The last few weekends I have been cleaning up a 25 acre field that has overgrown with brambles and small trees and bushes up to about 2" in diameter. I am using a NH 35, with a FEL and toothbar and a 60" Landpride rotary cutter. For clearing the brush (a lot of the field is still just grass and weeds), like many others, if I lower the FEL (with a toothbar); it pushes them over so the tractor can ride over and the rotary cutter minces them up. On some larger bramble piles I need to push it out of the way as otherwise I would be ensnared in a mess of prickers that would envelope the whole tractor. Instead of this, with the toothbar I can grab the lower stems/roots and with a curling motion lift the whole pile out of the ground, where it can carried aloft for a few feet, or be flattend with the FEL and then driven over or backed over. For small trees where I am worried about ripping up the underside of the tractor (it is not armor plated after all) I have done the same thing: get the FEL down right on the ground, hook the teeth under the roots and lift as I go forward. This pops them right out where I can decide to chop em up with the cutter or simply push them out of the way for cutting later with a saw. This suggests the utility of the toothbar to me. It is not a brush-grabber, but I can lift roots out of the ground, and carry them, with the bar and bucket. In a world of limited dollars, the bar ($250) has made the FEL a super brush-clearing addition to the rotary cutter.
Another time saver: In very thick weeds or bushes I also move very slowly with the FEL down low, so I can feel any rocks or stumps (can't see them for sure!). This has sharply reduced the number of shear bolts I replace and will I suspect also lengthen the life of the cutter blades and cuttter deck. The toothbar works pretty well on old stumps as well. I haven't found one I can't pry out yet (they are all pretty old and rotten - but some are up to 18" in diameter.)
This project is one that I had ignored for three years when I was armed only with chain saw and hand tools. 1. I couldn't get through the weeds to the things you might chain saw, and 2. There's too much of the small bushes, trees and brambles to make a dent in without a tractor and a cutter. Once I get it cleaned up, I suspect I can get away with once a year cutting to keep the brush down...though this will still let weeds get plenty tall.
The result is a very pretty field, dotted with tall shade trees, set against the mountain and bordered on the other side by the stream...almost makes me want to learn to paint. Or repair the fence and get some animals.
Chas