I may have confused things by describing two tasks in the same post, and not describing the differences well enough.
(a) Digging out small trash trees/vines/shrubs. A standard tooth bar would certainly work a lot better than the bucket cutting edge, and I plan to get one for those quickie jobs when I don't want to change from a bucket to a rake. The wild grape vines are not very deep, and a tooth bar would be great. However, there's no easy way to shake off the dirt - with a rake, the dirt falls between the tines. An extended tooth bar is a very interesting idea - more about that below.
(b) "transporting" the brush. That's where the rake shines, and the bucket, even with teeth, is a lot less efficient. The curved shape of the rake, without sides, "cradles" the brush, while the sides of the bucket really limit how much can be carried. Even with a standard tooth bar, when the brush (which always is wider than the bucket /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif ) hits the sides of the bucket, it just slides off.
I still plan to get a tooth bar, because when the pile burns down, a bucket with teeth is probably the best way to attack the remnants that didn't burn, and spread the ashes (my CFO heard that asparagus grows best where there has been a fire - if this is so we're going to have some bumper crops /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ).
The extended tooth bar takes care of the ripping part - digging up the roots. If I get the angles right, it will also be better than nothing for transporting. Out comes the legal pad, soon to be filled with scribbles meaningless to anyone but me, visualizing the possibilities. I'm already thinking of some of the better clamp-on pallet forks I've seen in the archives, except with multiple curved forks. I've been intrigued with the idea of using scarifier tines for the teeth - the shanks may be long enough. The angles are not quite right, but again, better than nothing.
Good suggestions. Causing me to look for my Clever Cap. Florida soil is certainly loose - nothing but sand - and if it's wet, just wait a minute until it percs and dries. Having lived Up North many years ago and having dug some holes, I can tell you that digging in Florida is one of the things that Yankees really can't believe - my adopted Greyhound can dig a 3' deep hole, 4' long, in about 20 minutes, to lay in and keep cool.
Can scarifier tines, like the ones in scarifiers or box blades, be bought separately? Are they available with different length shanks? Hmmm - and maybe some sort of clamp-on grid for the top of the bucket, to complete the "cradle", and keep the brush from falling back on the tractor (and me /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif )...it will probably be faster to clamp on the additions to the bucket than to exchange the bucket with a rake...forgive me for thinking out loud. I may have to move this to the "build it yourself" discussion.