Wrong tool for the job

[Industrial Toys]

Used to be, a man could meander into the town hardware store (I think Hinkles (sp?) Hardware in Clarksburg, Ontario) and grab a box of explosives for such tasks. We once (in the 80s) bought a box of forcite 40% for a weekend of fun! Surprised us, how much you actually needed for underground work.

 

[CobyRupert]

Used to be, a man could meander into the town hardware store (I think Hinkles (sp?) Hardware in Clarksburg, Ontario) and grab a box of explosives for such tasks. We once (in the 80s) bought a box of forcite 40% for a weekend of fun! Surprised us, how much you actually needed for underground work.

...that might be what you call a twofer (i.e. 2-4-1), you can get rid of the barn too!


A root ball can weigh a LOT. I don't think it takes a very big root ball to equal a cubic yard of dirt (which can be over a ton)

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world."- Archimedes (paraphrase).
It's surprising what a cable attached 12' (or 16' 20') up the tree can do when your levering out a 3' deep root ball.

I found these numbers on the web (must be true!), but actually the weights seem a little light. These were planting guidelines, not removal, so take them with a grain of salt.
Tree diameter Root Ball Diameter Estimated Weight
1.0 - 1.5" 19" 150 lbs.
1.5 - 2.0" 24" 300 lbs.
2.0 - 2.5" 26" 400 lbs.
2.5 - 3.0" 28" 550 lbs.
3.0 - 3.5" 35" 900 lbs.
3.5 - 4.0" 40" 1,500 lbs.
4.0 - 4.5" 45" 2,200 lbs.
4.5 - 5.0" 51" 3,200 lbs.
5.0 - 6.0" 57" 4,600 lbs.
6.0 - 7.0" 65" 5,500 lbs.

 

[oosik]

I'm just really fortunate. I've cut my pines for firewood, had them selectively logged and dropped a few due to pine bark beetle. Never worry about the stump - with time Mother Nature will rot it away.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would have used a subsoiler as close to the tree as possible and ripped the roots on all four sides prior to pushing it. Getting all the feeder roots cut reduces the root ball and makes it easy to push over trees without a long taproot.

 

[Doofy]

I would have used a subsoiler as close to the tree as possible and ripped the roots on all four sides prior to pushing it. Getting all the feeder roots cut reduces the root ball and makes it easy to push over trees without a long taproot.

I just ordered a subsoiler for this exact purpose. Takes to long to dig out with a small hoe. Hope it works.

 

[Phillip w]

Used to be, a man could meander into the town hardware store (I think Hinkles (sp?) Hardware in Clarksburg, Ontario) and grab a box of explosives for such tasks. We once (in the 80s) bought a box of forcite 40% for a weekend of fun! Surprised us, how much you actually needed for underground work.

Old timers used to used a mixture of sugar and pot ash. I dont know the recipe formula. I wish i did. But apparently it is highly explosive. Apparently if they got the recipe a little wrong, it turned the stump in to toothpicks. Anyone know the recipe?

 

[JRobyn]

When we were kids, we'd make homemade gunpowder with ground charcoal, sulphur, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate).

 

[Doofy]

There is no better fun than to blow something up! To bad we are the last generation to enjoy this activity growing up. Loved Cherry Bombs and M-80s and the occasional sticks of dynamite.

 

[micdelbo]

There is no better fun than to blow something up! To bad we are the last generation to enjoy this activity growing up. Loved Cherry Bombs and M-80s and the occasional sticks of dynamite.

Thank God black powder is still available. Not for the tree shown since it was too close to the building, but anywhere else... Quart can of black powder buried under the stump, stand behind a good size tree and bye bye tree stump.

 

[Coyote machine]

Ripper tooth on a tractor frame mounted hoe levels all comers. It's necessary to break or dislodge roots all the way around most stumps before they are able to be pushed over by the FEL.
FEL's by themselves are not designed to do digging- loading and some pushing straight on to center of loader, NOT corners.
Drawbar is only place to pull from, again NOT the FEL. Otherwise one can flip a tractor in short order.