I have a CAT 314E LCR with a 4' CAT bucket (1200 mm). Bucket has inset metal plate partially remaining showing MFH54322 and CAT in upper right corner. There are 7 digging teeth with side pins. My ask is if it is possible to exchange teeth to very wide spade-like teeth that would almost touch each other for this bucket to create a grading/ditch bucket, which would save buying one. If so, is this a dealer issue or please point the way if other options. I think I want teeth that are 200 mm or 8 inches wide. Thanks
They make wide spade teeth but you'd have to see what tooth style your bucket uses to see how close together they would fit.
Thank you Dave. The online CAT parts store does not let me search for 200 or 180 mm wide teeth and my possible bucket serial number above is not recognized, so maybe not a model or serial number. I believe I have a J type frog attachments, but will get pictures next weekend since machine is at a distant property. What images/measurements would be useful at a parts counter to figure this out without the bucket, or should I bring the bucket? If bucket is needed, how do you tie down a loose bucket?
Another option might be welding a cutting edge to two teeth to make a removable smooth edge for the bucket. Pretty cheap and an effective way to switch between smooth edge/toothed bucket. Not the best pic, but you get the idea:
Thank you for that 2 for 1 solution! Now, I get to justify an early Christmas welding set present
X2 this idea ^. We welded an edge on our 3' mini bucket and haven't taken it off yet. Super handy doing meticulous finish work.
Keep the digging bucket, look for a wider used or buy new Cat 54" to 72" cleanout bucket/grading bucket. Post an image of your bucket. What other buckets for the machine do you have? What are you mostly using the machine for?
If you go this route, either welding it yourself or having someone weld it for you, line up the cutting edge with the teeth installed on the machine and tack it there (following all precautions for welding on equipment, although if your ground is on the cutting edge the risk is minimal). Otherwise you run the risk of it not fitting on the shanks easily. I could change the smooth edge on and off this bucket in 10mins, makes it very handy for quick jobs.
For a 4 foot bucket, would you use 1/2 inch steel or what thickness for the cutting edge? The bucket is 5/8ths on the side walls. I have 7 teeth, would you weld to the outer teeth or 1/3 and 2/3 across the bucket? I think I tack weld it on and take it to a welding shop. Thanks
Mine was a 38” cat bucket, I used 1/2” cutting edge and welded the two outside teeth. Partly it depends on what you are doing with it, I was moving loam and sand, not trenching, etc.
It's definitely fast and economical to weld on a grading bar. However, there would be a huge advantage to have a quick disconnect coupler on such a nice big machine with multiple attachments (Cleanout bucket, hoepac, grapple, mulcher, pecker, etc.)
Yup! In my limited use the add-on smooth edge on a tooth bucket is not the same as a dedicated smooth grading/cleanup bucket. The geometry, etc is just different. In my case I didn’t have a quick coupler and so this made more sense than fighting different buckets every time I wanted to switch.
I think it would be best to weld the edge to the teeth while they are on the bucket. Make sure the teeth fit tight first and the shanks aren't worn. The heat from welding and cooling can do strange things that could make the welded edge hard to put on and/or take off. If you use a high carbon or abrasion resistant steel you'll need preheat and special electrodes for welding. You can buy small 1 or 2lb. packs of high strength welding rods. They are usually listed for difficult to weld steels with tensile strength around 120,000 PSI. They are stainless based. If the bucket is fairly wide might want to weld a middle tooth as well.
Can just weld old cutting edge on the two out side teeth, then u can knock pins out and go back to a tooth bucket
A very handy use for worn grader cutting edges and far better than investing in another bucket.
If the bucket is wide the middle of the edge could bend. Cheap insurance to weld to a middle tooth.
Yep - that's how our 3' mini bucket is set up. Cheaper to buy a 3' digging bucket than a 3' clean up bucket and we have all sorts of old cutting edge laying around.
Sorry PeterG, I only have the digging bucket and used up my wife's graciousness recently buying a ripper, so not buying another bucket is necessary. We use the excavator on weekends to make roads in a forest on the side of a mountain. Widening present roads as well as making new roads. Ditches and rough road grading led to wanting to covert the digging bucket into a cleanup infrequently. This is my therapy, not work or a weekday job.
I'll be the naysayer here. As a guy that has 5 smooth ditching buckets, and have ran many toothed buckets with cutting edge welded to the teeth, that works ok for part-time use, but a purpose-built ditching bucket is so much easier to grade with it's silly. A tooth bucket does not slide across the dirt like a smooth bucket, even though it is functionally the same with an edge welded to the teeth.
Nay say all you want - it works well for what we do. It'd be silly to buy a purpose built ditch cleaning bucket for backfilling curbs and moving other loose material. Pop the blade off and we have a 3' digging bucket. Nothing to it. It's the only smooth bucket we have for any of our machines, not much use for them here other than backfilling curbs or cleaning up paved surfaces with a skid.
I thought about it at length. Welded cutting edge to teeth to make a near touching teeth. It worked to some degree. I finally gave in, bought a new toothless bucket a foot wider than my digging bucket. It is sweet for backfilling! I set the bottom of the bucket on the grass near the spoil pile, keep it flat so i can see the corner of the cutting edge. I have a theory: A 46" deep trench digs fastest with a 2' toothed bucket on my backhoe. Narrow bucket or wide, the ditch caves in to the same width top to bottom whether dug with a 12", or 24". The 24" digs it in 1/4 the time. It is hard to dig a 2' deep trench if the rocks found are 4' diameter. Backfilling is easier if I avoid damaging the grass beside the ditch. Scraping the spoils off the sod cleanly avoids a wide repair. I live where a cold winter might get to 0 degrees F. at 1' deep. At 3' deep it stays between 10 & 60 degrees. PVC conduit wants to shrink 4" as it cools 100 degrees F. It shrinks far less in a 50 degree temperature change. At zero it shatters like glass, at 10 degrees less brittle. Long runs, or runs under a plowed driveway are best at least 3' down, You should have 6" of bedding sand under a conduit. 4" OD conduit needs a 46" deep ditch to be forever. No owner has ever been happy to replace an underground line.
I agree about the toothless bucket. I have 4' tilting clean up bucket and it definitely makes a big difference in leaving a clean surface when scooping up piles. And obviously it works great for cleaning ditches. Not having tooth shanks leaves a smoother finish. I trenched through a dirt road this week for conduit. Bottom of trench was a little deeper than 5', then I added some sand to the bottom so the conduit is a little deeper than 4'. Think that's deep enough? P.s. sorry to derail the thread...
Yup.