Bucket teeth pro's and con's

[Highbeam]

Mine was less than 200 shipped to WA and 60" long. I seem to recall 170$. They are much cheaper from Markham and of course the price varies with length.

 

[chelydra]

I had asked my dealer if they stocked toothbars and was told they didn't recommend them because the caused the bucket edge to bend out in the center.
Have any toothbar users noticed "smiles" in the center of your bucket? Or does the toothbar help strengthen the bucket edge?

My dealer put in a toothbar. It's an amazing productivity multiplier for all the reasons others have mentioned - and, of course, it looks cool!

Install was a bit dicey. They drilled three holes into the thin part of the bucket, which has since deformed by about 1/8". They also positioned the holes so the nuts/bolt heads are very close to the edge of the cutting end of the bucket: too close to get a socket onto the bolts, but too far away to use that thick edge as a built-in wrench. Not too swift. On top of that, they apparently used an overpowered air wrench to install them, half-stripping the threads on the (hardened) bolts. It took me nearly an hour to remove them the first time, at which point I found that two of the holes had been double-drilled (guess he missed the first time). Make sure your dealer has a competent mechanic!

Some other benefits: adds a little to bucket capacity for chips and the like, makes it very efficient to collect and move piles of brush, lets protruding tree-trunks and logs find a more stable position, great for raking rough ground to smooth and remove rocks. IMO, the most convenience and capability for the least money of just about anything one could add to a small TLB.

-Chelydra