My backhoe lives here on my property. Among other things I've been using it to dig through a bunch of decomposing granite. Sometimes it just crumbles, sometimes it breaks out in little chunks, sometimes manageable boulders, and other times I just have to sit there and scratch all around it forever looking for a way in/through. I do have a hammer but it needs a new chisel and it's also a PITA to change it over by myself. This may push me to order up a chisel for it, but it's kind of a separate deal. Anyhow, yesterday I was making some decent headway through a hard section and I went in to pry at a rock and I ripped the bottom of the bucket open. Pulled about 6" on one side and 10" on the other. The bucket seems to have sturdy sides at about an 1", but the bottom is much thinner at say 0.375". I will most likely weld on this thing and fix it up somewhere down the road, but for now I'm thinking I'll order a new or used bucket that is built heavier and is also not as wide. My hope is that with a skinnier bucket I'll be able to pop some of those rocks out by not having as wide of a bite. Thinking 12" - 18" wide. Leaning harder towards 18". So question is do I go with CAT or some other brand? Any specific places you like to go to as your first call? Do I tell them I'm looking for an HD bucket? In searching the net I seem to find that half or better of the attachments and equipment in general say "Call for price". Why would you want to waste time talking to people that have no intention of spending what you're asking? I just can't stand that. They spent the time to upload the information and pictures, but they want to waste your time making you call.
You could try Quest Attachments; I bought a bucket from them for my excavator last spring. For the money it is a pretty decent bucket. Using a hoe to rip at rock like that is pretty destructive though . . .
Understood. But I'd have had 3 times as much money in hiring all this work out. If I'd have been renting I'd have spent about 50k more. So at this point while wear and tear is not free, I'm still money ahead. I'll look at Quest.
Eh just drill stop it, vee it out and weld it up then plate it over.
Have you considered a quick attach ripper and bucket ?
Might just want to weld up your 24" bucket and get a ripper. I built this one on a weekend to tearup concrete . It works great on stumps to. Just used mild steel ,except the tooth which i cut from some 2" Qt 400 and hardsurfaced.The tooth is welded on ,i made extras but havent worn the first one much at all.
What thickness material did you use for the base and the ripper it self? Looking to build one for my Deere track loader w/backhoe attachment.
A good welder can fix that right up in 4 hours. Fit your bucket with pointed rock teeth too.
IF he can't find one in his area, he should drop it off over here, just will have to drive across MT to get here
I have a 24” for general purpose but for stumps and ledge my 12” can’t be beat. A lot easier to find seams with the smaller bucket and breakout force is more, less obstruction.
Like those diagonal shanks on there. @Tugger2 s ripper is the ticket for many things, probably faster in that material than the breaker.
Nice build!, looks like a well thought out curve profile.
Yea a 12" bucket is the ticket. I have one for 590SN and mini ex. When digging through rock or frost its way better than a 24" You can put more psi on a smaller area, maximizing the breakout force you have. Its also nice that you can remove material with it as well.
you guys have given me an idea. It would take some geometry fun, but picture this: Your digging bucket on, and a ripper pocket welded to the back of the thumb. Close the thumb tight to the bucket to take the force. Rip and then stow it up put of the way to move the rock. Take off the ripper by pulling a pin when you need the bucket. I know, probably muck up the thumb but a guy has to dream.
I just called Milton CAT where this bucket came from trying to see if I could learn anything about it and I learned it's a 30" not a 24" . From the back side it's about 26", but closer to 30" at the front. I swear the guy I bought this thing from said 24" and I just rolled with it. So yeah I'll keep looking for a smaller bucket. As to welding this bucket up I can do it myself, it will just take me longer as I only have a 200 amp machine. And I'm just slow in general. Definitely won't be a 4 hour deal for me.
Interesting idea, I just don't think a thumb would typically be built heavy enough to manage that. I think you would end up bending up the thumb. If you were trying to pry, you would have to manage the bucket rotating at the same rate as the thumb. If you were really careful maybe, but I don't think anyone would want to jack up a 10-15K thumb when with a QC you can fairly quickly rotate out a bucket or ripper.
If your dealing with that material continually, I would buy a heavy duty 12" bucket and you could yourself or have someone fab a ripper tooth if still needed it. If your not a great wielder, you could take it to a fab shop and see what they would charge to fix it and decide if fixing or buying new is best. Tearing into rock with a 30" bucket must have been very painful.
It hasn't been awesome...though in some places on the property it just pulls right through. I can weld it myself it's just the time involved. And like we've been saying, I need a smaller bucket anyway.
I've seen buckets go on purple wave for really cheap, maybe fix yours up and do the softer work and buy a bucket at auction?
Wow, I wish I had a wishing well like some folks do. What would a new cat bucket cost? Wild guess $10K ? That is such an easy fix for such a small fraction of either a new or used bucket. I have in the old days fixed buckets in way worse condition. I can't believe someone wanting to replace it with a new one. If fixed correctly it will be stronger than a new one.
A new bucket for a little backhoe isn't going to be 10K. I paid 6 for a 1yd bucket for my 20 ton hoe. A Cat bucket for that was 10K.
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Back in the day we used to make up ripper pockets specificly for the smaller backhoes like a 580. The ripper shanks were 1" T-1 with a weld on shank for a Tiger tooth .We usually would put 2 pockets on a 24" bucket,sometimes just 1 in the middle for heavy ripping. I dont see them around as much these days .
The lugs are 1/2" base is 3/4" box section on the lugs is 1/2" gussets on the shank are cut from a chunk of hollow structural tubing.The shank is 1 1/4" .All mild steel just because its what i had around the shop.
A brand new 12" bucket from CAT was IIRC $1450. I called a used equipment dealer and they want $1150 shipped for the same bucket in well used condition. As to the rest of your post if you'd read this short thread you'd have seen I plan to repair this bucket myself. But it will most likely be a back burner project as I really have been in need of a smaller bucket this whole time.
Put some frost teeth on that 12" bucket and you be good to go.
Well just got off the phone with a sales guy at my local CAT and he said he found the same style of bucket I have now but in an 18" width at a store over in Idaho. Should be here Friday. Said it's used but in good condition, $750. As long as it uses the same tips/teeth that I already have on the shelf I'll probably take it. He quoted me $2000 for a new 18" CAT Rock bucket which seems to look very similar by the pictures. About the same specs between the two, the rock bucket outweighs the heavy duty bucket by 30 lbs. 285 vs 305. In looking at what specs I could find online some of these aftermarket buckets are weighing quite a bit more. I'm wondering are they using lesser steels? So they are thicker and heavier, but the strength might be about equal? My broken 30" CAT heavy duty bucket shows a weight of 368.2lbs a bucket I was considering from AIM an 18" shows a weight of 432lbs. For a bucket nearly half the size. Anyhow the 30" lasted me pretty good considering the abuse I put it through. And I'm assuming the guy I bought it from had it on there since he bought the machine in 2014. Seems like this 18" for $750 is worth a shot.
The weight difference is probably lower grade steels, as you suspected.
And thickness.
It is a compromise from going to a ripper or a 12" bucket, but as a digging bucket I find them a whole lot more versatile. 12" buckets are notorious for sticking material. If it has any grab at all you are filling them up and banging them out all the time. The 18" seems wide enough to self clean a little better. I think it will make a fine prybar.
Cat makes a severe duty bucket in the same pattern there decent there are better options like were brau but prices may very I really don't like rippers and I don't pry rock mainly cause I make a lot of money hammering but the wear and tear on that bucket is the same on the rest of the machine When digging in granite twin tiger teeth are the most effective by far and get way better penetration than single point teeth I dislike cat shanks and teeth for backhoes there are better wearing and cheaper options in a Hensley 23 series side pin shank and there are about 10 manufacturers that make teeth for those shank
Wear strips or even teeth and adapters could be the difference in weight. Teeth could be optional. Size of mounting ears or top of bucket they mount to could also affect weight. It's unlikely there'd be special steels like T1 used on a sub 400lb. bucket.
Looks brand new to me. Maybe someone scratched at something once to test the machine, but I suspect it was pulled from a new machine in favor of something else, then got put in inventory as used. Could be wrong.
That's new man. If that pins right on, you are golden. You can either choose to wear out those spades or put on some tiger teeth right now.
Yea nice bucket for 750. I would agree, it likely came on a new machine and was traded out for another bucket. I like twin tiger teeth for frost, not a big of fan for rock and least the lava/basalt we have, they don't hold up for that. The single point teeth (Star) work better for rock and concrete, and least in my experience. Either way, this bucket with some specific teeth will be much better than the 30" bucket you were using.
Nice score
I was thinking the single tigers for getting into rock. I really like those diagonal pins. I've got the old cross pins and they're a pain in the butt to get the inside two teeth.
I think this is going to work out. In the really hard stuff it's slightly better. In the middling stuff it fly's through. And then obviously in the soft stuff it's the same aside from getting smaller scoops. I'm getting some sticking in the bucket so at least in the colder winter temps I'm glad I went with an 18" bucket as I have to imagine I'd just be banging on a 12" all the time with stuck material. I should have bought this bucket 2 years ago...
Nice find, great price! That should put a lot of power to the ground. I agree on the diagonal retaining pins; great idea as the two middle ones are often a pain to strike at with any force.