Tiny teeth

[compulsive tinkerer]

I have a 65 inch bucket on my fel. I have a very heavy clay content in my soil, and digging is a challenge. Especially when it's dry.
I will be putting teeth on my bucket, and im doing something that appears to be unique. Been looking around the web for any cautionary tails about it and there seems to be no one that has done this. So it should be an interesting experiment.
Im putting 8 very small carbide auger teeth on the cutting edge of the bucket. I didn't want anything near as aggressive as everything that's available. Im not one for posting, but I figured since this seems to be something not yet done, ( or at least not talked about) i would share.
Will post a picture of what teeth i ordered as soon as i can work out how to. Like i said, not one to post usually.

 

[sandman2234]

Welcome to the forum! I can understand your need of teeth on the bucket, as I had a good friend over in Pleasant Hill, (Sabine Parish) and he had a lot of clay to deal with also!
Waiting on pictures!
David from jax

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

Each tooth is about 2 inch by 3.5 inch. Should be about a 2x2 tooth once bolted on. My thinking is that this should be just enough to break up the surface. And not be overly aggressive when I'm just working the top layer of the ground. I have about 2 inches of decent top soil before it gets into the solid clay

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

I work on a boat on the river. I will not be getting home for another 26 days. But i ordered the teeth. They will be waiting for me when I get home. If it turns out this was a bad idea,( which is entirely possible) im only out $47 bucks

 

[oosik]

Big teeth, little teeth, lots of teeth, few teeth. A whole lot will boil down to your technique in using the toothed bucket. I have nine large teeth on my bucket. It does help churn up surface soil.

Here's hoping those smaller teeth work well with your soil. I'll be waiting for your report.

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

Thats true. And admittedly, im certainly a novice when it comes to tractor work. There are operators out there that can thread a needle with a behemoth machine.

 

[ruffdog]

I found this an interesting comparison between toothbars and plain bucket.

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

So i emailed parts warehouse today to check on my order. They gave me a "possible" ship date of Nov 13. Very frustrating.

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

I found this an interesting comparison between toothbars and plain bucket.

I found this an interesting comparison between toothbars and plain bucket.

I agree. Definitely interesting. But it does show me that having more of a "serrated" edge cuts through the top layer much better than bare bucket or even larger teeth. That is the issue I want to address. When I try to use the bucket to scoop up the little high spots, the bucket just gets deflected up and over. If i adjust the agle of attack enough to get it to bite, it dives down and digs a large divot. Im hoping that the tiny teeth will allow it to cut in and just shave off the high spots. We shall see. If i ever get the teeth delivered. Issues with the supplier apparently.

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

I get off the boat tomorrow. Still no word on where my teeth are. Not really pleased with the supplier. Im hopeful they show up soon after I get home. With the holiday and family visits, i will not have much time to dedicate to this project while I'm home. Fingers crossed i hear something soon. On a side note, i have ordered some 2x2 square tubing and some flat bar. I plan on adding some falling object protection as well.

 

[ning]

I'm across the country from you but I have heavy clay here which gets very hard in the summer.

I've had decent success with the piranha tooth bar which isn't that different than lots of "tiny teeth" like those, but I definitely still can't just approach a hillside of clay and expect to take a chunk out of it - my backhoe's 12" bucket with four bigger teeth have enough trouble, but if I want loose "dirt" I have to backhoe a bunch, then scoop - or wait for the wet season, when it's just a mess. I do get a few weeks in the spring when I can dig it (still need to use the backhoe) rapidly and then FEL scoop it.

To be honest, with a 65" bucket and a fairly light tractor I wouldn't expect to be able to dig much clay especially with the weight of the tractor I see. My bucket is about that weight; my tractor is 4000# bare weight, plus filled rears, and trying to dig the front bucket into anything that's not loose is a great way to spin the tires. You may be able to get more shaving/scraping with the bucket with the teeth, not sure.

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

I'm across the country from you but I have heavy clay here which gets very hard in the summer.

I've had decent success with the piranha tooth bar which isn't that different than lots of "tiny teeth" like those, but I definitely still can't just approach a hillside of clay and expect to take a chunk out of it - my backhoe's 12" bucket with four bigger teeth have enough trouble, but if I want loose "dirt" I have to backhoe a bunch, then scoop - or wait for the wet season, when it's just a mess. I do get a few weeks in the spring when I can dig it (still need to use the backhoe) rapidly and then FEL scoop it.

To be honest, with a 65" bucket and a fairly light tractor I wouldn't expect to be able to dig much clay especially with the weight of the tractor I see. My bucket is about that weight; my tractor is 4000# bare weight, plus filled rears, and trying to dig the front bucket into anything that's not loose is a great way to spin the tires. You may be able to get more shaving/scraping with the bucket with the teeth, not sure.

I agree with your assessment. Lucky i do have a few inches of topsoil before I get to the clay.
I did however recently dig a small test pond on the property. To see if it was even feasible to do with my tractor. I was able to dig out a 30ish foot diameter to about 4 ft deep in a few hours. Learned a few things from the experience. 1. Im going to rent a bull dozer when I dig the big pond. 2. Digging a big hole in the ground certainly brings out my inner 10 year old self. 3. Clay is tough digging.
My goal with the tiny teeth isnt so much to be able to dig holes, but to help work the few inches of topsoil without getting into the clay. As much as is possible anyway. Like I said from the beginning, this experiment might be a waste of time, but for less than $50, its worth a little tinkerer time.

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

By the way, to all that have replied, or will reply later... I do very much appreciate the feedback. Hopefully I will have some progress to report, and pictures to share soon.

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

Still no teeth, but got some work done on the fops

 

[Renze]

Thats true. And admittedly, im certainly a novice when it comes to tractor work. There are operators out there that can thread a needle with a behemoth machine.

Yeah, i was always in awe what they can with a 150 ton demolition rig, compared to how shaky i operate my Bobcat backhoe attachment. Untill i had to take some measurements on a big Hitachi triple boom in the yard and moved the boom to ground level myself...

Well, once youve experienced the difference in smoothness and precision between budget homeowner stuff and top of the line construction machinery hydraulics, you no longer see them as gods, but as highly skilled professionals

 

[scootr]

I had no luck digging with a toothed bucket in our clay soil midsummer. It's just too wide of a shovel to push into the ground no matter the number of teeth for me. I hope your results are different

 

[BaznastyDave]

I have the Piranha in hard NC red clay/dirt, no complaints here. Post up some pics when you get it finished. Cheers.

 

[DJ54]

How would a box blade with scarifiers set shallow work in what you're trying to accomplish..?? Not sure how far you want to move the dirt, but could always just work up a small pile, then carry it to where you need to put it. Work the high spots from different angles so the scarifiers don't cut in the same track, and break dirt up into finer material. I'm seeing locally many used one's in the $500 range. Maybe more than you want to spend at this time, but seems it'd be a lot easier on your tractor and loader. Just my opinion.

 

[compulsive tinkerer]

Shipping of the teeth have been pushed back again till December 4th. So very frustrating. I go back to the boat in less than two weeks. Looks like this project will be delayed till i get back from my next hitch

 

[oosik]

I have nine teeth on my heavy Kubota bucket. If I'm scooping loose soil/gravel or pine needles - it's OK. Otherwise - I use the scarifiers on my roll over box blade( ROBB).