toothbar....awesome...

ratter · Aug 8, 2006

I'm so glad I got one...can't even imagine how useful a grapple would be!

Pic...

http://homepage.mac.com/mpackage/roots.jpg

ronjhall · Aug 8, 2006

With a grapple you would not have to worry about that tree falling out of the bucket.

Highbeam · Aug 8, 2006

And without the toothbar you would have had a huge bucket oad of dirt if you were lucky enough to pop that bush.

Nice pic. Nice tractor too. I have found that it is better to mow that size of bush rather than collect it.

Now combine a grapple and a toothbar and you are really cookin.

ratter · Aug 8, 2006

Highbeam said:
And without the toothbar you would have had a huge bucket oad of dirt if you were lucky enough to pop that bush.

Nice pic. Nice tractor too. I have found that it is better to mow that size of bush rather than collect it.

Now combine a grapple and a toothbar and you are really cookin.

I was mowing most of the bushes, small trees, but that particular bush was a cluster of trunks the largest of which were about 4"....didn't want to risk damaging the mower....so out it came. Teeth work great for stripping trees of vines/blackberries, too...all in all, a good day of tractoring!

dirt clod · Aug 8, 2006

Thanks for the post I've been thinking about getting one of these toohbars.
who built the one you have?

ratter · Aug 8, 2006

dirt clod said:
Thanks for the post I've been thinking about getting one of these toohbars.
who built the one you have?

Not sure...I ordered it along with the tractor from the Massey dealer...

CDsdad · Aug 8, 2006

I've been thinking I need one of those on my 1533. What size bucket do you have, 60" or 66" HD.

ratter · Aug 8, 2006

CDsdad said:
I've been thinking I need one of those on my 1533. What size bucket do you have, 60" or 66" HD.

66 HD. I didn't get the toothbar installed until a couple of weeks after getting the tractor...it's silly how much more effective the bucket is now.

bigballer · Aug 9, 2006

I'm placing my order with markham tomorrow. Should have it by the weekend! One question - do most people drill the holes to attach to the bucket or is a torch a better way to go?

cheers,
bigballer

IslandTractor · Aug 9, 2006

Drill the holes. As I recall Markham sends 1/2 inch bolts. The sides of the buckets are pretty easy to drill out even with a portable drill. Just make sure you jam the toothbar on to the front bucket lip well before marking to drill. I'd also suggest bolting it immediately after drilling so you don't have to fiddle getting the hole lined up again. Markham sends along a square washer that you can weld on to the bucket side. This presumably is to prevent wear and elongation of the bolt hole. I used the washer on mine but have not gotten around to welding it in place. If the toothbar is jammed on tight to begin with it doesn't really put any pressure on the bolt and mine has not loosened up at all.

TNhobbyfarmer · Aug 9, 2006

bigballer said:
I'm placing my order with markham tomorrow. Should have it by the weekend! One question - do most people drill the holes to attach to the bucket or is a torch a better way to go?

cheers,
bigballer

Drill the hole. It is quite easy to put on. I did weld the square piece of reinforcing steel to the bucket. I figured they wouldn't have sent it with the toothbar if they didn't feel it was worthwhile to use it.

Hunt4fun · Aug 9, 2006

I am getting my tractor on Saturday delivered, with a 78 inch bucket. I didn't order the toothbar when I got the tractor, but after reading much about them after the fact, I now realize that I should have gotten one.
Where is a good site to order one from, and what features would be most important. I assume one would always want "heavy duty".
Would really appreciate some names of good companies to get these from.
thanks.

RollTideRam · Aug 9, 2006

I ordered one yesterday from Markham Welding. Many members here have and recommend them. Mine for a 54" bucket was $202 plus $38 shipping. I also called ATI that advertises on here. Their price was $350, but wanted me to go through a dealer. Might have got a better price, but I called Markham second, and ordered one at the price they gave me. JC

Neophyte · Aug 9, 2006

Has anyone ever pinned their toothbar using a clevis pin and hairpin cotter or lynch pin? I was thinking about doing this for occasional use instead of bolting it? Do you see a problem with doing it this way?

ovrszd · Aug 9, 2006

Neophyte said:
Has anyone ever pinned their toothbar using a clevis pin and hairpin cotter or lynch pin? I was thinking about doing this for occasional use instead of bolting it? Do you see a problem with doing it this way?

Wouldn't you immediately lose the pin because of constantly scraping it against things while loading the bucket??

JimR · Aug 9, 2006

Pinning it is not the way to go. Eventually your holes will open up and the bar will not be a tight fit. It might work well if you had an "L" bracket welded on the inside of the bucket on each side for the side plates to slide into. This would give the pins two places for support and less chance of working itself loose. I have mine bolted on with two bolts on each side.

bones1 · Aug 9, 2006

Wouldn't use a pin.If you take it on and off all the time just slot the mounting brackets on the toothbar then you can loosen the 2 mounting bolts, pull bar forward to clear bucket edge and flip it in the bucket and re tighten.Works well.

Neophyte · Aug 9, 2006

bones1 said:
Wouldn't use a pin.If you take it on and off all the time just slot the mounting brackets on the toothbar then you can loosen the 2 mounting bolts, pull bar forward to clear bucket edge and flip it in the bucket and re tighten.Works well.

This seems like a good idea. Does anyone have any pictures of what it looks like folded back into the bucket?

I could not easily find Markham's website through Google. I was able to find it on this forum. For those who are wondering it is:
http://www.markhamwelding.com/

Their website states that their toothbars will NOT work on a bucket with a bolt-on cutting edge. Is this true?

3RRL · Aug 10, 2006

Unless you do a lot of fel backdragging there is no reason to take it off all the time. You can't believe the difference for just about any kind of fel work you do. It has been one of the best additions I did.
I got mine at Markham and installed it using pipe clamps or furniture clamps. I drilled the holes, insterted the bolts and welded on the side plates. Pretty easy to do. IMO, Markham is an excellent quality toothbar. Among a couple of other things, here's a thread on mounting it....
TOOTHBAR MOUNTING

bigballer · Aug 10, 2006

ok, i will drill the holes, thanks for the confirmation. i don't have a welder yet but could probably borrow my neighbors to place the washer.

the 60" markham includes 6 teeth for $231. i am adding 2 more teeth at $26/each and getting an extra spare tooth for $10. the teeth will be 8-9" apart. shipping to WA is around $50.

it seems i have made the right choice looking at all the options out there. these seem to be the beefiest ones around.

cheers,
bigballer