Stump removal

[TonyE]

Does anyone know of a quick way to remove a freshly cut stump without using a stump grinder? I cut three trees this morning that are blocking a new breeze way that I’m in the process of building in my barn.

One stump is approximately 32” in diameter and the other two about 8 inches.

[Watcher48]

Get yourself a passle of dry corn cobs. Pile them on top and light a fire. corn cobs burn "in" and will burn the stump out. Its the way we use to do it when I were a yungun.

[woodsrunner]

Well....

I used to know this guy.

He had a trick with a wash tub full of water, A 2 liter soda bottle with cap and a set of welding torches.

But, if it's that close to your house, I'm sure you'd rather keep your windows intact.

It would shoot a medium sized stump a couple feet in the air.

[Common Tator]

DH will burn out the stumps by piling brush around the stump, and making a fire, which he keeps feeding dried brush to. He will use the same spot again and again until the stump is burned out way below ground level. It may take a while for this one to burn out if it is green, but eventually it will be gone and so will a lot of brush.

[TonyE]

Those are some great ideas… and very tempting, but the stumps are right up against the barn about 18 inches away. I am afraid that in the process of burning those stumps, I might burn down the barn!

If you hear in the News of a barn burning down in the Atlanta Georgia area, there might be a good chance it’s my barn.

[meanwhile]

Find a teenager who needs some money. Give her/him an ax and tell them to "have at it". You sit there with a glass of tea and supervise.

Had you not cut the trees off too short.......how short is the stump? If not too short, tie a chain around it and jerk it out of the ground? We pull some out that way.

Good luck.

[js2743]

if they are that close to the barn i would just saw them off as close to the ground as possible. and paint real good and that will keep them from sprouting back out and leave them to rot. because they have more than likely rooted into the barn area and trying to move them might damage your barn.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

we just dig out around them and put an old chain on the chain saw and cut them below ground level

even the stump removal guy i saw one time scraped back the dirt and cut it of very low first , he siad he saves more time and mony that way , i asked but i tears up your bard and chain he said that is what old ones are for and the price of a chain is nothing compared to carbide teeth on a stump grinder .

[watcher]

Drill some big holes in it. Fill the holes with ammonia nitrate fertilizer. Pour either a mixture of used motor oil and gasoline or use stright diesel fuel over it. Wait for it to soak in and repeat. Do this a couple more times. Then take a 55 gal barrel, cut the top and bottom out and knock some holes in it around the 'bottom'. Place the barrel over the stump and fill it with wood scraps, brush, etc and light it up. Keep adding wood the the barrel and keep all the ash you can pulled out. It will burn out the stump.

If you can set up something force air into fire it will work much better. An electric leaf blower and some stove pipe works well.

[Rocky Fields]

Tony,

Dig down around the stumps as deep as you can. Use the tip end of the chainsaw to cut and section it into pieces. NEVER let the chain hit the soil or it becomes dull immediately. Don't use a dull chain because they bind easy and are dangerous.

RF

[TonyE]

Thanks everyone for the fascinating info…it’s going to be a toss up between the “flame” and the “chain.”

[Shinsan]

Tony, I got rid of two stumps by drilling a number of holes in them and filling the holes with firelighters, then let them smoulder away. Another tree I cut really low, poured a strong 'roundup' sollution over the stump, later cut out much of the dead wood with an axe and a mattock, then just buried it. The remnants of all the buried stumps have all but rotted completely away now.

[greenacresusa]

One word - DOZER!! If you don't have a friend with one, get a local farmer to come over. We've taken out many stumps with very little effort. If need be you can dig around it till you get under it and cut the roots out/off, then push it out.

[stranger]

Originally Posted by GREENCOUNTYPETE

we just dig out around them and put an old chain on the chain saw and cut them below ground level

even the stump removal guy i saw one time scraped back the dirt and cut it of very low first , he siad he saves more time and mony that way , i asked but i tears up your bard and chain he said that is what old ones are for and the price of a chain is nothing compared to carbide teeth on a stump grinder .

that's the way we do it

[Kevingr]

Why not use a stump grinder? I just did about a dozen stumps with a rented stump grinder I pulled behind my car on a little trailer. Cost me $85 bucks a little gas and about 3 hours of my time.

[mamita]

well Tony...sure don't envy you one bit. we've had our fare share of stumps...large and small. the small ones.....the maddox, and alot of sweat. the big ones...the maddox, the chainsaw, and at least a week's worth of digging...then pulling them out with the tractor (only after they're sawed free) I have to say that the last two huge ones went by way of a backhoe. had a man here grading out the driveway a bit, and he was nice enough to dig them out at no extra charge. ( I kind of fell in love with him right then)

[TonyE]

Originally Posted by Kevingr

Why not use a stump grinder? I just did about a dozen stumps with a rented stump grinder I pulled behind my car on a little trailer. Cost me $85 bucks a little gas and about 3 hours of my time.

I was starting to consider a stump grinder if I could find one for that price in this area.