Building a backhoe bucket

[Spitzair]

So I needed a bucket for my Bobcat 909 backhoe attachment that I just rebuilt. It didn’t come with one and the only one I could find for sale is so far away that shipping would be the same price as the bucket… so I built my own out of some material I had sitting around… I copied the dimensions from my dad’s 303 cat bucket which has almost identical measurements on the bucket linkage. I used a piece of plywood to mock it up…. The cutting edge is some 3/4” hardox I had left over from another project, the sides are 3/8 as is the bottom skin, then the ears are 1/2 and some schedule 120 2” pipe made the perfect pin bosses. Almost looks like a real bucket! Anyway, thought I’d share, it works really good…

 

[rScotty]

Beautiful work. Congratulations.
You've clearly got too much time on your hands - uh, I assume that is you in the photo.
And I particularly enjoyed the picture of the plywood mock up. What's next?

 

[1 of U]

put a couple holes in the middle of the bucket so water can drain out ,
weld a chain hook on the bucket beats the teeth if you ever need a chain

 

[dfkrug]

put a couple holes in the middle of the bucket so water can drain out ,
weld a chain hook on the bucket beats the teeth if you ever need a chain

Nice work.

Those are 2 features that you rarely get in a new $1200 bucket. I have done two homemade buckets myself, and they were very rewarding.

I have always wondered how effective the skidsteer-mounted excavators are. Is yours the kind that is operated from the SS seat?

 

[Spitzair]

Thanks guys. No, that’s not me in the pictures, that’s my son/top helper…
I do have a chain hook welded to the back of the bucket, already came in handy a few times.
This one you operate from a seat on the attachment itself, I still have to mount it, right now I just have the mounting plate on there, not the most comfy thing to sit on… sure has great visibility. Haven’t used it much yet but from what I have done with it so far it has great power and breakout force, can’t wait to use it more! I think I’ll build a ripper tooth for it next…

 

[Doug Vee]

Thanks guys. No, that’s not me in the pictures, that’s my son/top helper…
I do have a chain hook welded to the back of the bucket, already came in handy a few times.
This one you operate from a seat on the attachment itself, I still have to mount it, right now I just have the mounting plate on there, not the most comfy thing to sit on… sure has great visibility. Haven’t used it much yet but from what I have done with it so far it has great power and breakout force, can’t wait to use it more! I think I’ll build a ripper tooth for it next…

I look forward to seeing the ripper tooth project. I could definitely use one of those myself.

Doug

 

[Richard]

Call me jealous! Nice job!

All I'd get if I tried to weld two pieces together, would be a yard-fire lol

 

[California]

Question - How did you curve the sheet for the back of the bucket?

 

[Spitzair]

Haha, my yard didn’t burn but I did catch myself on fire while building this bucket.
I brought the back sheet to the local machine shop and they curved it on their brake for me, I don’t have a good way of bending it here at my little shop…

 

[dfkrug]

I brought the back sheet to the local machine shop and they curved it on their brake for me, I don’t have a good way of bending it here at my little shop…

Did you use 1/4" or thicker plate?

On my first bucket, I used 1/4" x 13" plate, and bent it around side plates I had cut out. I used an O/A torch to heat it where I wanted it to bend, while pulling on it with a cable-jack come-along. I bent a bit, welded the sides, bent some more, then repeated the process.

On the 2nd one that I recently did for my mini-X, I opted for thinner steel, so the bending was easier (no heat). Then I added welded-on wear plates.

No special tools.