BX24 diggin out stump

[donn12]

The first 4 hours of a project like that are a lot of fun. After that...

 

[crazyal]

Just keep digging. At this point you are committed. Sometimes I keep digging further away from the stump so it's easier to get to the underside. You can also try to pull on it from different sides as well as pulling in a way that will try to spin the stump instead of pulling it out of the hole. If all else fails take your chainsaw, hose the dirt off the top of the stump, and cut straight down (if you look at the top of the stump it'll look like a pizza cut into slices). Then use a tooth or two on the backhoe bucket to try and split the stump so you can take it out in pieces.

 

[DiezNutz]

I really wanted to dig out a trench around tree and use the full length of tree to pull down with his cable.

The Safety Police won't like it, but that's usually the first option I go for, after a nice soaking rain. :thumbsup: There are some common sense practices to keep the tree from falling on you while you're digging its roots up, which I won't go into here, but if done right that stump will just pop right up out of the ground. Really helps with bucking too, since the trunk is "propped up" off the ground for you.

Option 2 (when option 1 is determined impractical/unsafe) is like the others said, make your cut as high up the trunk as you can safely reach.

... You can also try to pull on it from different sides as well as pulling in a way that will try to spin the stump instead of pulling it out of the hole.

X2. You'll need to get that good twisting motion going to break those taproots loose. :thumbsup:

 

[czechsonofagun]

Be glad you have the tools for it. I attacked stumps with dirt scoop, axe and a highlift jack. Or just cut them with the ground using chainsaw and let them rotten away.

 

[keyman1808]

I feel for you. I did an 20 inch diameter oak yesterday. Took about 2.5 hours and a sharp ax but I got it. Once you get a trench dug all around start digging under it to loosen it up. You'll get her.

 

[legbuh]

Reading this yesterday made me go out and survey some stumps I had.. probably only 6-8". 5 of them. I hit one with an axe and it chipped nice.. so I ended up chopping out all 5 of them... took about 4 hours, and was a good workout! And lets say the closer I got to the middle, the more rubbery it seemed to get..

At our old place we were getting a new septic. I had cut down a very large maple with about an 18-20" trunk. They agreed to take it out for me while digging the new septic with their HUGE backhoe (on tracks and everything.. it was one of the biggest I've seen).

It took him 2 hours. I think it was tougher than he thought. When he finally got under it enough to pull it up, it actually lifted the entire tractor at least a few inches off the ground, popped out the stump, and when the tractor came back down it shook the whole block! It was scary... lol..

Then they just left the stump in the yard... so a neighbor with an old 300 came over and tried to lift it to move it.. couldn't... but, he did end up pushing it with the fell down to a ravine which was nice to get out of the yard.

 

[keyman1808]

I was fortunate with my oak stump. No tap root. Once I cut everything around I loosened the dirt under it and was able to pop it out. Moving it with the FEL was an adventure all its own. I nned to start bringing my camera with me when I work.

 

[radioman]

I finally got the stump to move. Basically I kept diggin and chipping away the dirt around the stump. I was able to use BH to wiggle it free, but its too heavy to lift. I tried to roll it, but its still too heavy. Its got about a foot of dirt stuck underneath the stump. Its time to reduce the weight, gonna cut the stump in half tomarrow. I'm too whipped to tackle it any further today. Hopefull I can cut most of the stump before chain goes dull from touching the dirt.

 

[funwithahoe]

Here's my stump vs. man and tractor pix. I found this old white pine to be the limit of the little BX. It took about 8 hours of digging and hand sawing the vertical roots under the stump that the bucket teeth couldn't reach to remove it from the hole.

No disrespect - I know there is a certain satisfaction of doing it yourself!! A CAT 963 could have done it (and buried it) in 2 minutes!

 

[Shmudda]

Here are some pics of the stumps I removed in May 2008. The clump of stumps were a large cherry tree and also a tree of heaven. I hate those tree of heavens, they are an invasive species and grow worse then a bad weed!

Took me a while and also even used a come a long to tug on the whole mess.....

Craig