Abstract: A boltless U-shaped holding clamp providing resilient clamping force and a reversible cutting tooth made from solid, hardened bar stock material. The clamp has a snout receiving channel for wedgedly engaging locking grooves of a digging member shank, and a tooth receiving channel of constant transverse cross section for receiving the hardened reversible tooth, also of constant transverse cross section. The bar stock tooth includes beveled cuts at each end which mate with an inclined stopper wall in the rear of the tooth receiving channel of the clamp when the tooth is inserted therein. Axial forces on the tooth during excavation or digging operations drive the clamp into greater frictional engagement thereby to achieve self-tightening.

Abstract: An adaptor enables conventional earth working machinery to use boltless holding clamps for cutting teeth made from bar stock material. One end of the adapter has a shank engagement end which couples a digging or cutting member of the machine while the other receiving end is adapted to receive the boltless holding clamp and the cutting tooth in wedge-tightened clamping engagement. The shank engagement end may employ bolts, dowels, pins or may be welded to the digging or cutting member, e.g., a bucket, blade, scarifier shank, shovel, etc. The clamp receiving end has wedge-locking grooves which interlock with complementary locking flanges of the clamp and a flat bearing surface which frictionally bears against the cutting tooth when clamped. Frictional properties at the interface between the adaptor bearing surface and the tooth differ from frictional properties at the clamp-to-tooth interface in a manner to provide self-tightening in response to axial impact loads on the tooth.

Abstract: A boltless U-shaped holding clamp for wedgedly clamping cutting teeth to scarifier shanks of earth moving equipment. The clamp includes a first receiving channel having inclined bearing surfaces for engaging locking grooves of the snout of the scarifier shank, and a second receiving channel defined by a flat portion of the shank and the U-shaped member to receive an elongated cutting tooth of constant transverse cross section. The U-shaped clamp member is formed of a material having a certain modulus of elasticity to provide a resilient wedging force between the clamp and shank so as to absorb impact and vibrational forces applied to the tooth under load conditions, while the tooth material is a substantially hardened material for providing good wear resistance. The clamp is designed to translate substantially all of the clamp-to-shank wedging force to a frictional contact force between the tooth and the clamp, which in turn, develops a frictional contact force between the tooth and the shank.

Abstract: A cutting tooth assembly for heavy duty earth working machines has a replaceable cutting point comprised of a length of metal bar of constant transverse cross-section, which is frictionally held on a shank by a reusable holding clamp and which is repositionable on the shank. A used length of the metal bar is welded to an unused length of metal bar or to another used length of metal bar, thus permitting the entire length of the cutting point material to be utilized, thus limiting discarded scrap to a minimum and reducing operation costs.