When installing tile, I used to mix the thin-set in a bucket wedged between my legs. I finally got tired of the bucket spinning between my boots and the handle getting the best of my ankles and calves, so I designed and built a bucket grip out of some scrap plywood.
As shown in the drawing above, the bucket grip is simply two pieces of 3/4-in. plywood cut to the diameter of the base of the bucket. One piece is hinged to the base and moved 1/4 in. closer to the bucket to force the grip up the side of the bucket. Push down on the hinged section, and the bucket is wedged in place.
Bob Carli Custom Design, Unionville, CT
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #209
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THAT is a good idea.
I remember asking the instructor in a tile-setting class how to restrain a bucket full of thinset while I was mixing it. He looked at me kinda sideways and said, "Well, I usually just put one foot on the rim of the bucket."
The rig pictured above would be useful to a crew tilling a mall, but for a few buckets, your foot does just fine.
I like it ... the only thing I'd change is that I would cut a quarter inch off where the hinge piece contacts the fixed part so it folds completely flat