Author Topic: Stump Removal (Read 3524 times)

Gordon · « **on:** May 05, 2002, 08:36:02 am »

Ok I was at the country store this morning getting some diesel fuel and a cup of coffee. Well there was an interesting discussion going on about how to remove stumps. So of course I had to join in. Here are some of the things that were brought up and of course all of them worked best for that particular person.

1. Large tractor or dozer

2. Drill holes in stump and pour lye in it.

3. Drill holes in stump and pour buttermilk in it.

3. Drill holes in stump and pour potassium nitrate into it.

4. Drill holes into it and pour ammonium nitrate into it.

5. Cover with either cow or horse poop.

6. drill holes and pour either sugar or salt into it.

7. Burn it out with charcoal. or a 55 gal drum over it.

8. let nature take its course.

Ok those were the high points I guess. Now for the real deal what does actually work to get rid of stumps. Or what are some of the better ways to get rid of a stump that is faster than natures way of just rotting away over the years?

Gordon

Frank_Pender · « **Reply #1 on:** May 05, 2002, 08:54:30 am »

I use to use Tordon RTU, but it travels and kills others plants. I now use Crossbow if I want to dis post of a stump in rapid time. If your home or well is not very close you could use a couple sticks red paper wrapped material with a little small igniting cap.

I this application, you should make sure you can run the 100yd dash in 10 seconds and your neighbors are hard of hearing.

Ron Scott · « **Reply #2 on:** May 05, 2002, 08:57:26 am »

You don't have a "Stump Grinder" listed. It or the bulldozer method are the fastest and most reliable unless you have a lifetime to wait.

Gordon · « **Reply #3 on:** May 05, 2002, 09:17:17 am »

Sorry Ron I forgot to add the stump grinder. Guess that should have been number two. Also forgot the dig and ax method as well.

What got me thinking was some of the sugar/buttermilk/fertilizer suggestions that were given. Do any of these actually work? Or are they just ole wisetales.

Gordon

Kevin · « **Reply #4 on:** May 05, 2002, 09:27:02 am »

You also forgot the old planter box over the stump trick!

Jeff · « **Reply #5 on:** May 05, 2002, 01:31:10 pm »

Well, I do it a little Differently.

First you got to Cedar Eaters House and walk out behind his tractor too pick a good one from his cedar swamp.

(Click images for larger view)

Then You get Cedar Eater to thoroughly dull a chain cutting it out for you.

You then get Carl to haul it out of his fine woods with his tractor.

You then take it home and make a table base out of it

Kevin · « **Reply #6 on:** May 05, 2002, 04:01:32 pm »

Jeff,
Did he give you the Timber Buyers discount?

CHARLIE · « **Reply #7 on:** May 05, 2002, 05:17:04 pm »

I've tried the digging and chopping method back in 1970 when I was extremely poor. Today, I think I would opt for the stump grinder. All that other stuff would probably take longer than I would want to wait.

Jeff! That's going to make a fine looking table! I hope you post pictures of the completed project. Did you get the 2 logs too?

psychotic1 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 05, 2002, 09:39:09 pm »

Gordon, I don't know anything about buttermilk or surgar, But pottasium nitrate and ammonium nitrate will speed up the decomposition process. Being nitrates helps to make them more "corrosive" when spread throughout the stump by water. Personally I prefer to use either of them to make up some type of "bang" formula and remove the stump a LOT quicker. I use a longer fuse that Frank does, so I don't have to run at all, but it sure does help to ensure the neighbors are on vacation or something.

Bruce

Tillaway · « **Reply #9 on:** May 05, 2002, 09:54:53 pm »

Preferred methods, Excavator with Thumb, Big hydraulic log loader.. just reach over and pull it like a tooth. Or the spectacular method... explosives.

Paul_H · « **Reply #10 on:** May 06, 2002, 12:18:55 am »

There is no bang like an Amex bang.Powerful fertilizer

And to think,we get paid to do it.

Bud Man · « **Reply #11 on:** May 06, 2002, 12:23:52 am »

Been known to dissolve a proper substance in a boiling pot and pour on the stump and let the Deer add the disposing action necessary to eliminate the stump, works pretty well, generally takes a couple of years on an old stump !

woodmills1 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 06, 2002, 04:20:30 am »

I can tell you that the bulldozer method can take a lot of time, at least when the dozer is smaller, case 310, and the stump is larger like 20" maple. I think backhoe or excavator would be better/faster. same for rocks. I spent over and hour trying to dig one 3 foot long 2 foot across rock out of the ground saturday with my little dozer.

splinters · « **Reply #13 on:** May 06, 2002, 06:20:10 am »

preferred method around here is excavator with or without thumb. followed by grinding. but grinding only goes to ground level or slightly below. it still leaves a lot of wood. I can't imagine the problems of us average people in NY trying to get a hold of some boom stuff. Heard of being reduced to using pyrodex to try to break rocks.

Corley5 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 06, 2002, 06:32:27 am »

Jeff, that stump looks even 8)er peeled. Looking forward to the finished product. Salt on stumps to entice critters to chew on them works but is kind of slow. An excavator with a thumb sounds like the best way.

TJACK · « **Reply #15 on:** May 06, 2002, 10:18:25 am »

I wish I could have read this yesterday. It took me about two hours on Sunday to dig down a few inches and cut off a black cherry stump 24" in diameter and a 15" hard maple. Took my time and got luck, not one rock hit. Rolling these stumps is not the easiest thing even if you cut the chutes from the roots off.

TJACK

Tom · « **Reply #16 on:** May 06, 2002, 06:25:35 pm »

Although I remove stumps with my rubber-tired backhoe, I've found the easiest way to get a stump out of the ground is to give someone else a monetary reward for removing it.

Cedar Eater · « **Reply #17 on:** May 06, 2002, 09:41:24 pm »

The CedarEater method for removing stumps.

1. Start with a dull almost lifeless chain and preferably an equally useless bar and sprocket.

2. Sharpen the chain one last time.

3. If you're selling the stump to Jeff, cut it horizontally at 1" below grade. If you're trying to level the ground, cut the roots that are nearly horizontal by cutting them off at 2 " below grade down to the full length of the bar at about a 70 degree angle all around the stump.

4. Huff and puff or work the bucket of mini-tractor back and forth until a.) the vertical roots or b.) the tractor or c.) you break.

5. If 4a.), fill in the hole and call it a day. If 4b.), curse and fix the tractor or and repeat steps 2-4. If 4c.), recuperate and repeat steps 2-4.

Jeff was fortunate. I had the perfect chain for his stump that day. I've cut three more stumps with it since then and it's not so perfect any more.

That stump looks great Jeff. We definitely gotta see the finished product.

sawyerkirk · « **Reply #18 on:** May 07, 2002, 05:44:44 am »

I have (had) two maple stumps very near my house, one is gone and the other is on its way. being as they are so close to the house and I am cheap, I am using the charcoal method. We cut these trees down about a year ago, and made various cuts into it with my chainsaw (to speed drying) these are huge stumps, 36" across. The first one I used a bag of charcoal on top and thenadded scraps from my stake operation till it was completely gone never creting much ofa fire, it took about3 days from stump to hole in the ground. The other one is taking more time as it has rained every day since I started my original fire.

Jeff · « **Reply #19 on:** May 07, 2002, 01:08:49 pm »

Am I the only one that puts em in my living room?

Kevin · « **Reply #20 on:** May 07, 2002, 03:25:14 pm »

That`s nice, good job JB.

DanG · « **Reply #21 on:** May 07, 2002, 03:28:11 pm »

Nice! Jeff, did you build the TV cabinet, too? Oh, and how many sheep did you have to shear to get the wool you spun and wove the couch out of? Don't you EVER sleep, for cryin' out loud?!?! Give us a break, here. You're makin the rest of us look bad. :-/

Now, back to the subject at hand. I used to have a little tractor business, mowing and grading, and the like. One thing I did was grinding stumps with a tractor-mounted rig. It worked out great, and I made some $$ with it. The manufacturer is still going strong, and they now have a pto driven tree harvester you guys might want to check out. Poke below:

www.stumpster.com

woodmills1 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 07, 2002, 07:32:24 pm »

DanG cool stuff on that web site. gotta get on of them tree cutter things sooner or later. Only 6 times the price of 066, down right cheap in price, but looks way cool. do we know someone who uses one?

DanG · « **Reply #23 on:** May 07, 2002, 08:45:29 pm »

Nawp, never laid eyes on one of the tree cutters. I hadn't looked in on their website before, but I once had a video of the machine, in action. The early model looked different, but I'm sure it works the same with the covers over everything. The cutter is a big steel disc with bits in the edge, sorta like the stump grinder. It uses hydraulic cylinders to "plunge" the blade into the tree. I can attest that the bits hold up well with soil contact. A 16" tree would be the absolute max, and it would be more comfortable with smaller stuff.

I must say, the folks at Stumpster were a pleasure to do business with. They were much like the reports I've heard about Woodmizer and Cook's. When I would call to discuss a little problem, or, even to order parts, I frequently ended up talking to the guy who invented the thing. From their prices, it looks like they haven't changed much. When I bought my stump grinder, it cost $4500, and wasn't as elaborate as the current models. There was only one hydraulic cylinder, and it depended entirely on the 3 point lift for vertical adjustment. The machine was well built, simple to maintain and repair, and used mostly parts that were locally available. I have considered getting another one, but don't really want to get back into that type of work.

timberbeast · « **Reply #24 on:** May 07, 2002, 09:56:47 pm »

Nice looking stuff, Jeff and Cedar! Personally, I find that stumps are very good places to set a birdbath or a flowerpot, if they are in the yard. if they are on the woods, I jest let 'em feed the ground. This may be redundant, but I think bears repeating for safety reasons. Probably the most probable method of flipping a tractor over backwards is while trying to pull out a stump!! Always pull from below the rear axle and don't push the tractor further than its limits!! If you don't know the limits, don't pull anything! Not trying to be pedantic, but some who read this thread may figure they'll hook up the Farmall to that big Maple stump and give it the gas.....DON'T!!!!

Paul_H · « **Reply #25 on:** May 07, 2002, 10:29:44 pm »

Timberbeast,I think it bears repeating often.A lot of people are getting tractors these days,and haven't heard about the deadly side of them.

Thanks for the reminder.

Jeff,You've got a real knack for potential.I wouldn't have seen past the stump.The sawblade is pretty cool too.

L. Wakefield · « **Reply #26 on:** May 10, 2002, 07:36:44 pm »

Hey DanG, cool little stumpster...I couldn't help but visualize trying to work on my lovely granite infested areas. You'd have to do some precision targeting or else you'd be grinding granite boulders along with the stump. It would be some kind of NAS-TEE. I have a bush-hog with a stump jumper, and when that thing hits even a small granite - uh- offering, shall we say, which has somehow germinated in the pasture (strange how those things sprout every year), it gives out the most ORFUL grinding noise. And the woods are way worse. I can't really see why MAINE isn't the granite state. lw

Gordon · « **Reply #27 on:** May 28, 2002, 03:22:55 pm »

Can't be the hard rock state, it's vacationland!

What Timberbeast says is more than true. Always pull from below the axle. If you pull from above the axle you can flip a tractor before you realize it.

Ok now with the safety disclaimer said. Has anyone ever tried to use a chain and some sort of a lever to not only pull on the stump but also pull up at the same time? Of course this would only work with smaller stumps. Or has anyone ever used a twisting motion to help remove a stump from it's roots?

Gordon

Ron Scott · « **Reply #28 on:** May 29, 2002, 07:27:26 pm »

Somethin here should work.

http://www.raycomfg.com

News:

Author Topic: Stump Removal (Read 3524 times)