Bucket handles

Bucket handles, argh!  What do you guys do when the plastic thing around the steel bucket handles crumbles and breaks off, as they always do?  I generally just ignore it and carry it by the steel handle, but for heavier things or longer distances, that can be a real pain.  Anyone have ideas for wrapping these things?  I don't want to use cloth I don't think.  I can imagine that would quickly become a smelly mess.  I considered tape, but it would get your hands sticky and may not hold up well.  Duct tape is kind of slippery as well.  I thought of drilling a hole lengthwise through a wooden dowel and then putting a slit in it to get the metal handle in.  I could fill the gap with wood putty or caulk, but not sure how that would hold up.  If you made one with a dowel an inch or inch and a half thick, I would think it would be very comfortable.  Maybe drill out the center, slice it all the way in half to put it on, and then use wood glue?  I may try that one, it seems like it would work well and hold up.  Anyone have other thoughts?

Hi Trace,
I have cut a short piece of PEX pipe to replace crumbled bail handles, though it requires unhooking the bail from the bucket on one end, and if the bucket is very old and crumbly, that can sometimes do it in.
Best,
Mark

Mark Miner wrote:Hi Trace,
I have cut a short piece of PEX pipe to replace crumbled bail handles, though it requires unhooking the bail from the bucket on one end, and if the bucket is very old and crumbly, that can sometimes do it in.
Best,
Mark

That might be the easy answer.  I guess I'll try a couple that way and see if I like it.  I wish stainless buckets weren't SO expensive.  I love the idea of lifetime buckets, but the are crazy expensive and even then, they usually still have that same steel handle that digs into your hand.

Most often my answer is high quality work gloves.

When time has allowed, I have used a bicycle handle with various modifications depending upon all the variables.  Such as a wood dowel inside the handle….or epoxy inside the handle.

A short 6-8" piece of automotive heater hose.
Cut a slit lengthwise with a razor blade to put it over the handle.
You can use a piece of duct tape or keep the slit pointed up.

Nice and cushiony for heavy loads, impervious to weather.

i like thomas's answer best, and my problem is usually the actual handle that comes off (if anyone has a solution for that, i'm all ears) but when my hands were giving me big problems a few years ago I was using pool noodles for all sorts of things around the house like this. You might have to put some duct tape inside the pool noodle to stop the wire from cutting through it (i won't get into the ecological issues of pool noodles), but it would be better than nothing.

This is one of the places I use pieces of old garden hose.

Tereza, i think it depends on the bucket & how the handle breaks off. I've used a few lengths of twine, braided them, then run them through a piece of garden hose,  before tying it to the bucket. I've also used old wire hangers - again, with the piece of hose.

I've tried the wood dowel (piece of branch) approach, but drilling the hole was a struggle.

I have used the old hose trick with tape. Not as good as something rigid, but better than metal.

I find "hockey tape" better than just about any other tapes for protecting a failing handle or faking up a new one. The kind used for hockey sticks.

Ideally the handle can rotate over the wire, as that makes it easier to carry the bucket, so using something with a hole in the center really seams to improve the outcome.

Thomas' idea sounds like it has promise as I think that stuff much more rigid than garden hose?

Ah, the universal problem!

If the plastic bit on the bail is worth salvaging, I wrap it in good ol' Canadian hockey tape. This is grippy and durable. A bit of garden hose over top is good first aid.

Removing the metal bail is a pain. I try to cut the slit in the replacement handle as sort of a spiral so I can corkscrew it on and then tape it.

I'm sure PEX would work well if the handle can be taken off. Otherwise I have used old washing machine supply hoses and propane hoses from old BBQ grills -- they have a tough fiber layer embedded in them. I'm looking forward to trying the blown hose on my tractor loader -- should be pretty stout (wish it were stouter).

I was going to suggest gaff tape, which is similar to hockey tape. (It's been a while since my hockey-playing days--does hockey tape have near infinite peel/re-stickability but with consistently high tack? Gaff tape seems to!)

In fact, I would suggest gaff tape anyway because it is so useful for other things around the house, and you're not going to use a whole roll on a bucket handle.

Based on the cursory search I just did, gaff tape appears to be slightly less expensive than hockey tape too.

Ned Harr wrote:I was going to suggest gaff tape, which is similar to hockey tape.

Is gaff tape easily available through most hardware stores? That name is new to me. The hockey tape has been reasonably moisture resistance which on the Wet Coast is essential. We aren't hockey players, but we've found lots of uses for an outdoor tape with reasonable solar and moisture tolerance. We're *always* willing to try alternatives that may work even better. I have been *very* disappointed with "duck tape" or "duct tape" if you prefer!

A thought about tape, for those of us in places where they don't play hockey and where gaffer tape is hard to find:
the white fabric-based tape that gets used in hospitals to tape on bandages or in physical therapy to provide ankle support (not kinesio tape, which is more flexible, and not ace bandages) (also not the plastic or non-woven fabric based micropore tape, but the plain, white tape made of woven fabric fibers) is similar to hockey tape. I find that depending on the type, some holds better than duct tape. Doesn't create a waterproof barrier like duct tape, but often sticks better despite moisture.

Same way as the garden hose, but a piece of fuel line hose. If you want get creative, one small inside diameter hose, layered over with a big inside diameter hose that covers it. That's a lot of padding!

I'm thinking outside the bucket here...  What about a hollow stem of wood (elderberry?) cut to the right length.  Then split it carefully with a knife.  Put it on the handle and glue it back together.  Might that be durable enough?  Any woody stems that would be hollow and strong enough?

I'm surprised nobody has offered to braid a handle out of nettle fibres!

Jay Angler wrote:

Ned Harr wrote:I was going to suggest gaff tape, which is similar to hockey tape.

Is gaff tape easily available through most hardware stores?

I would not expect to find it in a hardware store, but you will have better luck in a photography supply store. For example you can get it through B&H for sure: (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=gaffer%20tape&sts=ma)

And of course Amazon, where I see there is more price diversity (and I suspect, quality diversity): https://www.amazon.com/s?k=gaffer+tape If you end up trying one of the $8 rolls on Amazon and it's any good, please let me know!

I get gaffer tape from music shops. Musicians use it to tape down cables and such on stage.

Hockey tape is quite different -- it bonds to itself and resists removal once set. I also use it to repair gloves with holes in the fingers and it lasts well.

Edit: I would guess that the tape used to wrap the handles for tennis rackets and such would be similar to hockey tape.

Jay Angler wrote:I've tried the wood dowel (piece of branch) approach, but drilling the hole was a struggle.

Hmm, I wonder if old metal bails from dead buckets could be inserted in a hardwood branch so the tree could grow a natural handle around them. I see metal wire embedded in all sorts of trees (a.k.a. chain saw killers).

It would give the neighbours something to talk about anyhow.

In my experience a place where I need to carry a bucket long distance can better supplied another way, so  I never bother improving the handles on a bucket unless it's a tool bucket.
Even then, it's usually to add a shoulder strap.

I have used the wire handles for other things, usually to hang coiled cords and hoses.
They are rather stiff, too stiff for binding things, but it just occurred to me, I could probably change that with enough heat.

Hose handles have been the answer here when needed.  

1.  Fuel hose split.  makes a smaller handle.  Typically wrapped in electric tape here.  If it gets oil the tape won't stay but in garden or corral situations getting oily is rare.  gorillia tape is on my "to try" list here.
2.  Heater hose.  Hose slit in a slow spiral.  Problem is it doesn't want to stay centered because of size and keeps falling to one side.  There again held with tape

Want to try a hybrid of 1 and 2  and glue the 2 layers together so no tape needed.  3/8" fuel hose is roughly 5/8" OD and the 5/8 heater hose should snuggly fit over it.  might need to trim either.  Would cut the fuel hose in a saw tooth pattern so no single seam for the wire handle to try and work thru.

3.  have used a part of an old broom stick.  Cut a curf into it about half way big enough for the wire handle.  Then cut a thin strip of wood to glue into the handle.  Worked well for a while but between moisture and age the wood cracked and split off.  If I did it again would cut a small grove in both ends to wire wrap each end.  This one was done with the old enamel bucket growing up so the work for a handle was worth it.

4.  Had a neighbor who had a fancy bucket handle that moved from bucket to bucket.  It was D shaped with a long hook that snapped on the handle with wire spring clips to keep it from falling off.  it was cut out of a piece of thin plate steel with the hook channel rolled into the bottom end to hold the handle.  The wood half rounds were riveted to the steel plate at the top and the D opening was big enough to take a gloved hand.  The spring clips were there simply to keep the handle from popping out of the hooked channel.  Sometimes adding another pivot point made handling difficult.  Only other problem would be for someone short as the bucket hung probably 3 inches lower.

Maybe you could make a yoke so that your shoulders carry the bucket instead of your hands?

Harold Skania wrote:Maybe you could make a yoke so that your shoulders carry the bucket instead of your hands?

A yoke puts a lot of pressure on the spine. Think of two 5-gallon pails 3/4 full of water: that's 30kg / 66 lbs. That gets into tricky territory.

But: a yoke could be constructed on the principles of wilderness backpacks, where the hip belt carries most of the load and the upper body guides and steadies it. Basically, a heavy padded "hip yoke" with protruding hooks would let the hip bones/leg muscles take most of the weight, with the hands/back only steadying and guiding the load.

If you're carrying them in your hands, that load is still on your spine....

Mike Haasl wrote:If you're carrying them in your hands, that load is still on your spine....

Sort of. The higher the load, the more spine pressure. As I get a little bit *wiser* I find myself occasionally putting an elbow on a hip or a knee for biomechanical leverage. I can still yoink the pails around, but time and tide are relentless -- they wait for no-one.

As a retired wilderness backpacker, I can attest that placing a good portion of the load on the hips is a game-changer.

A long time ago, I saw a product on TV that had two halves that fit over the bail and snapped together to replace a missing handle. I never found any for sale locally, or I would have got some.
With 3D printing, any of us could make our own version of that now.

I have tried a few different hoses and plastic pipes, and they all work, just the hassle of remove/replace the bail without breaking the bucket. If the bucket is old and prone to crack, your new handle will outlive it.

One that I figured out, but didn't implement yet, is a small hose (I used the core of faucet supply lines after removing the metal braid) and a length of 1/2 PVC conduit. The two fiddly bits were, massaging the hose around the hook at the end of the bail (I didn't try soap yet) and discovering the longest length of the PVC that would allow that same hook to pass through. I did it all by hand, no tools to reshape the bail back/forth, although that *might* help? Once threaded on, they move easily to the center and double-up. The PVC works by itself, but the additional hose inside keeps it from rattling around, or sliding and pinching fingers.

I'm in the split hosepipe camp,  wrapped with masking tape.

The masking tape doesn't leave a sticky residue and has a paper like texture.

I have wooden handle that I used to use when groceries were still packed in plastic bags - the wooden handle stops the plastic from digging into your fingers.

Perhaps a wood turner could carve a similar handle with a groove for the wire to sit in.

Our Mastiff Molly drinks a lot of water.
Five-gallon buckets only last a day or two. Each one weighs 40-45 pounds.

Split hose wrapped in gaff tape.