Markham tooth bar

[Cade]

I am in the market for a tooth bar and I was looking at the Markham. It seems that the folks on this sight recommend them. I would like to get the bolt on for various reasons. Anyone have any experience with the bolt on style? How does it hold up compared to one that is welded? Will I be constantly replacing the bolts that attatch it to the bucket? Will drilling the holes weaken the bucket and are the teeth on the Markham replacable?

thanks for the advice

 

[john_bud]

Most TB's are bolted to the sides of the bucket. The teeth shanks are welded to the bar. The teeth are replaceable, usually a pin is holding the tooth to the shank.

Markham looks to be a good product with a lot of positive buzz here. I don't have one.

jb

 

[GaryE]

Cade,


I bought my tooth bar from Markham about two years ago...still have the original bolts!!!


If anything, the tooth bar will only strengthen your bucket. It will reinforce the cutting edge.


Good luck,


Gary

 

[erwinrp]

I put a markham bar on my loader and it is a great upgrade. No you won't replace bolts and the thing is rock solid. It's a quality product and their service is top notch. Ordered mine on a Wednesday afternoon and bolted it on Friday after work.

 

[johnk]

Really not a lot of force on the bolts. They just kind of hold the toothbar in place over the lip of the bucket. I had one from markham on my other tractor I sold and used the heck out of it. Just bought another from the same place but have yet to use it. Tough using teeth to move snow....

 

[_RaT_]

I am in the market for a tooth bar and I was looking at the Markham. It seems that the folks on this sight recommend them. I would like to get the bolt on for various reasons. Anyone have any experience with the bolt on style? How does it hold up compared to one that is welded? Will I be constantly replacing the bolts that attatch it to the bucket? Will drilling the holes weaken the bucket and are the teeth on the Markham replacable?

thanks for the advice

The toothbar really needs to be removable if you want versatility. Unless you have a large compact, your toothbar will be more solid then the loader has lift. I use the toothbar for moving brush, raking dirt of roots and brush by back dragging, popping corners of concrete slabs, breaking out hard piles, increasing the capacity of the bucket, (it really does add to the capacity the bucket can carry). I used a unibit to drill my bucket out and it worked perfectly. My bolts were 3/4", not a chance you will break them because they only keep the toothbar from sliding off, the bar has slots that pinch down on the cutting edge that do the real work.

 

[Glowplug]

I just recently installed a Markham Toothbar on my bucket (72"). I haven't used it very much but it is one quality product. It is the most bang-for-the-buck upgrade you can purchase. It is quite heavy duty. I was absolutely amazed at how much better I was able to dig with the toothbar. It probably increased my digging capability by 10 fold! I would doubt that there is any significant stress on the bolts. The TBs are secured to the cutting edge by notches under the bar. So all the digging stress is placed on the bar and not on the bolts. It's difficult to explain, maybe I'll see about taking a picture. They are not easy to install but it did seem to take forever to drill the 1/2" holes in the hardened steel of my bucket. I drilled a 1/16" pilot hole, then a 1/8", then a 1/4", then a 3/8", and finally a 1/2". They all went quickly until I got to the 1/2". I think I was in too much of a hurry by that time and went too quickly with too little oil and quickly dulled the bit. Markham's service is outstanding. It's the best money I've spent for my tractor.

 

[rosey]

Love mine......one of the best add-ons that you can do for your loader. Don't worry about it.....just get one and start enjoying it!!

 

[Glowplug]

I just thought of something else worth mentioning. The bolts go through a slot in the toothbar. I mounted my toothbar so the bolt would be right in the middle of the slot. I have heard from Markham that it is slotted for a margin-of-error. Before the bolts sustain any forces or stresses the toothbar would likely slide, which is virtually impossible due to the notches on the bottom which brace the toothbar on the bucket's cutting edge.

 

[Singlecoil]

As fate would have it, I put on a toothbar on my BX today. I'm not sure what brand it was but it sounds exactly like the ones people are describing on here. It went on surprisingly easily, but I think that's mainly because I got the right bit. I dipped it in a puddle about halfway through each hole. My drill is 6 years old, so each hole took a battery charge. I thought it would be much worse and I would spend an hour waiting for the inverter to charge a battery pack. I thought I would just be able to plug the inverter into the accessory on the BX, but you have to have the key on for it to work. Good
thing I didn't need it.

 

[Timber]

I have been the biggest fan of the tooth bar since I got mine, It was the best possible investment you can make for your loader. The strength it adds to the cutting edge alone more than makes it worth it, It comes off and on in a second too. As far a digging and rooting out brush it is best. I couldn't even imagine not having one

 

[Glowplug]

Singlecoil--That looks exactly like a Markham. You can see the slots for the bolts and the "notches" under the teeth that hook on the cutting edge. Looks great. That's a good-looking drill bit. That's what I wish I had. I went through about 3 batteries on mine. But I had several fully charged spares so I didn't have to wait. That would've REALLY been awful.

 

[m7040]

installed my toothbar with a Victor oxyacet cutting torch to punch the holes in the bucket. Took just a few seconds to make the holes with very little scaring of the surrounding paint. This is the easy way to do this.

 

[_RaT_]

As fate would have it, I put on a toothbar on my BX today. I'm not sure what brand it was but it sounds exactly like the ones people are describing on here. It went on surprisingly easily, but I think that's mainly because I got the right bit. I dipped it in a puddle about halfway through each hole. My drill is 6 years old, so each hole took a battery charge. I thought it would be much worse and I would spend an hour waiting for the inverter to charge a battery pack. I thought I would just be able to plug the inverter into the accessory on the BX, but you have to have the key on for it to work. Good
thing I didn't need it.

Biggest problem you will have though is goofing up the threads especially with the nuts on the outside where your more likely to encounter hard unbroken material. Even on the inside the threads get goofed up but not as bad as fast. I needed an air impact wrench to get mine off soon after. Cutting the bolt almost flush with the nut helps.

 

[thunderworks]

RaT:

Why don't you stack another nut on the bolt to protect the treads?

R.

 

[Glowplug]

Here are some pics of my Markham toothbar. First is the whole bucket, second shows the tooth bar curled, last is a closeup of the underside in an attempt to show these notched teeth I have been talking about. Maybe this will help explain some of my blabbering.

 

[Singlecoil]

Biggest problem you will have though is goofing up the threads especially with the nuts on the outside where your more likely to encounter hard unbroken material. Even on the inside the threads get goofed up but not as bad as fast. I needed an air impact wrench to get mine off soon after. Cutting the bolt almost flush with the nut helps.

Thanks, cutting the excess bolt off is a good idea. I'm not sure why they gave me such long bolts in the first place.

 

[TonyS]

I have one on my Kub L3400 and it is great - i had the dealer order and fit it before i took delivery -

 

[_RaT_]

RaT:

Why don't you stack another nut on the bolt to protect the treads?

R.

Sure, you could do that but I just don't want anything sticking out farther then it has to. I put the nut on the inside as well.

 

[Northland]

I have a Markham toothbar on my B7800's 60" bucket and I love it. I didn't have it welded on and I have had no issues at all. Besides, I needed to take it off for winter snow ploughing