Pulling Tree Stumps Safely

[Reg]

Somewhere I have seen old pictures/prints of horses pulling stumps, quite literally out of the ground.

There was a "device" that appears to consist of not much more than two big wheels and an axle.
The axle was probably 8ft from the ground, maybe more - eye high to a big draft horse, so maybe 9ft.
I assume that chain was wrapped around the axle and two draft horses pulled, resulting in an upward pull and drag.
I don't know if the chain was simply wrapped around, or if there were separate chain drums for the pulling chain and the lifting chain.
Anyone know more about this ?
Not that I'm thinking of building one to pull with a tractor, or with "a pair in harness".

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't think there is much debate over whether it is possible to pull stumps out, the point is simply that it is safer and generally easier to dig out the roots before pulling or lifting and for that a backhoe is the preferred tool.

Sure, a big dozer can push or pull them out and if you'd like to use horses I'm sure that works too. If you have more than an occasional stump to remove however, investing in a backhoe for your CUT is pretty easily justified.

I've decided to add a ripper claw to mine (Woods BH90x) and will do so as soon as I can find someone to fabricate one. No sense in digging a big hole if all that is really needed is to loosen the stump by breaking the lateral roots and then lifting or pushing it out of the ground.

 

[john_bud]

You're not gonna like this, but for future reference....

You use the FEL to push the whole uncut tree over when they are 6-8". Bucket up high and curled back, slowly drive forward until the tree starts to bend, then slowly lower the bucket and dump. The tree will bend over and the roots will pop out. If they don't, re-do from the other side. Use an ax to cut the straggler roots and then drag the tree off with a chain at the upper end.

Chain is the thing to use. Straps stretch and will seriously hurt you when they hit. Cable stretches and can maim and kill you. Chain will not jump nearly as much, if at all.

From where you are now, use an ax to cut the roots around the stump. Chain it up to the FEL. Hook the chain so it can slide and equally pull from each side of the FEL. If not, you might bend the arms and pop them out of level. It's a PIA to get back!!! Lift up and drive back and forth to wiggle it. Works best when wet. Then use the box blade to scrape out the roots.

I've had a 4" tree stumps stymie my 3000# lift loader and had my 1000# lift loader push over 10" trees. You know which I prefer!

 

[TheDingy]

John is right on the smaller ones don't cut it off get the leverage on the rootball. A dozer is the fastest, but I have pulled two decent sized stumps with large rootballs recently one I did with a 4x4 dually in 4 low, but cutting around it a lot first and pulling from many different angles and then one the first day we had our 6025. Dug around it with the FEL and then pushed it over some, then hooking the draw bar to it getting it out fully.

 

[Youare]

I have seen a method that worked pretty good on 6 to 8 inch white pine stumps in a sandy gravel soil. A large truck rim was used and a goodpiece of chain. The truck rim was placed on edge right next to the stump the chain was run over the top of the rim to the tractor. This translated the horizontal movement of the chain to a vertical pull on the stump.

One trick was to find a large root next to the stump dig under it enough to get the chain around it and cut the root off just past the chain and run the chain over the truck rim. This puts more leverage on the rest of the stump.

Sometimes you just have to dig around them and sever the lagrer roots then the stump can be extracted out of the hole. The cutoff roots pull out easier by themselves.

Randy

 

[IslandTractor]

I agree with John that if you can push a tree over sufficiently to expose it's roots and they can work your FEL (hopefully with grapple attached) under the roots, that you can quite efficiently pop the trees out. However, I'm not so sure that the other ideas of digging away with an axe or digging under the roots etc make nearly as much sense as getting a backhoe to the site to rip up the lateral roots. I'd certainly acknowledge that not everyone will have a BH but that is still the tool to go to first (or second if you want to try the pushover technique first).

Here is a tree that got pushed over using John's recommended technique (broken in the process) and then finished off by lifting out with a grapple.

 

[jdgreg]

Instead of pushing them over, I've found it's easier to pull them out of the ground, drag them to the burn pile, then use the grapple to pick the tree up and place it on the pile. I connect 2 tow chains together, the end at the tree has a slip hook. I cleared out a corner of a our property quite nicely like this. Largest tree was about 4-6" diameter, just make sure the slip is up 5-6' off the ground.

 

[Rara Avis]

Somewhere I have seen old pictures/prints of horses pulling stumps, quite literally out of the ground.

There was a "device" that appears to consist of not much more than two big wheels and an axle.
The axle was probably 8ft from the ground, maybe more - eye high to a big draft horse, so maybe 9ft.
I assume that chain was wrapped around the axle and two draft horses pulled, resulting in an upward pull and drag.
I don't know if the chain was simply wrapped around, or if there were separate chain drums for the pulling chain and the lifting chain.
Anyone know more about this ?
Not that I'm thinking of building one to pull with a tractor, or with "a pair in harness".

A machine for pulling stumps was made of an axle, twenty inches in diameter and thirty feet long, supported on wheels sixteen feet in diameter; midway on the axle was fastened a third wheel of fourteen feet diameter. When the outer wheels were braced, a chain wound about the axle and fastened to the stump, and horses or oxen attached to a rope which encircled the central wheel several times, a stump was easily pulled and then carried away by the same machine, after the outer wheels had been released. The gain in power was such that, with one machine, a team of horses and seven laborers, from thirty to forty large stumps were grubbed in a day. A plow with an additional cutting blade was invented for use among small roots."

Some Noteworthy Contractor's Appliances

 

[N80]

I've dug dozens of stumps with my FEL. Perfectly reasonable approach if you have no back hoe. I have had zero luck pulling any sort of stump out unless it has been helped along with digging and cutting roots. And as far as pulling goes it is often not an issue of horsepower, but traction. Rarely did a stump ever stall my tractor, it just sat there and spun...with R1s and 4wd. FEL is much more effective. Its true, you have to move a lot of dirt.....but at least an FEL is perfect for putting it back!

As far as cables and straps being dangerous, well its true, if you exceed the limits of the cable or strap. But make no mistake, the same is just as true for a chain and I've seen all three types snap and the chain was the most explosive and did the most damage. (Destroyed hood, windshield and top of a K5 Blazer. Barely missed the driver.)

Locusts are tough. and maybe someone mentioned this, but if you are going to build over where one has been, getting the stump out will not be sufficient. They put out long roots and will volunteer from these roots, even if the stump is gone. It is best to cut the tree then paint the stump with undiluted Brush-B-gone or something similar. And yep, they are heck on a chainsaw!

 

[Reg]

Thanks Paul,
16ft diameter sounds about right, given my memory of the axle height being about (LARGE) horse face high.
Seems it was blocked stationary and the team pulled on a 14ft diameter drum to a 20 inch diameter axle - the mechanical advantage, to lift it out.
Then the wheels were freed to haul it away.
Some days I think I'd like to get involved with folk who do that sort of historical re-enactment stuff - other days I think tractors are just FINE (-: