Where would I find a bucket that would help dig a small hole but deep. I think i have a general purpose bucket and when I am rolled forward the teeth arent verticle. I think im looking for grave digger bucket?? need to go 4'x4' hole but 5-6' deep
I have a 416C (backhoe) that I had custom buckets made for. I bought them with the machine (new from Quinn-So Cal CAT dealer). They were long lipped and had the pin holes relocated for more back rotation (rackback). The flip side was reduced travel to the closed side (would not get as close to the dipper as the OEM arrangement). They were from Woods Gannon. Their engineers designed them. I was doing utility work and had to dig for manholes and such in the streets (slurry backfill) so precise digging was required to not waste slurry. I'm not sure if they do that anymore since most manufacturers now offer more bucket rotation (acheived through linkages) than they did in '97 when I bought mine. Another thing to note is that my 416 can easily dig a 4x4x4 hole but going down another 2' will be pushing it (as far as the vertical headwall goes). The farther you go down, the farther away from the hole you have to be to keep the headwall vertical. With such a small machine, you may run out of reach before you get to where you can dig the last bit vertically. Or your dipper may hit the top or your hole (closest to the machine) before you can get the teeth at the correct angle. Is it possible to trim the headwall manually? I am thinking of another possible issue as well. With such a small dig area it takes a lot of force to be get close to efficient bucket fill. As you probably are aware, the more force exerted requires more weight to keep the digging unit stationary. My 416 can move around a bit (when digging like you describe). It may be more difficult with the lighter and shorter 302. In summary, Woods/Gannon is where I got mine from and they are in SoCal. I would think that just about any aftermarket bucket manufacturer should be able to accomodate your request. Another option may be the linkage route. I think that ultimately it would be a better solution but much more headache to figure it all out on your own. Make sure that you are aware of any drawbacks that will come with any type of customizing that you may be considering. Good luck.