How do I cut a stump REALLY low.

[Steven A.]

I have 8 fir and pine landscape trees in a lawn that I am cutting down. About 12 to 20 inches on the stump. I want to cut the stumps flush with the lawn and let them rot away or something.  I want to just be able to mow over them. The money I save by not hiring a stumpgrinder I'll use to buy some other landscape plants.
So, this may be a stupid question but.... whats the easiest way to cut them close and minimze the wear on my chain and bar.
In the past I've cut them a little above ground when I dropped the tree and then dug down around the stump, sprayed it off with a hose and then just sawed it off as low as possible.
I cannot think of any other way to do this but maybe someone here has a majic technique.

Please, majic?  

[Troy]

That's the way I do it Steven.  I also make a few plunge cuts into the face of the stumps to help in the rotting process.

[Kevin]

Did you consider renting a stump grinder and doing the work yourself?

[SwampDonkey]

That's the way I do it Steve, and the ones I get lazy about I let rot for 10 years and break up with a pollack or axe. Although softwood, even fir, is a lot more resilient than a hardwood stump.

[stonebroke]

After you cut it as low as you can take a drill witha cheap spade bit( the bigger the better) and drill as many holes as you can stand to do in the stump. Then fill the holes with manure or compost and cover the stump with compost. Plant flowers and give it a few years. this will accelerate the rate of decay.


Stonebroke

[Stephen Alford]

Hi ya Stephen (great name) ,when you get it cut as low as possible cover it with barbaque brickets, lots or some starter stuff , remember fire is our friend.  fire it up and throw a couple of hot dogs on it so neighbors pay it no attention  and bye stump repeat if necessary. fire causes it to rot really quickly if there is anything left. Stephen

[pineywoods]

Cut both ends out of a 55 gallon drum. Set the drum down over the stump with 3 or 4 bricks under the drum to allow airflow.. fill the drum with scrap wood and set it on fire. Not only burns the stump, will even burn out the roots.  Not recommended on a lawn with dead dry grass.. don't ask how I know.....

[jonsered]

Only other way I can think of is to : start on one side of the stump cutting at an angle towards the ground on the side.Don't cut all the way through and mind the tip of the saw  does'nt go accross the stump to the other side but try to cut as close as possible. Then cutting at an angle to ground level on the other side again don't cut all the way through for this cut you. To see where your chain is cutting remove your saw from time to time and with an axe simply chop off the pieces as you would firewood when you do this you should see how far you are from the edge and when you only have a little bit to cut you should be able to cut that with the axe. Do the same to the other side. If you are left with a high centre as it is all timber you can lay your saw flat and cut it off. Hope this helps as I can't think of any other way. Cheers J.S.

[wiam]

I just throw on an old chain and have at it.  What I miss, I will clean up with the mower. :D :D

Will

[SwampDonkey]

I did the fire thing to. But it was to kill the boxelder stumps we cut after the '98 ice storm. If ya didn't burn the darn things they'd sucker for ever. Yup, fire will fix them up right. ;D

[Onthesauk]

I've always used the fire method but every once in awhile I seem to hit one that gets "fire hardened" by the process.  Must be too wet, too green or something.

[PB Logging]

I protest!!!!

We stump grinders must eat too (and with a 25hp, 65 hp and 105hp grinders it takes alotta feed).

[rebocardo]

> I want to just be able to mow over them.

You do not have many stumps, I would just rent a stump grinder at Home Depot. Four hours is about $80. You should be able to do all those softwood stumps in three hours if you are in good shape. It takes about 1/2 an hour for a 20 inch stump.

I use to rent from a commercial place and get the big tow behind model that uses teeth instead of a blade (Home Depot). As long as you like a good work out, it is much quicker.

> The money I save by not hiring a stumpgrinder

True, but, they would be done in an hour's worth of time, tops. Plus, get much deeper. Winter time is a good time for a deal.

[SwampDonkey]

I've never looked into such a thing for rent around here. Don't even know if they are available. Most likely the closest would be Moncton, a 3 hour drive from here. Glad I don't run some of this big harvest equipment. Every time something breaks they all have to head for a 3 hour drive one way for parts. I guess they figure we don't have forests up here. Go to Moncton on that marginal low land and you'd wonder what they could ever cut there in 100 years.  : But I digress. Being raised on a farm we just did it ourselves, even if it took more time and was the hard way. At least no one can tax me on my own time. ;D

[D Martin]

I once heard rocksalt made a stump decay fast, probably like the manure with a drill bit. I'll check back on this thread in a few years to see how you made out

[beenthere]

I think of salt as more of a preservative than a decay inducement. Not sure how come I think that....... :

[SwampDonkey]

Salt might possibly be used to kill a stump. Although, ,my uncle tried it for a few years on a box elder and it just grew faster and greener. ;D

Hmm, 'spose it was Ammonium-Nitrate? ;D  :D

[Kevin]

Be careful cutting large stumps while on your knees.
Lots of cases where the saw kicks back and cuts into the side of the leg.

[Corley5]

Stump + Salt + Porcupine = No Stump  ;) ;D

[LT40HDD51]

I heard once about pounding short pieces of copper pipe into the stump to speed the rot up. Dont know if it works, never tried it...

[SwampDonkey]

Was wondering if it might be more carcinogenic to fungus than an attractant.

[semologger]

i would have to agree with the burning my grandpa does this around his house and you wont find a stump when hes done.

some were very big white oak trees. he can get all the firewood for free. that makes it handy

[Mooseherder]

How many stumps are there in this photo? ;D
I gotta have at least 15 stumps to grind and 8 more trees to cut down because of da Pine Borers. :(

Here is 5 of them in this pic. >:(

A heavy duty stump grinder at the local and very friendly True Value store rents them for 195 a day. 15 more dollars if you don't have a trailer.
I tried drilling and burning a couple stumps. No luck except tonight I saw carpenter ant
larvae under some bamboo I had on top of the stump.
I gotta old Truck rim to try a  Bonfire Stump Roast. ;D
I'll try that before the grinder cause I am purty cheap. :D

[SwampDonkey]

Surely must be a hotdog or marshmellow to roast, eh? ;)

[beenthere]

mooseherder
Be nice for us if you'd boost your pics up to 400 or 450 on da long side. We'd see more clearly. 

Jeff's help thread will get ya there. 

[Mooseherder]

I had it there but the bytes were like 68,000. Was trying to keep under 30. ;D
You really do like pictures don't ya. :D

[beenthere]

Yup  ;D

I cut em to the pixel size limit FIRST, then save to least compression.
Should work then (under the 30k), better'n the other way around (least never fails for me when in that order).  Give 'er a shot. 

[Onthesauk]

beenthere,       Took me a second there to figure out you were talking about pictures and not stumps.

[beenthere]

 ;D ;D

[Mooseherder]

Got a little recreational fayir going last night in this tractor trailer rim to see if da stump would burn. ;D  Started it with a few Brickets off the BBQ about 6pm along with twigs and a piece of Pine Borer log. It slow burned through the night and was pretty much charcoal when I poked at it this morning. The stump re-lit with the poking, slow burned all day and was still smoldering when I got home tonight. It burned a couple inches below ground level and it's sister stump right next to it is burning right now with a couple pine borer logs, hopefully with the same effect. Got a dozen or so to go. Takes more time than a stump grinder but I like Fayir pits. ;D

I got some stumps that seem to keep comin' outta the ground or the soil around them is sinking. Their next. ;)

[rpg52]

There was a commercial preparation that used potassium nitrate - you'd bore holes, place it and it would cause the stump to rot quickly.  Just a warning, in summer dry areas (I live in California), those stumps and roots can burn for a long time.  The chief of our local volunteer fire district had stump that smouldered underground for two weeks, before it came up to the surface and started his neighbors garage on fire.  Likely not a problem in areas where you get summer rain.
Ray

[Jim Spencer]

   "Potassium Nitrate"  Also Known As "Saltpeter".
You can buy chemicals at Home Depot although unfairely expensive.
Jim

[miley]

Hi there Steven.. Saltpetre =potasium nitrate, is considered to be the stuff for rotting your tree stumps,make cavities in the stump one way or another 'the deeper the better"pour in some 'saltpetre', then wait maybe a year or two depends on the timber.. meanwhile plant some flowers or herbs around it .. Cheers  Miley

[Dodgy Loner]

Yep, potassium nitrate is the stuff to make a stump rot.  The commercial formulas that intended for rotting stumps are ridiculously overpriced (often $5 per pound).  You can go to a farm store and buy a 50 lb bag of potassium nitrate fertilizer (pure KNO₃ is 13-0-44) for around $15-20.  You'll probably have to special order it, as most stores don't keep it in stock.

[SwampDonkey]

I was removing some old box elder stumps the other day that were cut down and stumps burnt in 1998. The largest stump was just mush, the smallest stumps are still solid and the medium sized stumps where 2/3 mush.  I took a break from it, but will be going back at it to remove the larger stumps at least. I never adding anything to the stumps to help rot them, just mud and weeds around them.

[steverina]

A more eco way would be pouring sugar in the cavities.
this will make it rot too.

cheers

[KnotBB]

Would it work to just push the tree over and then handle the stump above ground?