We don't do a much hardfaceing anymore, only on areas where it is tough to plate. We use old truck leaf springs for wear plates, they are made of some good steel and wear well. Still have a couple buckets around with the teeth welded on and we build them back up with weld when they wear down. You have to be carefull with them at first, untill the weld hardens, or you can chip or break them. Once you dig with it for a day or two they work harden and are just as good as normal teeth. Like dayexco we have a lot to do in the winter so time isn't a concern, and our labor prices are not very high so it doesn't cost much more to build teeth than buy them. Even so I would rather buy teeth and spend the time welding on parts that are not easily replaced, or doing other repairs.
Years ago someone hardfaced the back bucket on our 4500 backhoe
, I think it was a little over kill, but we havent had to weld it up since.