Drilling a bucket

[B7500]

I just recieved my toothbar attachment from Carver for my B7500 bucket. Nice piece of workmanship. My question is it says I can drill the two bolt holes or "burn" them. Since I don't have a torch how hard is it going to be to drill the holes? It looks like 1" or 11/4" bolts. Any suggestions??

 

[Thomas]

If it was I..I would step drill up to 1" and go slow maybe use some cutting oil.If you got a good drill and a strong grip try a whole saw..but be careful

 

[hazmat]

Get a good holesaw. Drill a pilot first, then the finish hole.

 

[B7500]

Thanks Hazmat and Thomas... never thought of a holesaw.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color=blue>"try a whole saw"</font color=blue>

I agree! I've never had much luck cutting anything with just part of a saw. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Sorry, Thomas...I just couldn't resist.

 

[GarageSmoker]

The hole saw will do the trick, and I used my 18V cordless drill. Used 1 full battery and a tad of another.

Good luck;

GS

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

All kidding aside, I just installed a toothbar yesterday and drilled the entire thing with a step bit. It did an incredibly nice job. My FFC toothbar need 3/4" holes, which was the maximum on the step bit I had. I then used an old 3/4" bit to expand the holes a bit so the bolts slid in and out freely. Probably not 'recommended,' but it worked out just fine. That old 3/4" bit didn't have much bit until up near the chuck so it's due to be sharpened anyhow. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Maxwell]

Here is how I installed the toothbar on my B7500. First, I went to Home Depot and picked up a 3/4" hole saw called the "Aggressor" by BLU-MOL and a 3/8" hole saw mandel with intergrated 1/4" drill bit in the center. Just position the bucket at a comfortable working level. Put a washer in between the toothbar and the bucket. Line up by banging with a rubber mallet. When the washer is properly aligned, trace the inside circle with a felt tip pen. Remove toothbar and washer and punch a starting dimple for accuracy. Begin drilling. In about five minutes, you can have both holes drilled and the toothbar bolted on. I filed down the holes and painted them before I used the toothbar. Enjoy!

 

[frank_f15]

i did exactly as gary did. just use cutting oil and a good grip on the drill.

 

[radar54]

If you guys had bought Allied loaders they are predrilled for tooth bars. That is the easy way to do it. Now if Allied only made tooth bars for the 195 loader. :^)

Jeff

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi,

I just put one on myself a couple weeks ago. 1" mounting holes...took less than a minute to make each hole with a good hole saw and some cutting oil.

If you do buy a hole saw, be sure to get one that is of fair or better quality and the holes will be there before you know it. Some of the cheaper hole saws may dull quickly, which soon makes a simple job turn into a bad memory.

Bill in Pgh, PA

 

[GaryM]

To drill the 7/8 holes for my Woods toothbar I used a Uni-bit and a 14.4V DeWalt drill. The holes took about 2 minutes each.

Uni-bits might be what others have called step drills. They will start holes too, without predrilling.

 

[GaryK]

Not to change the subject but what did the tooth bar cost you?

 

[B7500]

Bought some other stuff like Kubota orange paint and a level indicator but if I recall the toothbar itself was $249.00

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

My FFC cost me just under $300 shipped to me in IN from their place in IL. It is a 61" model with replaceable caps on the teeth and looks heavier than I'll ever need. I just installed it last weekend and, with a little persuasion with a mallet and a wooden block it fit far better than I thought it would. It ended up being a 5 or 6 flat washer deal to make it fit snugly on the ends.

I also added an extra nut on each side just to cover the exposed threads on the bolts. I figured that would make it easier to remove them later if I wanted to take the toothbar off for snow removal work.

 

[GaryM]

$275 picked up at the JD dealer. It's a 53" that fits my FEL perfectly.

 

[cisco]

Unibit (the brand name step drill), 12v Makita, about 10 minutes total, both sides, 2 batteries drained