Hey folks, I finished converting the bucket and painting it Monday night, and yesterday after work, hauled it out to the "Rancho" but after that half-hour drive, it was too dark to mess with unhooking the grapple and testing the bucket, so it's still sitting on the trailer. I tried to take pictures during my conversion, but they didn't turn out too well since all I had was a cellphone camera.
But I wanted to thank everyone here, particularly K0ua, for the input. Without James' "horror story" I'd have never figured out where all those welds were, and would have probably ground much bigger holes in the back of the bucket (oops, went too far once with that 7" grinder) than I did, and would likely still be fighting it. It actually only took me about 4 hours of work, and ten 4 1/2" cutting wheels plus 9 of the 7" wheels to remove the brackets, and as far as "ugly welds"... Well, there is another reason I can't post pictures, too embarrassed to photograph those!
I hope to have time this evening (if I get off work on time) to go out and test the setup.
So, thanks again, I appreciate the help!
