familyman said:I once had a manufacturers website on my favorites list who made a sharp edged ripper attachment for backhoe buckets (the link is gone - victim of crashosis). The stump I started digging today has some roots 3-4" in diameter 24" out from the stump, and although I'd eventually get it done, digging this one this is hard on my machine. Does anyone know of a product that mounts to a backhoe bucket, dipper stick, or even the 3-pt. for cutting through roots? TSC has a subsoiler for about $160 that I guess I could sharpen, but I'm not sure it would work.
J_J Someone also makes a diamond chainsaw that will cut through cement. It should be able to cut through dirt and tree roots as well. If it fits your budget said:JJ, I think the diamond in those is used by fixing it in a metal matrix and using its points as an abrasive rather than forming actual teeth. This kind of thing will saw the Heck out of rocks, but it is very easy to load up the space between the hard points when dealing with softer stuff. Of course there are polycrystaline diamond tips that are formed in a way similar to carbide. These can form teeth, but I think they are extremely expensive and may be fragile if used against rock. They would be great for wood mixed with small particulate dirt and soil contaminants tho. Theyd last much better than carbide if there were no rocks.
larry
I have the same problem dealing with recently felling white oak tree stumps. The roots which are four to six inches in diameter, are too much for my 32 HP Cub Cadet Yanmar EX3200 TLB. Evidently the tensile strenght of the roots exceed the breakout force of my backhoe. I was thinking about using an angle grinder to cut a "toothed" edge on the edges of my backhoe bucket. The objective would be to allow the toothed edge to "saw" through the root fibers. My only concern would be that the bucket might crack at the inside corners of the grinder cuts when put under a high stress strain load?