Avery Taylor and his dad, Larry, enjoy working on projects together. So it's not surprising that their new front bucket for Deere garden tractors is the result of a joint effort.

The bucket fits the front hitch on Deere 425, 445, 455, and the new X models.

The Taylors, who live in Tipton, Mich., made the first bucket for their own use. Then they started making them for relatives, friends and others.

The 48-in. wide bucket has a capacity of 2 1/2 cu. ft.

"Deere makes a full-sized loader with higher lifting capacity, but it doesn't attach to the front hitch and is much more expensive," Avery says. "You can drive right up to ours and quickly latch on to it."

Taylor says the unit is made with high quality materials and has a durable paint finish. It comes with twin 1 1/2-in. dia. piston hydraulic cylinders and conveniently placed grease points for easy lubrication. In addition, there's a one year warranty on workmanship and materials.

"We have a couple of them on display at different John Deere dealers," he says. "The money you can save by doing heavier yard work yourself with this unit quickly offsets its cost. You won't damage your landscape because you're not using a heavy front-end loader, and you won't damage your back by trying to do things with a shovel and wheelbarrow."

Taylor says the bucket lifts about 12-in. off the ground, and it works well for scooping, scraping or hauling. You can pile things up to 2 to 3 ft. high, with no problem, and you can pile dirt higher if you go up a ramp with your front tires.

"On a properly weighted tractor, you can lift 500 lbs.," he points out.