surfer-joe
Senior Member
stepsideclyde, You are working in hard rock, right? Well, buy a good used bucket in decent shape and weld it up into the condition you want. Buy a new bucket if you can. Then switch it out with your original bucket as needed. Result is little down time. Machine is working with spare bucket and you build on other bucket when time permits or as needed.
As to what you need to protect on the buckets, it's usually the inside and outside of the leading edges of the cheeks, and the bottom, also part way up the back, and the cutting edge plus the tooth adapters. Sacrificial metal plates are best on the bottom, sides and back. Faster to install too. Kennametal is probably the best wear patches, but expensive. Stoody hardface is pretty good rod, again expensive, The biggest expense is labor, that's why wear strips and patches are better. Just use 7018 to weld them on. Don't use hard face rod. 7018 is cheaper. You can buy teeth with hard face material already installed. They work well and the way they make them is better than homemade hardface work.
Probably best if you do not hardface the shank adapters. Hardface welds create stress fractures in base metal, which can weaken the adapter into breaking off. I'd leave the area in-between the teeth on the bucket cutting edge alone for the same reason. It's already hardened metal and welding on it causes problems, especially if it's worn down some. When the cutting edge wears out or breaks, replace it w/new. Oh, when it comes to the bucket bottom, wait till the first replacement, then use material that's about 1/4 to 3/8 inches thicker. Gives you better structural strength on the bottom and it lasts longer. Don't use AS 360 or AS 400 for this, A36 is just fine and it's cheaper. You can weld on some wear patches or strips to the bottom though.
So far as the mounting brackets, watch them carefully for stress fractures and cracks or ripping. You can reinforce those areas with anything up to 1" plate, again A36 is fine. If cracks appear, do not leave them alone for long, repair as quickly as you can. Gouge out with Arc-Air torch, grind all the carbon and slag out of grove, (very important to grind out) then backfill with good 7018 weld. Let all hot welds cool naturally, do not use water to cool off.
Don't get the cheeks so built up that the excavator can't pull the bucket thorough the cut. If you find the operator using the bucket and boom as a battering ram, fire him (or her)! Grease bucket linkage several times a day, religiously.
I've probably forgotten a thing or two here, but it's a start. Good Luck!
As to what you need to protect on the buckets, it's usually the inside and outside of the leading edges of the cheeks, and the bottom, also part way up the back, and the cutting edge plus the tooth adapters. Sacrificial metal plates are best on the bottom, sides and back. Faster to install too. Kennametal is probably the best wear patches, but expensive. Stoody hardface is pretty good rod, again expensive, The biggest expense is labor, that's why wear strips and patches are better. Just use 7018 to weld them on. Don't use hard face rod. 7018 is cheaper. You can buy teeth with hard face material already installed. They work well and the way they make them is better than homemade hardface work.
Probably best if you do not hardface the shank adapters. Hardface welds create stress fractures in base metal, which can weaken the adapter into breaking off. I'd leave the area in-between the teeth on the bucket cutting edge alone for the same reason. It's already hardened metal and welding on it causes problems, especially if it's worn down some. When the cutting edge wears out or breaks, replace it w/new. Oh, when it comes to the bucket bottom, wait till the first replacement, then use material that's about 1/4 to 3/8 inches thicker. Gives you better structural strength on the bottom and it lasts longer. Don't use AS 360 or AS 400 for this, A36 is just fine and it's cheaper. You can weld on some wear patches or strips to the bottom though.
So far as the mounting brackets, watch them carefully for stress fractures and cracks or ripping. You can reinforce those areas with anything up to 1" plate, again A36 is fine. If cracks appear, do not leave them alone for long, repair as quickly as you can. Gouge out with Arc-Air torch, grind all the carbon and slag out of grove, (very important to grind out) then backfill with good 7018 weld. Let all hot welds cool naturally, do not use water to cool off.
Don't get the cheeks so built up that the excavator can't pull the bucket thorough the cut. If you find the operator using the bucket and boom as a battering ram, fire him (or her)! Grease bucket linkage several times a day, religiously.
I've probably forgotten a thing or two here, but it's a start. Good Luck!