Is this bucket repairable? I was planning doing it myself. The weak spots on the rear of the bucket are about 8" wide and 12" long. I was told to use 1/4" plate. Will I be able to heat it enough with a torch to bend to the contour of the bucket? I found a replacement bucket for about $800 a year ago. Didn't buy, should have! The only reason I don't want to swap buckets is because my Cat 995 has a Balderson Quick Release set up. That means I would need to get a new bracket to weld on to the replacement bucket. They run about $1600.
Easy repair use strips rather than trying to bend it say 2 or 3 inches wide weld them together to will be almost round like the bucket
^ This is a good technique if you plan on going through with the repair. One thing I will add is to fill the gaps between the strips with weld and grind flat, it's best to have a smooth bite on the backside of a bucket, doing this also you will prolong the life of the repair strip. Post pics!
I Have rebuilt many buckets over the years and always used AR plate mild steel won't last in the dirt, we always had a local fab shop roll the radius to fit. I Usually plated the sides about 2/3 way up. Weld it up with 7018 at least 9018 if you have it.
Hate to revive and old thread haha but I am getting ready to fix this bucket in the next week or so. What thickness steel should I use? Should I cut out the thin areas of metal?
How many hours a year do you put on this bucket, what conditions, and how long do you plan to keep it? Since it's not worn clean, I'm guessing the holes came from a combination of wear when it was used more, combined with rust since it's been used less often. A loader bucket like that, I'd cut out the thin areas so you don't have overlap that will trap dirt and rust faster, or at least cut back to something you can weld to the patch to seal the overlapped areas.
I only use it from say April through October. I don't use to it for a living. I use it for projects on my property. I'd say about 100-150 hours a year. I bought it with the bucket starting to rust through. Looks like water has been pooling up in the corners for years.
Get the Abrasion Resistant steel if you can, otherwise 1/4" or 5/16" mild steel will be fine. I'd probably weld up the holes in the first pic and maybe even the third, or use a small patch in the third. Cut out the bottom parts that are thinned. 8" wide patch will be easy enough to bend with a sledge hammer and a block of wood, or weld one end and heat, bend and weld as you go. You don't have to do it perfect, just good enough to outlast what you intend to do with it.
See the attached before & after pics & although it is an excavator bucker the same principles apply. This bucket was heavily worn & dented in when we bought it used, for a good price. What I would suggest is cutting out a rectangular area until approx 1/4" mat depth can be found, 3-16" min, then fill in the cut out are with 1/4-5/16 AR plate, as suggested by others, if you have access to it. On the excavator bucket of ours we cut out the entire bottom up to the cutting edge, then part way around the curve on the back & replaced with 3/8 AR plate I believe. We then welded on something like 1/2" x 5" Flat Bar cross strips, spacing them a couple of inches apart. Cross bars were mild steel. Depending on your how much you use the machine & the severity of the material you are working in, if finding AR plate presents great difficulty, mild steel could even be an option. Will not wear as long, but will do the job & is somewhat easier to work with. Also, several years ago we rebuilt the bottom of a 24" rubber tired backhoe bucket, cutting out the whole bottom, replaced the bottom including new wear strips etc. with all mild steel & it wore just fine, as it was not subjected to heavy use. Lasted perhaps 15 years for us, until we sold the machine & was still in good shape then.