How to cut through BIG tree roots?

[ChuckinNH]

Richard at Bro-Tek is making a ripper for the BX24 series backhoes. I know he has made versions of his thumb for other hoes, and perhaps he would do the same for a ripper. Bro-Tek: Tractor Add Ons

 

[Riptide23]

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)

How about this ripper tooth?
http://bro-tek.biz/

 

[Riptide23]

Jeez Chuck, how come I didn't see your response before I posted??

I'm a moron...

 

[Kendrick]

C-4 plastic explosive, that's what we used in Vietnam. If you do it right, the stump won't even be on your property when you get done. Might have a big hole to fill, though...... Seriously, if you think ahead, and tackle the stump while the tree is still standing...you can hook a big cable up high in the tree, dig down and cut some roots on the OTHER side, and pull the tree down with a come along, and pop the stump out of the ground at the same time. Not the safest method, but can be safe if you take your time and do it right.

Depends on how long of a cable you use... ie 200' for a 30' tree

 

[JoeL4330]

consider Rhino stump pulling excavator attachment

 

[familyman]

Richard at Bro-Tek got back to me and offered to price one up if I give him dimensions for the mounting points. I'll do that this weekend and post an update.

 

[JerryK]

Depends on how long of a cable you use... ie 200' for a 30' tree

Yup, it's not an OSHA approved stump removal method, and requires a little thought before and during the operation. I usually put a chain around the tree about 25-30' up, then hook a 80' long 1/2" cable onto that, then a couple comealongs in series [gives me more 'pull' lenght], and then anchored to the base of another simular sized or bigger tree by another chain or two. After putting a little 'tug' on the tree with the comealongs, I chop a few roots on the far side with an axe, then give it a little more tug. Like falling a tree with a chainsaw, you have to prethink your path to safety when it starts to fall, etc. The cable I have is off of an overhead crane and is fairly flexible and high quality. You can get them from people who replace crane cables, which have to be inspected and replaced due to OSHA regulations. The old ones will still last you a lifetime. I've pulled smaller trees down this way with a tractor. If you build a proper 'fulcrum' at the base of the tree, the stump will pop right out of the ground.

 

[J_J]

How about somethng like this.

 

[Kendrick]

consider Rhino stump pulling excavator attachment

the 1 nice thing about the pic from there is the distance the operator would be with that excivator. i would get weary of splitting being that close to the tree. if a tree has a hidden badspot you take out the support root and it topples from the 10' high badspot. you could easily get punted with your tractor. then again same would be for powerwasher and axe. with the axe though you would be more likely to hear a precurser to the snap. i have seen a tree with a bad spot launch a round bale not pretty. The stump puller might be usable far enough a way duno though would have to see in acton. The snipper is intresting to again would have to see distances and angle of the bh. with the excivator the distance you get is a good deal better. use after the fact would take more time but would be safe.

 

[AndyMA]

Depends on how long of a cable you use... ie 200' for a 30' tree

Just remember that if the cable snaps (and I have had a couple snap) the broken ends can cut you in half like a bull whip (and so fast you 'll never even see it coming).

Andy

 

[AndyMA]

How about somethng like this.

That's a good looking shear, but it doesn't appear to be suited to a small hoe.

Andy

 

[Dougster]

Richard at Bro-Tek got back to me and offered to price one up if I give him dimensions for the mounting points. I'll do that this weekend and post an update.

I'll sure be interested to see what you think of that thing. I asked essentially the same question here (about stump/root removal) ages ago and was basically told to keep digging farther and farther out until I could rip the root out. Made sense where feasible, but I still carry a nasty chainsaw just in case. I also carry a "Bosch Brute" type jackhammer... but haven't had an opportunity to try it on a root yet.

My biggest concern about something like this is the time it takes to remove the bucket & thumb and install this hook... and then replace the bucket & thumb after the root was broken so I could use the bucket+thumb to pull out the stump. Repeat for the next stump... etc, etc. A customer would never pay me for that time. Having two machines on-site might be a different story.

Dougster

 

[LarryRB]

I can't count the stumps pulled in the last 30 years, however, working for a contractor part time, many of those years, he always demanded a 12' bucket on the hoe when pulling stumps or roots, On my L48 I have the 12 and 24 for this exact reason. A 12" bucket doesn't put anywhere near the stress on the crowd stick like a 18/24 or larger bucket woud when snapping roots or pulling the stump

 

[Dougster]

I can't count the stumps pulled in the last 30 years, however, working for a contractor part time, many of those years, he always demanded a 12' bucket on the hoe when pulling stumps or roots, On my L48 I have the 12 and 24 for this exact reason. A 12" bucket doesn't put anywhere near the stress on the crowd stick like a 18/24 or larger bucket woud when snapping roots or pulling the stump

But here's a question for you Larry: Which is likely to be faster on your average 12"-16" stump... a 12" bucket without a thumb... or an 18" bucket with a hydraulic thumb? Sadly, Bradco's thumb does not fit below an 18" bucket.

Dougster

 

[MarcusCarr]

I dug around the roots with the backhoe, pressure washed them, then filled the hole around the stump with water to soften the ground. After the water had all soaked in, I cut the big roots with a chain saw and push the top of the stump with the loader bucket. Works pretty well.

I don't care for the stump grinder option much, because I will eventually forget where the subsurface stump are and hit them with an attachment.

Marcus

 

[john_bud]

I'm imagining a sub-soiler with the leading edge sharpened and serated. When you snag a root, pull up with the 3pt and "saw" thru the root.

Maybe getting a competent welder to lay on some hard-surfacing rod in globs and use an angle grinder to shape them into a saw tooth?

Just thinking....
jb

 

[Corm]

Here's another vote for the Sawzall. Those nail cutting blades hold up real well. It is fast, cheap, and the battery operated ones enable you to carry and use it anywhere. It would be fun to have some sort of attachment to your backhoe that would enable you to cut those big roots right from the seat, but really, using the Sawzall is the best, most economical way to do it. Like you I struggled digging stumps with my backhoe for awhile, until I tried using the Sawzall. It really works well

Corm

 

[3RRL]

The sawsall is a great idea. Wish I had a battery operated one.
I used an axe. Only chopped those that I couldn't rip out with the backhoe. It's hard work but pretty fast. Just need a little room to swing. You don't need to go all the way through either. Sometimes a notch will be enough for the backhoe to break the rest. But I'm stubborn too.

 

[Chuck K.]

After digging up several medium size pine trees and having the same problem as you I purchased a Ripper Tooth from Richard at Bro-tec. for the BH75.. Installing it was simple only took a couple of minutes. I was some what skeptical when I first started using it, I would cut through the upper layer of roots but had difficulty finding the deeper ones because the ripper tooth removes very little soil. After getting use to it the remaining roots where cut much easier. I then pushed over the whole tree, cut it up and hauled to the burn pile. The real beauty is how little dirt is dug up meaning less time filling back in..
Years ago (much younger) I dug up a massive pine tree by hand for my folks lake house and tried the chainsaw tatic and as mentioned above the chain will dull unbelievably fast, sand/dirt simply destroys the edge on it.
Good luck on your project..

 

[irwin]

I used a cordless sawzall with a 12" pruning blade, buy a bunch of blades you'll need a few. I'd still be working on this stuborn stump without it.



I also used an 8 ton bottle jack along with my 6 1/2 foot backhoe, and a 3 ton come-along. Used a 3 foot prybar (looks like long screwdriver with bent blade) to pry the rocks from the roots so I could get the sawzall at em.

here's a link to the post.http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/103544-backhoe-8-ton-jack-3-a.html?highlight=stump