Bucket for off road forklift

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Hi All,I acquired an off road forklift at a bargain price I'm very happy with the machine, but know I could do a lot more with it if it had a bucket.Unfortunately the original option from Gradall costs more than the whole machine was So I need to make my own.Since steel plates come in 4'x8' sheets, the basic idea is to have one sheet bent to 90° and the other cut in half.Weld the half sheet on one of the 'legs' of the bend sheet to accept the forks, cut the leftover 4x4 sheet diagonally and use those for the sides.Weld a 6"x4' cutting blade to the bottom front of the whole thing, maybe with teeth.And add 2 brackets so the bucket can't slide off the forks, done.The machine has 10'000 lbs capacity and the arm extends hydraulically, so it will be nice to dig level.Now here r the questions - Are 1/2" plates a good choice?- What steel grade/type should I use?- Same grade for the cutting blade?- Where can I get some teeth, or how can I make them?- Is stick welding (I have moderate experience) a good idea,   or is this the time I should get a TIG or MIG welder and learn how to use it?- If stick is ok, any particular ones I should use, I have E6011 1/8 and 5/32, (230 Aac)?- I was told that I can buy the 653# steel plates for $0.50 / lb here in Los Angeles, Ca  It sounds like a good price, does anybody know a good source?- Am I crazy, or does this sound feasible?Any input will b greatly appreciated Thanks
Reply:Originally Posted by delecHi All,I acquired an off road forklift at a bargain price I'm very happy with the machine, but know I could do a lot more with it if it had a bucket.Unfortunately the original option from Gradall costs more than the whole machine was So I need to make my own.Since steel plates come in 4'x8' sheets, the basic idea is to have one sheet bent to 90° and the other cut in half.Weld the half sheet on one of the 'legs' of the bend sheet to accept the forks, cut the leftover 4x4 sheet diagonally and use those for the sides.Weld a 6"x4' cutting blade to the bottom front of the whole thing, maybe with teeth.And add 2 brackets so the bucket can't slide off the forks, done.The machine has 10'000 lbs capacity and the arm extends hydraulically, so it will be nice to dig level.Now here r the questions - Are 1/2" plates a good choice?- What steel grade/type should I use?- Same grade for the cutting blade?- Where can I get some teeth, or how can I make them?- Is stick welding (I have moderate experience) a good idea,   or is this the time I should get a TIG or MIG welder and learn how to use it?- If stick is ok, any particular ones I should use, I have E6011 1/8 and 5/32, (230 Aac)?- I was told that I can buy the 653# steel plates for $0.50 / lb here in Los Angeles, Ca  It sounds like a good price, does anybody know a good source?- Am I crazy, or does this sound feasible?Any input will b greatly appreciated Thanks
Reply:The machine has 10'000 lbs capacity and the arm extends hydraulically, so it will be nice to dig level.
Reply:dunemetal:I didn't think it would become a dozer, but I really appreciate ur input and warning.The idea is to pick up loose dirt, actually in the last couple of weeks, we really could have used it to clean up heaps of wet loose mud all over the neighborhood!You wouldn't want to sell one of those buckets would u, mine is a 544D?
Reply:I'd probably look for the bucket from a dead backhoe to start from. Easier and faster to work with. 1/2" is way heavy for a bucket. I doubt the floor/back of the bucket that was on our old 555B Ford was heavier than 1/4" at most. Sides might have been a bit thicker, but I think that only the top 6" or so was heavy, and the rest was light weight. As far as teeth, most equipment dealers, CAT, New Holland, Bobact, CASE etc will have shanks and teeth. You weld the shanks to the bucket and the teeth get installed on those usually. You probably don't want teeth however. Teeth are for digging, like on the bucket of a track loader. Most buckets for scooping on backhoes and rubber tired loaders use a straight cutting edge instead. Again a stealership will have them. We get all our teeth/shanks/cutting edges from a local place that stocks them for the local quarries and municipalities. For your use you probably don't need a hardened cutting edge. You can probably get away with just a chunk of 6-8" wide heavy bar stock and weld the floor/sides to that. You might ask around a bit in your area and see whom some of the bigger contractors deal with for their parts..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I think 3/8s plate would be fine for a bucket. I have seen acouple of buckets that have a piece of 5inch by 3/8s flat bar with a tooth design cut into welded on the bottom of the bucket for teeth. It works very well also use a few pieces of 3/8s plate on the back on the bottom as runners so when on Concrete it will wear them out before the bucket its self.Vantage 300 kubota ,miller 304 xmt ,lincoln ln 25 pro , ranger 305 G, plenty of other tools of the trade to make the sparks fly.
Reply:DSW:Thank u for ur reply.A bucket from a dead backhoe is probably difficult to come by here in suburbia. I appreciate ur input on the teeth. Since I won't b actually digging, it seems the teeth really rn't needed and I'll forego them to keep the cost down. I'm still wondering about the grade of steel plates to use.
Reply:Delec: They are really mine to sell, but depending how close to Merrillville IN you are, maybe a deal could be struck. Keep in mind that a front bucket from any combo machine/rubber tired backhoe uses a different method of attachment. The buckets for our Lulls utilize the forks and a cam lock system to connect. If you are fabbing one, you might consider AR 400/500 3/8" plate and something a bit beefier for front and side cutting edges. Think about where the wear will be.
Reply:I'm in Ca, not sure about the shipping, could b a deal killer.
Reply:Since it's not a "real" bucket, plain mild steel should work well. Thats what most backhoe and Bobcat buckets are made from. They usually just add hardened material to the cutting surfaces if needed. The ones that usually  are made from wear resistant steel are those that primarily dig, trackhoe buckets and heavy loader buckets. Even those are often just plated in the wear areas.You'd be surprised what you can find in suburbia. Theres a junk yard less than 4 miles from me tucked back out of the way that has a few pieces of dead equipment hidden in amoungst the trucks and such in the weeds. Also you may need to travel a bit. We go about once a year to 2 large yards up in Hazelton Pa about 3hrs north to look for parts for our plows. If you add your location someone thats in your area might be able to make a suggestion where to look. A browse thru your local Heavy Truck Trader, or Equipment Trader mags may also help. I don't browse thru them as often as I used to, but in the back I'd occasionally see buckets and all listed..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Delec:  If you would like it, I'll take some pictures and give you some dimensions on Monday when I'm back at work. Let me know.
Reply:dunemetal:I'd appreciate that!
Reply:W.T.R. Hi Scott,I made a test bucket out of scrap wood. It worked great, but 4' x 4' is a bit small, and as expected the wood breaks fast. Good test nevertheless.5' or even 6' wide and 4' deep would be better, I could get away with only 3' high.3/8 is probably strong enough, as I won't really do digging, but rather pickup loose dirt, mud, sand gravel etc.So I will need a 5' X 8' plate mild 3/8" bend 90° at 4'a 5' x 6" hardened piece for the bladeand a 4' X 8' 1/2" cut in half and one half cut diagonally for the sides and the bottom under the forks.I'll stick to stick welding and use 6010/7010 for the root pass then 7018 for mids and capsHow much do you charge per lb? How much for bending and cutting?Would it make any economic sense at all to have it shipped from TX? Do you drop ship, perhaps will call at Long Beach harbor? I don't know anybody here in LA that could supply 5' wide X 8'.Does anybody know someone?Thank you so much for the input!
Reply:dunemetal:Did you have a chance to look into ur buckets?
Reply:Yes, I sent them to you, I'm supposing you didn't receive them?I'll shoot them over on Monday if you can wait that long. Sorry about that, I used my computer from my truck, not the desk. They must be floating around  somewhere.
Reply:http://flic.kr/p/99KamPhttp://flic.kr/p/99NinsFinally got the pics, note the dimensions below. The sides and base are 3/16", back is 1/4" steel. Forks just slide into two 3"x7"x1/4" channels welded into bottom of bucketLast edited by dunemetal; 01-12-2011 at 05:36 PM.
Reply:I see them. Thank you. It seems what I'm thinking of building is substantially more beefy (probably overkill as usual).How much did u have in mind for 1 of those? How much would it be to have it trucked to California?
Reply:Originally Posted by delecI see them. Thank you. It seems what I'm thinking of building is substantially more beefy (probably overkill as usual).How much did u have in mind for 1 of those? How much would it be to have it trucked to California?