Stumped, pulling a stump

[mikehaugen]

I think once you had a sawzall you would be surprised how many uses you have for it. It may not help you here however. A 24" stump cut flush with ground is probably not worth trying to pull out. As suggested, burning is probably your best bet. If you have a drill, find some big auger bits and drill some holes down into it to help it dry faster and probably burn faster as well.

 

[Pilot]

I like the burning idea, except the state is under burning restrictions; we've had no rain for a couple months. In reality there is no wildfire risk with my situation, but people see smoke and call it in.

Getting these stumps out is part of a project to expand our lawn. By the time we get enough rain to allow burning, the soil will be too wet to put machinery on.

The sawsall is looking like a better option for now. Didn't make it to HF--finished other business too late.

 

[k0ua]

+1 on the sawzall.. I have an old Ryobi I got at Sears about 25 years ago.. it is not as good as a real Milwaukee sawzall but it has worked for me all these years. They are really worth having. You can cut a lot of metal up with them too with the right blade, beats the heck out of a hacksaw.

James K0UA

 

[RobertBrown]

I don't think anyone would regret the recip saw purchase.
Personnally, I would forego the HF choice for this tool. For me, it exceeds the number of moving parts/switches allowed for my own quality assurance policy.
In your case, it might be the right choice as you will be using it under adverse conditions. I would pay cash and get a receipt. If you use a credit card your refund is store credit.
Be sure and see the HF tools that don't suck thread, there may be some reviews on it

 

[jmpbuffalo]

I rented a stump grinder for a bunch of smaller trees (all less than 18" diameter) on one of my properties. It was easy to use and you gan grind several inches below ground level. I did 6 or 8 trees, plus some bushes, in about 6 hours. I don't remember what it cost but probably about $120 five years ago.

 

[Pilot]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Decision: Prep all the area I can, leaving a small area around the stump. Seed the grass. Burn the stump after the rains start and burning is allowed. Prep the remaining area for grass by hand.

I liked the sawsall idea (hey, another tool!), but in digging around under the stump some more, I found another major root that I would have trouble cutting with a sawsall--it seems to be a good 6" and hard to reach.

 

[dave1949]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Decision: Prep all the area I can, leaving a small area around the stump. Seed the grass. Burn the stump after the rains start and burning is allowed. Prep the remaining area for grass by hand.

I liked the sawsall idea (hey, another tool!), but in digging around under the stump some more, I found another major root that I would have trouble cutting with a sawsall--it seems to be a good 6" and hard to reach.

I wonder what an air chisel would do to those roots? I've always wanted to find an excuse to buy one of those. Would take a pretty good compressor, but they sell those too :laughing:

 

[k0ua]

Well they don't sell dynamite to just anyone these days, but when I was a little boy, I used to watch my Dad blow em sky high. It was quite a show for a little guy He never seemed to need more than 1/2 of a stick.

James K0uA

 

[Pete Judd]

Yep, K0ua, I remember the days that we could buy dynamite at the feed store, and the caps as well. As long as we had the dynamite in the trunk and the caps in the glove box no problem. That and a spriging rod to blow a hole under a stump with a half stick, pack in a couple of bags of 20-0-0 some diesel, and another 1/2 stick of 50 percent, we were good to go. Just raised the stump above ground level. Easy to drag off, and almost no dirt on the roots. I have other fun stories about what we did with the stuff as a kid.

But now, depending on the size and the kind, will ether take them down to the ground, drill holes Cut a hollow in them with the chainsaw, ( If you are a novice with a chain saw might not be the best thing to do). Fill with dirt and plant flowers (they rot out very fast that way) or leave them tall, 5-6 feet to get some leverage on them and will use a sawzall, and the genset, to pull them over. The second is a pain. I am looking at that in the next few days on a 25 YO wild cherry and a Doug fir that is about 20 -24 inches at the base of the trunk. No hurry on getting the stumps out as long as I can mow around or over the top of them.

 

[CurlyDave]

I wonder what an air chisel would do to those roots? I've always wanted to find an excuse to buy one of those. Would take a pretty good compressor, but they sell those too :laughing:

I have tried air chisels, and they don't work very well at all, at least for me.

I rented a stump grinder at Home Depot that worked very well.