Taking down some trees for land clearing - how high should I leave stumps for easier removal?

[ovrszd]

Thanks for the pics!!!! Are you wanting to clear cut this area?

 

[dirttoys]

A dozer is probably the worse machine that you can use to remove stumps and trees. They can do it, but they are slow, and they create a huge mess compared to an excavator or backhoe. They are also pretty much useless at getting debris to the burn pile. Even with a rake, you end up pushing a massive amount of dirt to your burn pile.

Nothing is faster or more efficient at removing trees and stumps then an excavator. The bigger the machine, the faster it is. A backhoe works to, but it's slower then an excavator. I like the backhoe because I can pick up the debris and carry them to the burn pile with my grapple. Tires are a lot faster then tracks when moving material. I can also take off the grapple and put on my bucket to bring dirt to fill in the hole, compact it with my tires, and back drag it with the bucket to smooth it out so you will never know there was ever a tree there.

If you are cutting down the trees and then removing the stumps, you will save yourself a lot of time and effort by taking the entire tree out with what you are going to use to remove the stumps. A full tree comes out easy, a stump is always a lot of work. For me, pines take the most effort to get out. They have a tap root that is deeper then most trees, and you have to remove more material around the tree to get them to fall over. Without the weight and leverage of the tree to help get the root ball out, you have to dig an even bigger hole to get that stump out. I can dig out and lay down a 24 inch pine in 20 t0 30 minutes depending on my access to the tree with my backhoe. Then I cut off the root ball with my chainsaw, cut the pine into lengths that I can pick up and carry to where I want it. Digging out a stump of a similar sized pine will take at least an hour, and if access is bad, or it's really stuck in there, it can take even longer. Biggest issue with digging out stumps is that smaller stumps can be just as time consuming to get out as bigger ones.

In my opinion, you never want to leave a stump in the ground if you want to clear the land. You are creating a lot more work for yourself. If you are going to rent or hire something to take out the stump, do it for the entire tree and get it done in a fraction of the time.

As much as I would like an excuse for a dozer, this is absolutely correct.

To the point of the risk: There can be a lot of potential energy in trees, I would call felling and cutting up a down tree about the same if you take your time and use your equipment correctly, I have got some pictures that go well with this topic I will try and put up tomorrow.

Best,

ed

 

[KilroyJC]

Thanks for the pics!!!! Are you wanting to clear cut this area?

Yes. where the pull-line is lying on the ground is approximately the old lane to the back of the property (complete with pine trees growing in the middle that the tackle is secured to…) and to the left and right I want to grow stuff. Out of frame on the left (when looking at the pickup) is a little branch, so this area is always naturally irrigated.

lots of vine roots and thorny-stuff runner roots. . .

 

[KilroyJC]

As much as I would like an excuse for a dozer, this is absolutely correct.

To the point of the risk: There can be a lot of potential energy in trees, I would call felling and cutting up a down tree about the same if you take your time and use your equipment correctly, I have got some pictures that go well with this topic I will try and put up tomorrow.

Best,

ed

I really need to get some good tackle and cables. . .

 

[ddbackhoe]

Problem is I do seasonal work from January to May, and we were all laid up with acute bronchitis all of December, so my the time I have time again, everything will be in full leaf and the ground will be muddy, and nothing will be planted . . . I may be plowing some weird disconnected furrows !!!

Ok, for a lower budget approach, lets break it down a bit. To satisfy the immediate need, a good size garden is 200 sq.ft per person. In your second photo, looks like a decent spot might be behind the truck, between the rope and water (assuming you can use that creek for the garden needs). Theres nothing wrong with breaking down your desires to fit into smaller steps. Get a garden established then open up more area a little at a time.
Have you created any kind of master plan for what goes where/when? Doesnt have to be anything fancy, but try to at least put it to scale, nothing worse than trying to fit a 40 x 60 building onto a 10x10 pad.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Mrs on the pull line, but you can get an idea of terrain and trees. Some skinnies were already taken down View attachment 780267 View attachment 780268

Pretty impressive when the wife will get bundled up to go out in the cold and help.

 

[KilroyJC]

Pretty impressive when the wife will get bundled up to go out in the cold and help.

It is more because she is convinced I will maim/kill myself if she lets me out unsupervised. . . (See sig below)

No, seriously.

the worst part is she hates the cold and if I don’t give her something arduous to do so she keeps warm she wants to go home after an hour and I can’t get things done.

but at least she is willing to grab a shovel and pitch in!

 

[4570Man]

A dozer is probably the worse machine that you can use to remove stumps and trees. They can do it, but they are slow, and they create a huge mess compared to an excavator or backhoe. They are also pretty much useless at getting debris to the burn pile. Even with a rake, you end up pushing a massive amount of dirt to your burn pile.

Nothing is faster or more efficient at removing trees and stumps then an excavator. The bigger the machine, the faster it is. A backhoe works to, but it's slower then an excavator. I like the backhoe because I can pick up the debris and carry them to the burn pile with my grapple. Tires are a lot faster then tracks when moving material. I can also take off the grapple and put on my bucket to bring dirt to fill in the hole, compact it with my tires, and back drag it with the bucket to smooth it out so you will never know there was ever a tree there.

If you are cutting down the trees and then removing the stumps, you will save yourself a lot of time and effort by taking the entire tree out with what you are going to use to remove the stumps. A full tree comes out easy, a stump is always a lot of work. For me, pines take the most effort to get out. They have a tap root that is deeper then most trees, and you have to remove more material around the tree to get them to fall over. Without the weight and leverage of the tree to help get the root ball out, you have to dig an even bigger hole to get that stump out. I can dig out and lay down a 24 inch pine in 20 t0 30 minutes depending on my access to the tree with my backhoe. Then I cut off the root ball with my chainsaw, cut the pine into lengths that I can pick up and carry to where I want it. Digging out a stump of a similar sized pine will take at least an hour, and if access is bad, or it's really stuck in there, it can take even longer. Biggest issue with digging out stumps is that smaller stumps can be just as time consuming to get out as bigger ones.

In my opinion, you never want to leave a stump in the ground if you want to clear the land. You are creating a lot more work for yourself. If you are going to rent or hire something to take out the stump, do it for the entire tree and get it done in a fraction of the time.

I’d say a dozer with a single shank ripper or a KG blade could do a good job removing stumps especially a big one. A dozer with a rake is good for transporting brush especially if you have a trackhoe on site to pile it once it’s moved. If you put the trackhoe in between the dozer and the brush pile and push brush to the trackhoe and then pick it up with the hoe and pile it you can make a big pile in a hurry. A D6 can push a way bigger pile of brush than a trackhoe can lift and carry with a thumb. The dozer can also drive faster than a hoe. A regular dirt blade dozer on the other hand isn’t good at all for digging stumps though.

 

[bcp]

I've seen dirt blades with a point on the lower corners of a blade, not as large as in the video.

Bruce

 

[deezler]

Cutting the root ball from a fallen tree can be risky. I know of a logger who was killed by bucking the butt from a root ball. Fallen trees are often under extreme tension and the root ball can spring back with tremendous force.

You are very correct about this. I forgot to explain, cut the stump off only if you have the whole thing out of the ground. As in, I use the excavator to lift the entire tree, stump and all, out of the ground. Don't only get the tree pushed over and then immediately start sawing the stump off, as it can have a LOT of tension left, like you note.