I recently bought a 3 ft backhoe bucket for a backhoe not the same as mine. I actually think it was for a mini ex. Cutting new mounts out of 1 inch plate, and will weld them to the bucket. The bucket i bought had never even been in the dirt. I am sure it is stout enough for what i need it to do. just need the time to do it. Just had knee surgery yesterday. getting ready to go hobble around the shop a bit just to get out of the house. Not even a day and i have cabin fever!