Tree stump

Hi people. I've got two tree stumps to remove (or get to below ground level to be more exact) - quite big ones (between 15 and 20 inches) - old pine trees. I thought I could hack them to a lower level with an axe but this has appeared optimistic!

I'm in South Wales and stump grinders seem a bit difficult to come by without waitng a couple of weeks. So one hire shop I spoke to said they didn't do stump grinders any more but had just bought a "ripper blade". Fella said they just bought it a couple of days ago from a rep that walked in off the street (who reckoned it would grind out a tree stump). It goes on your Stihl saw.

All I can find out about it is here: http://www.diamondblades.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=50_74&products_id=455

Looks lethal enough but the hire shop has no feedback on it so doesn't know how good it is.

Has anyone tried using one for stump grinding? It doesn't quite look for that purpose to me but some feedback from anyone else would be helpful!

Cheers

Dan

what sort of tool do you put it in?

maybe they have no feedback because it jumped up and and killed all the users

It goes in a petrol disc cutter... I know what you mean - it does look lethal!

they go in a petrol disc cutter, but normally the cutter sits in a frame to keep it under control. Have a look on the partner website, they do one for their saws

i reckon you should wait for a dry spell, drill a few quite large holes in the stump, fill the holes full of petrol and burn out the stump....... c'mon !!!!!!

If your fit dig them out, they are small and will not go down very deep. done lots of them myself. A winch will help. The old weed killer and sugar used to be the best way but they added a fire retardant!

you mentioned cutting them back with an axe. Pine is very tough and bouncy. However it is much easier to cut with a coarse saw (though you will need to dig enough for access beside the stump). If you cut them back a few inches below ground level they will (eventually) rot away but the deeper you cut, the easier it will be to palnt things in the soil on top.

These are quite big trees so the roots will be difficult to cut as well.

I removed a tree stump from my back garden recently...about the same size as yours by the sound of it. After prowling around it for a while I decided that the best way was to remove it by hand. Yes it was (very)hard work but it is cheap and you can work on it as much or as little as you want each day. If you have a friend helping then could do it in a day but I did it on my own. It was a grudge match, me versus stump.

I started by digging up the earth/clay around the stump to about half a foot deep and 1 meter out from it to get to the roots. Then the fun started! I used a hand axe (due to limited space) to hack through all the roots. Also had to use various tools to scrape/dig the dirt from between the roots. A large heavy metal stake also came in useful for hammering in and levering roots up. You just have to keep at it until you have cut through all of them and get some movement from the stump. Its a joyous moment I can tell you so get the beers ready!

Remember the safety gloves and goggles (and plasters for the blisters!)