something else.

Eddie

 

[joes_427_vette]

When I built my tooth bar I bought the kind Jinman is speaking about. They clip on the bucket edge and are welded on to a 3/8" x4" flat surface. Mine were purchased from FABCO, the Cat people at around 15 each. I got a box full of teeth from a local bucket manufacturer for 10 bucks so I have enough teeth to replace them several times over. They are attached with the pins as you stated. Two bolts hold the tooth bar on and it slides off in 5 minutes. I wouldn't build without the clip on type fixtures... just my 2 cents. Hope yours work out fine.