17 in stock · ships from Charlotte, NC
Digging Buckets
The general-purpose bucket that lives on the machine, sized to the stick rather than to the job.
What it is for
A digging bucket is the attachment your excavator wears 80% of its hours, so it is the one where steel selection actually shows up on the P&L. Ours are built with a Hardox-class abrasion-resistant wear package on the leading edge and side cutters, a bolt-on or weld-on cutting edge depending on width, and side plates thick enough that a rock shelf does not fold the profile on month three.
Capacity is quoted SAE heaped, which is the honest number: struck capacity flatters a bucket by 15–25% and nobody digs struck. The profile matters as much as the width: a deeper radius holds material through the swing in wet clay, while a flatter profile loads faster in sand and gravel and is easier to clean out.
Every bucket is drilled to a specific pin diameter and pin-to-pin dimension. That is the number that decides whether it hangs on your machine, and it is why the fitment engine on this site asks for a make and model rather than a tonnage guess.
How to size it
Start with the machine's operating weight, not the bucket you wish you had. A bucket too wide for the class stalls the breakout force and you dig at half speed with a hot pump; a bucket too narrow wears the side cutters out prematurely and slows every pass. The rule of thumb on a mini is roughly 24 inches of general-purpose width per 3 tonnes of operating weight, tapering off above 20 t where boom geometry and stick length take over.
In stock
17 digging buckets
Which machines is this for
67 machines in our database take a digging bucket
Graded on operating weight, pin diameter and coupler style, not on a marketing compatibility list. Pick yours to see only the units that pin to it.
…and 39 more. Browse every machine.
Straight answers
Before you order
What is the difference between a digging bucket and a grading bucket?
A digging bucket has teeth or a serrated cutting edge and a deep radius for penetration and retention. A grading bucket is wide, shallow and edged straight with no teeth, built to finish a surface rather than move volume. If you are doing both, buy the digging bucket first. You can drag a smooth-edge grading bucket over a rough grade, but you cannot dig a footing with one.
Do I need teeth, or a bolt-on cutting edge?
Teeth concentrate force into small contact points, so they win in compacted soil, shale, frost and anything with rock in it. A bolt-on cutting edge gives you a clean flat bottom and lasts longer in sand and topsoil. Most contractors run a toothed bucket for production and keep a smooth-edge bucket for cleanup, which is exactly why we price them to be owned in pairs.
Can I run a bucket built for a heavier class on my machine?
Physically it will often pin up. Practically it is a bad trade: the extra bucket weight comes straight off your lift chart at radius, and the wider profile robs breakout force, so you dig slower and load the front pins harder. Buy inside the class and use the weight you saved on a thumb.
