32" Doug Fir stump - Do I have a chance of success?

[skidoo]

Well, the tree I recently cut down is now in the way for my new projects. It has to go. I spent half a day on it so far. Any thoughts? I'll keep digging tomorrow. Do I have a chance for success? If not, what should I do?

[two_bit_score]

Dyn-o-mite? Burn it out? But that's a nice looking 110 you got there.

[skidoo]

Dyn-o-mite? Burn it out? But that's a nice looking 110 you got there.

Too close to the house. The picture was taken from the kitchen doorway.

So far, I like the 110.

[two_bit_score]

I haven't done a stump that big with my 110. If it's too close to burn or blast then I'd probably just keep digging and cutting roots until it comes out. What will you fill the hole with?

[CurlyDave]

Keep digging -- it will come out.

[kcprecision]

Underneath that stump is a big hooking tap root that you will have to deal with. I have been involved with a couple of projects like that and we were using a 580 case. I don't have any idea how the 580 compares to the one you are using. By the time we got the stump, we had a hole about 5ft across and maybe 4 ft deep.
Wishing you the best of luck.

[Treemonkey1000]

Perseverance.. You have most of the job done now. You might lash a chain around it as high as you can. Then drive a few spikes through the chain links to keep it from popping off and smacking you. Then tug on it with the tractor to lift it at an angle to expose the roots. Then cut them off with your saw or maybe even a gas torch..

[EddieWalker]

Every stump will come out, it's just a matter of persistence on your part.

From the picture, I don't think you have taken out enough dirt around the sides. Keep digging. I've had them hold tight until I dug down as deep as I could, all the way around. What really kills me, is I'll fight and fight a stump while digging around it, but then change sides and it pops loose.

Those tap roots make them harder to get out, but it's not that bad. I think the suction of the ground on the bottom of the root ball is what keeps it there more then anything else. And that suction, for whatever reason, is very strong on most sides, but always seems to have a week side. The trick is finding that week side before digging any further then you have to.

Good luck, if you take out enough dirt, it will break free.

Eddie

[AchingBack]

In the future, if possible, cut your tree higher up. The higher the better. That way you will have some leverage. Put a snatch block around a neighboring tree. Put a chain around the cut tree trunk, and use a winch, or comealong to ratchet it over. I've done this successfully many times. I hope I made sense with my explanation.

[JB4310]

I did an oak stump with my JD 48 hoe and swore I wouldn't do it again, mine was smaller than yours plus I left the trunk about 20 ft high to give me more leverage when pulling with my truck. (like AchingBack mentioned)

It still took several hours, I was surprised how easy it was to dig around the stump ripping up the roots but it would not go over even with hard pulling at the top of the trunk! This stump had no tap root and the roots were not deep at all, you can see by the length of the trunk how much leverage I had, I can't imagine how much longer it would have taken me with a short stump.

JB.