Finally got rid of the STUMP!!

[Don2222]

Hello

Well as I redesigned the landscape of our front yard, we planted trees around the Magnolia tree and now it was time to take it down. It was small when we first moved in 20 years ago and now it is 30 feet high and 30 feet wide. So I picked up the most inexpensive electric chain saw at Sears and started hacking away! The first pic shows I am down to the last cut! I took it off as close to the ground as possible, at that point the trunk is 16 inches around and the blade is 16 inches in length! It is a one time shot so for $79 dollars for the chain saw it was cheaper to DIY !!

Then I tried removing the stump!! Drilled many holes with my electric drill and put that Home Depot stump killer in there! Stump Killer they should call it stump sauce that does not do much! 15 years or more to kill the stump? That sauce is not a killer!!
(broken link removed to http://www.homedepot.com/buy/outdoors-garden-center-lawn-plant-care-lawn-weed-control-grass-weed-killer/spectracide-1-lb-concentrate-stump-remover-129955.html)

Then I tried Burning the stump, made a nice fire all night but only the top edges of the stump was black! The hardwood stump was still real tough!!

So I called the rental place and they wanted $100 for a DIY stump grinder. I hear they are not easy?

So then I caught a Stump Grinder with a big diesel machine going by on his way to a job. So he stopped and for $25 chewed up 6 wheel barrels of chips bringing the stump way below ground level!!

Then I just raked up, add top soil, grass seed and starter fertilizer!!

Finally, I think I got a good deal after 3 years of trying to beat it down!

See pics below

 

[maverick06]

great deal! Good for you!

I had a few stumps ground down. Now, 3 years later the areas are starting to settle down. Its a bit annoying, but glad they are gone!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Those stump grinders really do a great job. Glad you got rid of it.

 

[Flatbedford]

I rented a smaller walkbehind stump grinder about 8 years ago. I split the cost with my older neighbor and did three stumps at my house and one at his. Even with the machine, it was a day of hard work. $25 was a super bargain!

 

[joefrompa]

I was at a redneck hillbilly party on saturday night. A neighbor in a kubota brought over 3 pieces of stump that had been basically in the ground, which he had tried to burn but they just blackened (even though they were solid wood). We put them in a bonfire so hot you couldn't get within 15 feet of it and it caught on fire, but man....it barely broke down even after hours. This was the type of bonfire where we went through 100-200 pounds of wood every 30 minutes. 2" thick branches were coals within 5-10 minutes. Good stuff.

 

[Don2222]

I was at a redneck hillbilly party on saturday night. A neighbor in a kubota brought over 3 pieces of stump that had been basically in the ground, which he had tried to burn but they just blackened (even though they were solid wood). We put them in a bonfire so hot you couldn't get within 15 feet of it and it caught on fire, but man....it barely broke down even after hours. This was the type of bonfire where we went through 100-200 pounds of wood every 30 minutes. 2" thick branches were coals within 5-10 minutes. Good stuff.

Wow that is very interesting!! Thanks for the information!!

I wish you had pics of it LOL

 

[joefrompa]

I do actually - I'll load them up. The camera couldn't get into the fire to show the stump (like the human eye could), but it shows the bonfire and several pieces of the stump waiting outside of it

 

[Don2222]

I do actually - I'll load them up. The camera couldn't get into the fire to show the stump (like the human eye could), but it shows the bonfire and several pieces of the stump waiting outside of it

Cool, We would like to see your pics.