I have a few stump removal projects in the next couple of weeks and was wondering if there were any tricks to ripping them out. Most are under 10 inches and I'll be using my 8000lb Bobcat 430 with thumb. I plan on trying to seperate the stump from the roots not just grabing and pulling. Any tips?
I always like to have about four feet of the tree trunk left. It gives a lot more leverage, so you don't have to work the machine as hard. Sometimes somebody's already cut them as close to the ground as possible though. Different kinds of tree have different root systems. Pine, for instance are pretty shallow-rooted and pop out pretty easily. Elm trees are really tough--they have a big tap root that runs pretty deep right in the center, and the wood is pretty stringy. For stumps in general, I just try to dig as far around them as possible, cutting as many roots as possible, then get the bucket teeth under there someplace and try to pry them out. Sometimes you have to move back and forth from one side to another and get them a little loose here, and a little looser there, until they pop out. Keep in mind that if you grab with one side of the bucket or the other (which you probably will do), it puts a lot of twisting stress on the machine. Most machines have enough strength to break, or at least bend themselves if you get them in a situation where you're concentrating all their power on one component (like the far lefthand tooth of the bucket). Yours is probably no exception. Something else to watch out for is that when you succeed in breaking a root, dirt will fly. More than once I've almost been beaned by a fist sized chunk of mud. One more thing--just because there's a tree stump there does not mean there's nothing else there. Once, a long time ago, a homeowner asked me to take out a stump and I took out his gas service line along with it. :Banghead
I fabricated a steel wedge which we press into a slot sawn into the stump with the heel of the bucket. Two or three taps with the heel usually does the trick.[Most of my buckets are medium or heavy duty units, check the thickness on the bottom of your bucket to determine how hard you can tap without bending your bucket, build up if necessary] Ocasionally it just gets stuck so we resort to the old dig and pry. Oftentimes if the stump is at least 18" high, simply sawwing a narrow wedge out of the top and placing the teeth into the wedge, apply steady down pressure while rocking the bucket back and forth does the trick, this works especially well on smaller fir, cedar, maple and alder stumps. A Chapman
ive always been partial to gouging out one side and pushing it over usually works pretty well.if the root ball is of major size in a few years you will have a indention where you left the root ball.
Attached roots make great slingshots for hidden rocks,when pulling towards yourself So keep the glass closed and maybe break the glass or glass down and duck the rocks and projectiles I go for door # 1.I also always have glasses on not always safety but at least something to help block flying rocks or dirt just in case.
Well I did the first stump project today. Had about 18 stumps. Didn't have any real problems with them. Hard to believe how long some of those roots can be. Almost every call is for stumps because of the hurricane we had last September. Thanks for the help. :drinkup
Pulled, Ripped, Wrangled, Dug, Jostled, Removed my first few tree stumps this past week with my new (to me ) IHC 280A PayHoe. I'm in the process of building a 1400' drive through challenging terrain in rocky South Glastonbury, CT. The first was about a 16" red oak that was cut short to maximize the lumber content, fortunately it was in relatively soft soil near wetlands, and popped out after only about 10 minutes of digging. The second (and third) was another story! It was about a 24" red oak, with a 12" white oak about three feet away, again, cut short to maximize the lumber content (hardwood floors for the new home ) ... and this one was a bitch! Keep in mind this area of land has no more than about 6' of virgin soil, then solid ledge below, so I figured none of the 100 or so stumps that need to be pulled would be a problem What I didn't figure, or even think about was the weight of these stumps! Thise combo stump had to weigh near 1½ tons ... and after moving about 20 yards of soil and ripping roots, it was loose and ready to come out. Couldn't lift it though with the hoe, even in close. So I dragged it out and then filled the hole. havin' fun doing this **** ... really :drinkup :usa JV
Some very good points here. I didn't think about the twisting effect on the machine if you are using just a corner of the bucket. Here is my pine stump from last summer. Probably 80 feet tall before being cut down. This stump was a bit of work for my Case 135 as you can see there was more than just surface roots.
I'm surprised this thread hasn't been lost in cyberspace after 5 1/2 years .
I didn't notice the date before you mentioned it. Nice to see that the old threads live on.
I did .... just figured the info still applies, and didn't need to start a new thread I'll add some pics when I get back out there ... although the ground is freezing up quick around here, so it may be in the Spring.
ripper Has anyone tried one of those rippers in place of a bucket? Combined with a thumb they appear to be a very slick setup (I have watched the videos out there). Of course the bucket works, but I have about 10 acres to clear hence a load of stumps. Looks like around 4K if you combine with a rake.
What we did recently was had two guys clearing. One in the seat of a 240 size excavator with thumb, the other with a chainsaw. With the tree still standing, extract it with whatever work is required, pick it up with hte thumb and swing it to a clearing, cut the top and stump off. Pile the remaining logs in a good spot for sale as firewood, and then quickly clear the stump and top into another pile for burning. Then onto the next one. It slow going because one way or another somebody is sitting doing nothing, but time spent here makes really easy and quick work of the follow-on cleanup. Good luck
My method has been a version of that since I am working alone. Drop treees with saw and cut off the top. Leave the stump in the ground. Pile logs with machine near road, pile brush into pile to be burned. I can do these two steps now ( in the winter) easily when we are allowed to burn in Mass. I am fuguring I come back next summer, pull the stumps and bury them. Burning stumps where I am is hard because a lot of dirt comes up with them no matter what method you use. All that dirt was why I am interested in the stump ripper. Maybe that would disturb less soil and hence an easier stump to bury. I may try pushing some over as you suggest just to see how much dirt comes up.
It always amazes me how even ''professionals'' cut the stump so close to the ground--we get no respect--lol. Nothing like 5-6' of stump to get some leverage and shorten the take out time by app. half and to lessen the twisting forces on our rigs because nothing hurts pins and bushings more than some stubborn shorty hardwood stumps.So I don't get struck by missiles of all kinds,if there's some lenghth to her,I'll rock it back and forth some,then do the final ripping out by pushing away instead of pulling from underneath the root ball.
I push mine over with tree still on stump. dig a little to pop roots, extend dipper up tree and push. Comes right out. then cut stump off and top. move various parts to where i want them. I can pick up a 14" tree 40 feet long with my bucket and a chain, and carry it off. (6500 Ford TLB)
If you can, don't fall the tree. Dig under one side and push toward the hole. It's nice to be able to get all the mess in one place, and leverage is your friend!
push over the whole tree, stump and all. seems to be the easiest way to go. big excavator should do the trick. just keep digging around the root base until you loosen up the whole darn thing, then push it right over with the power of the track hoe.
Here in Oregon we have "real" trees, anything under "36" we consider a shrub. The toughest I've dug out was a 48 inch pine, in rocky soil. I used an excavator, Cat 320 I think. It took most of the day and I had a very large hole when I was done. In my younger days I used stumping powder. It works very well. We used about 1/2 to 1 stick per inch of stump. (40 inch= 20 or 40 sticks) That is the fastest way to get rid of stumps. And I mean totally get rid of them. Merry Christmas Everyone.
Yeah, real big trees in Oregon. Most of them are gone now, I guess. Rare to see those real big old ones.
Just between you and me Wolf---The biggest trees I've ever seen are in N.California--
hi mr kobelco i have sk200 excavator. my problem is the machine auto idle not working. and cluster gauge show engine oil pressure low, after tha it appears engine stop.when we shut off the engine and remove the key but clutser gauge does not going off until i disconnect battery, pls give me some help. thanks in advance,
pls give me some help on sk200 mark 8 excavator, it shows 4 erroe code. p0405 h093 b173 b103 can u give me some description about these code
Spruce removal Last spring I took out a few big spruce in my yard that were dry rotting and I did not want them on the house roof. I cut the roots on the house side with my old 9U Series D6 and them pulled them over with the old Ranger 666D log skidder. The pictures are pushing the stumps out after they were tipped over.