How do you "rebuild" a loader bucket?

[TI420]

Hey guys - the work on the crawler is going well - I finished tearing off the finals and the steering clutches and things are being repaired and put back together... What that means is that I have gone from "How does this thing work? Man, I hope I can fix this..." to "I get it, and this is definately going to be working soon"

Therefore, I now need to know what to do about a really crummy bucket. What is the general thinking on these? It looks like I am going to need to cut the bottom out and replace it - what is the standard thickness, etc.?

I'm comfortable welding 1/4" and it seems like that should be OK - probably thicker than what's there... Also - my bucket has several pieces of extra steel welded inside it - they are about a foot long and 4 inches wide - they are not patches- what is the deal here? Also - I often see buckets with lots of rows of weld bead on them - what's that for?

Thanks in advance! I'd love to hear what you've done and maybe even see some photos! - Chuck

[sbarr]

Just about to do my bucket too,1/4" is lots.There should be wear plates on the bottom of the bucket the same thickness as the cutting edge,at least 4 of them.Use a real cutting edge they are hardened.Don't weld for a long time in one area one side then the other ,this is to prevent warping also it is a good idea to weld a couple of braces from the top to the bottom to help prevent warping,remove these after you are done.The weld you see is hardfacing to help prevent wearing out sides and bottoms.Good luck