Crafty wrote:


Hello. I have been having trouble with removing a stump. I cannot
afford to rent a dozer, grinder, or hire someone to do it for me. I
have several LARGE stumps to remove. Digging is also impossible
because there are many other tree roots nearby, and the ground is
mostly rock and clay.

I cut down the trees a few years ago. I don't know what kind they
are, but they are the toughest damned trees I've ever seen in my
life! My chainsaw broke cutting them down, and an axe barely
penetrates the surface! They look like Poplar, but they are simply
too large to be poplar trees.

I am on my last leg, and this is my idea:

1) Drill a 1.5'' diameter hole in the stump, about 3-4 inches deep
2) Fill it with gunpowder


3) Cork it tight

Yeah,like that will work.Might shoot the cork a good distance.


4) Install a long fuse
5) Light it and run

This will most certainly work. The only problem is that there are a
LOT of nearby trees that I want to keep, and I don't want to catch
anything on fire. Has anyone tried anything similar to this?

Also, I cannot use chemicals. The trees are right above my well sump.
Burning is also out of the question.

Please do not try this yourself. I don't anyone to get hurt from my
idea. I'm looking for people who've tried it or something similar.

Open to other suggestions. Advice is appreciated. Thanks a lot!


When using explosives,one must consider where the debris will fly.
(possible damage to property,especially other's)
Blasting inside city limits also is a no-no.

From your comments/plans,it appears you lack knowledge of safely doing
any explosives work. I'd suggest a pro.


I load shotgun shells often, so I am familiar with gunpowder. I wasn't
aware that it was so unstable, and I've never had it detonate prematurely.
A little wood glue should hold the cork in place well enough. I already
have gunpowder, so the cost would be minimal.

Gunpowder isn't unstable, as you well know. Some people are
just scared of anything they don't know. OTOH, you
apparently haven't been around people who do know how to
blow stuff up without making a complete botch of it. You
have to shape the charge or at least direct it.

But to the larger topic. Your description of how hard this
wood is, sounds like a troll. Or, you have really crappy
tools. A simple brace and bit would have bored those holes
just fine, let alone using any power equipment. You have
had these stumps for years. If you had drilled a few holes
and put potassium nitrate in the holes, most of your problem
would be solved, and the potassium nitrate if put into the
wood holes would not affect your well. You best solution is
still to bore deep holes, add potassium nitrate, wait a
year, and then burn the stumps. First, don't buy some fancy
stump dissolver since it is just plaint potassium nitrate.
If you can't find it, just use ammonium nitrate (common
fertilizer), pack the holes, add water, and seal the hole if
you want. To burn these stumps, a contained fire would work
a lot better, although a hot maintained fire will also
work. You will need a bunch of fuel, so you need to build a
bonfire around the stump.

Of course, a much simpler solution is what everyone clearing
land does, buldoze the stumps into a pile and burn them.