Bucket hooks - Almost ready to weld

ovrszd · Oct 31, 2015

Shield Arc said:
Skip welds really help control distortion. Especially if you back step the welds too. Back stepping, and skipping around a lot breaks up the heat line, so a lot less chance of distortion. A lot of things I skip weld, I will use caulking between the welds before painting.

Good stuff Shield Arc. I sometimes get in a hurry and forget to jump around and end up with distortion. Especially when using a MIG. I've learned a lot listening to you over the years. I just gotta work on the "application" part.

Fallon · Oct 31, 2015

newbury said:
Could you please sum up a lot of your little bits of welding wisdom for us "farmer/hobby" welders and put it in a book I can buy on Amazon?

Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info

Not Shieldarc's wisdom, but Jody does kick ***. Good welder, good presenter. And its all free.

Shield Arc · Oct 31, 2015

Jody has forgot more about welding than I'll ever know!

4570Man · Oct 31, 2015

Shield Arc said:
Jody has forgot more about welding than I'll ever know!

If that was true, than Jody wouldn't know which end of the rod goes in the holder.

MOTractor · Nov 1, 2015

Thanks for the advice guys! I got the 4x3 plates cut yesterday morning and we welded them on yesterday afternoon. Will post pics later today.

MOTractor · Nov 2, 2015

I now have hooks and a clevis mounting plate welded and painted! Thanks for the help!

ovrszd · Nov 2, 2015

Lookin Good!!!

k0ua · Nov 2, 2015

You will get a lot of good use out of those.:thumbsup:

PSEbowhunter · Nov 2, 2015

You'll be surprised at how much you use those hooks. I went with the bolt on's from Ken and I'm not sure what I'd do without them anymore.

dragoneggs · Nov 2, 2015

PSEbowhunter said:
You'll be surprised at how much you use those hooks. I went with the bolt on's from Ken and I'm not sure what I'd do without them anymore.

Agreed I just have the snap on ones from BXpanded and they are quite handy, using them far more than I realized with a chain on stumps and such. Now if I could do it over again I would have welded them though.

bumperm · Nov 2, 2015

mangus580 said:
This shows how I attached them to my bucket...

View attachment 445761

It worked out quite well. I much preferred this method vs burning up my factory paint on my bucket.

I did *almost* like you, with a 2" receiver hitch in the middle. The receiver will hold a hook:

Receiver Tow Hook

or a drop down 2" receiver extension that I made to get a tow ball down lower and ahead of the bucket. That, and a video cam looking down at the ball, makes picking up and moving trailers around convenient.

I also mounted two 5/16 weld on chain hooks on each side in line with the lift arms. Two isn't necessary, I guess, but there are times when it's nice to have an extra hook to loop slack into etc.

4570Man · Nov 3, 2015

PSEbowhunter said:
You'll be surprised at how much you use those hooks. I went with the bolt on's from Ken and I'm not sure what I'd do without them anymore.

I used to use my hooks a lot, but now that I have SSQA forks and a grapple I don't remember the last time I used them.

Gary Fowler · Nov 3, 2015

Most use I get from my hooks is to lift up my lawnmower so I can change the blades and wash out under the deck. Without the tractor/FEL with chain hooks a 10 minute job would be next to impossible for me. On my Ferris, I permanently installed a chain loop on the front so I can just hook a chain hook into it and then to the FEL and lift the mower to about 75 degrees vertical. Perhaps not the safest way to get under the deck but definitely quickest and easiest. I for sure trust this more than I would some kind of jack to lift the mower that may slip at any time. Barring hydraulic hose failure, not much chance of anything falling using the chain hooks and FEL.

MOTractor · Nov 3, 2015

PSEbowhunter said:
You'll be surprised at how much you use those hooks. I went with the bolt on's from Ken and I'm not sure what I'd do without them anymore.

These weld on hooks were from Ken too. I have big hooks on my Ford 1920, they were there to hold the slip on bucket forks. I think these chain hooks will be even more useful.

PSEbowhunter · Nov 3, 2015

4570Man said:
I used to use my hooks a lot, but now that I have SSQA forks and a grapple I don't remember the last time I used them.

I can understand that. My tractor doesn't gave the ssqa and i don't plan on converting it at this point. I do have a diverter kit coming soon and working in a bucket grapple. I'd imagine once i get all that the hook use may get cut down a bit.

bumperm · Nov 3, 2015

When adding a grapple to an existing bucket, the hooks need to be located so they don't get in the way.

If you get 5/16" hooks, they'll work on 1/4" and 3/8" chain.

I have SSQA and forks, but if the buckets on, even as fast and easy as it is to put the forks on, it's easier still to use the chain hooks *if* the load is suitable for chain.

dieselcrawler · Nov 15, 2015

I finally put some hooks on my bucket today

MOTractor · Nov 16, 2015

Those look great, but they remind me that I need to work on my welding skills!

k0ua · Nov 16, 2015

Nice looking Dieselcrawler:thumbsup:

dieselcrawler · Nov 16, 2015

Thanks... I would have preferred to use a stick welder, but not having one available, I just used my little mig. Turned it up as hot as it would go, and went to it. As light as my 3005 is, and limited lift abilities, it should be strong enough.