I'm not telling anyone to NOT purchase the small bucket with teeth, but now that I have both, I rarely use the little fella. Maybe I'm just lucky to have soft soil that is really workable. But here's an example....
When I was <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=projects&Number=182332&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>refurbishing that little league diamond </A>I started by using the small bucket with teeth. I'd always used the small bucket for jobs that I percieved as tuff. I thought it was the right tool to use. Well, I couldn't get it to go through the hard packed stuff. I tried and tried. On a last ditch effort, I switched to the big bucket with the straight edge and I was able to wiggle bites out of the stuff. I don't know if I was using improper technique or what, but I couldn't believe it.
And take a look at Dave Sisk's gnarley beast. He has a large bucket too. No teeth either. Ask him how he likes his.
I'm just saying that the jury is still out in my trial. The bucket was only $250.00 and the teeth were only $100.00 so its not like I'm out big bucks or anything. It was handy to have two buckets when I <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=powertrac&Number=139583&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>found that horse tank buried in my yard.</A> I was able to scoop out the sod, drop the bucket with the sod in it, pick up the other bucket, dig the holes and fill in the tank, then pick the sod back up without spoiling it, and stick it right back in the hole.
I'll try and find some uses for it next spring when I get the grapple done. I'll keep all informed as to my opinion.
Speaking of opinions on the small bucket with teeth, does anyone else have one? Does anyone have hard clay or some other type of soil that the small bucket works better than the big bucket in?