There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)

Last time I needed to do this, with a small stump about 6" across, I
used a 25mm spade bit to honeycomb the stump, then pulverised the
remnants with an axe - it vanished quite quickly and easily. However,
this beast is about 18" diameter and 8-10" high, so might take some more
doing. I favour a similar approach, and am looking for a suitable
attachment for my SDS drill this time, basically to shift as much wood
as possible from the bulk before I attack it with an axe as before.

I'm thinking maybe
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25503&id=37471
or
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25583&id=37074

Any other suggestions?

Thanks
David

In article , "Lobster"
says...
There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)

Last time I needed to do this, with a small stump about 6" across, I
used a 25mm spade bit to honeycomb the stump, then pulverised the
remnants with an axe - it vanished quite quickly and easily. However,
this beast is about 18" diameter and 8-10" high, so might take some more
doing. I favour a similar approach, and am looking for a suitable
attachment for my SDS drill this time, basically to shift as much wood
as possible from the bulk before I attack it with an axe as before.

I'm thinking maybe
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25503&id=37471
or
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25583&id=37074

Any other suggestions?

Burn it?

Lobster wrote:
There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)

Last time I needed to do this, with a small stump about 6" across, I
used a 25mm spade bit to honeycomb the stump, then pulverised the
remnants with an axe - it vanished quite quickly and easily. However,
this beast is about 18" diameter and 8-10" high, so might take some more
doing. I favour a similar approach, and am looking for a suitable
attachment for my SDS drill this time, basically to shift as much wood
as possible from the bulk before I attack it with an axe as before.

Obtain a spade, pick-axe and a reciprocating saw.
Using the first two, expose the roots, to cut with the third.
Depending on the sort of soil, a hosepipe used as water-jet may be of use.

This isn't that hard, once you get into it, and is good all-over excersize.

Ian Stirling wrote:
Lobster wrote:

Obtain a spade, pick-axe and a reciprocating saw.
Using the first two, expose the roots, to cut with the third.
Depending on the sort of soil, a hosepipe used as water-jet may be of use.

This isn't that hard, once you get into it, and is good all-over excersize.

Liar! (although I'm sure it's good exercise). No thanks - have also
used the spade/pick-axe/saw method on a much smaller stump than this,
and it was heavy going (the similarly sized stump I levelled off with a
spade bit was way easier). Also, there's no *need* to dig this baby
out; flush with the ground will do me fine.

David

Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "Lobster"
says...

Any other suggestions?

Burn it?

Interesting one - reckon that be done without building a bonfire over
it? It's only a couple of feet away from a bush, and slightly further
from two wooden panel fences.

David

In message , Rob Morley
writes
In article , "Lobster"
says...
There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)

Last time I needed to do this, with a small stump about 6" across, I
used a 25mm spade bit to honeycomb the stump, then pulverised the
remnants with an axe - it vanished quite quickly and easily. However,
this beast is about 18" diameter and 8-10" high, so might take some more
doing. I favour a similar approach, and am looking for a suitable
attachment for my SDS drill this time, basically to shift as much wood
as possible from the bulk before I attack it with an axe as before.

I'm thinking maybe
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25503&id=37471
or
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25583&id=37074

Any other suggestions?

Burn it?

Nah - dynamite, give the neighbours a scare


--
geoff

On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 20:32:09 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "Lobster"
says...

Any other suggestions?

Burn it?

Interesting one - reckon that be done without building a bonfire over
it? It's only a couple of feet away from a bush, and slightly further
from two wooden panel fences.

David

You would need to build a decent fire over the stump.

Rick

On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 20:29:34 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Ian Stirling wrote:
Lobster wrote:

Obtain a spade, pick-axe and a reciprocating saw.
Using the first two, expose the roots, to cut with the third.
Depending on the sort of soil, a hosepipe used as water-jet may be of use.

This isn't that hard, once you get into it, and is good all-over excersize.

Liar! (although I'm sure it's good exercise). No thanks - have also
used the spade/pick-axe/saw method on a much smaller stump than this,
and it was heavy going (the similarly sized stump I levelled off with a
spade bit was way easier). Also, there's no *need* to dig this baby
out; flush with the ground will do me fine.

David

This is my way of doing them, however late time I tired it, I did use
the 4x4 to give the thing a good yank - which is why we have 4 bits of
missing tamac in the road outside the house .......

a can saw will probably do waht you want, clear away all the stuff
round the stump, to maybe an inch or so below where you want to cut,
then cut. Take care to remove all somes and stuff.

Rick

Huge wrote:

Any other suggestions?


Hire a stump grinder. They're even more fun than a mini-digger.

Yeah, but 140 GBP/day from HSS, which is exactly why I had a cheap'n
cheerful alternative in mind!

David

On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 18:25:07 GMT, Lobster
babbled like a waterfall and said:

There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)

Hire or borrow a chain saw and carve it away. Doesn't take that long
to do when the weather is nice. Surprising how much can be removed
with patience.

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Huge wrote:

Any other suggestions?


Hire a stump grinder. They're even more fun than a mini-digger.

Yeah, but 140 GBP/day from HSS, which is exactly why I had a cheap'n
cheerful alternative in mind!

David


140 pounds!! 50 pounds for a weekend round here.

Obtain a spade, pick-axe and a reciprocating saw.
Using the first two, expose the roots, to cut with the third.

I've found a Jackall jack can greatly speed up this sort of endeavour,
depends though on the size of the stump and what species of course.

Henry

"Lobster" wrote in message
Yeah, but 140 GBP/day from HSS, which is exactly why I had a cheap'n
cheerful alternative in mind!

The lesson here is don't go to HSS - most expensive hire company in the UK -
find an independent.

Dave

In article , "Lobster"
says...
Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "Lobster"
says...

Any other suggestions?

Burn it?

Interesting one - reckon that be done without building a bonfire over
it? It's only a couple of feet away from a bush, and slightly further
from two wooden panel fences.

Probably not then.

In article , "raden"
says...
In message , Rob Morley
writes
In article , "Lobster"
says...
There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)

Last time I needed to do this, with a small stump about 6" across, I
used a 25mm spade bit to honeycomb the stump, then pulverised the
remnants with an axe - it vanished quite quickly and easily. However,
this beast is about 18" diameter and 8-10" high, so might take some more
doing. I favour a similar approach, and am looking for a suitable
attachment for my SDS drill this time, basically to shift as much wood
as possible from the bulk before I attack it with an axe as before.

I'm thinking maybe
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25503&id=37471
or
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25583&id=37074

Any other suggestions?

Burn it?

Nah - dynamite, give the neighbours a scare

That was my other thought - an explosion is really just very rapid
combustion. I suppose if he placed a heavy steel pipe around it then
most of the energy could be directed skywards, but where would the
bits land?

EricP wrote:

Hire or borrow a chain saw and carve it away. Doesn't take that long
to do when the weather is nice. Surprising how much can be removed
with patience.

Or even one of those "angle grinder crossed with a chainsaw" carving
thingies from Axminster.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Just use a pick and a bit of muscle. Picks are ideal for digging out
tree stumps.

Bruce

In article , Ian
Stirling writes
Lobster wrote:
There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)

Last time I needed to do this, with a small stump about 6" across, I
used a 25mm spade bit to honeycomb the stump, then pulverised the
remnants with an axe - it vanished quite quickly and easily. However,
this beast is about 18" diameter and 8-10" high, so might take some more
doing. I favour a similar approach, and am looking for a suitable
attachment for my SDS drill this time, basically to shift as much wood
as possible from the bulk before I attack it with an axe as before.

Obtain a spade, pick-axe and a reciprocating saw.
Using the first two, expose the roots, to cut with the third.
Depending on the sort of soil, a hosepipe used as water-jet may be of use.

This isn't that hard, once you get into it, and is good all-over excersize.

Or for a real bodge us an angle grinder but that can generate some real
smoke, but it works)
--
Tony Sayer

Don't even think about using a chainsaw on a stump !
It's plunge cutting (bad) in a stump that's likely full of rocks
(worse)

I'd hire the stump grinder.

Or if it was in the garden and I wasn't in a rush, drill and burn it on
the next barbecue as a logger's candle. X-shaped cut down the middle,
or else a few big holes broken through into each other, then stuff a
paraffin rag into the gap and and light it. The two vertical timber
faces facing each other burn pretty well, once you've got them going.
Pre-soaking a couple of weeks before with a nitrate solution helps too.

Lobster wrote:
There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)


If you have contacts with someone with access to concentrated sulphuric
acid, drill the stump full of half inch holes about an inch apart and
two inches deep. Pour in the acid, taking all the normal precautions and
wait about six weeks. The stump will then be reduced to a pulpy, fibrous
material which can be burnt or dug in to the garden. This method also
kills the roots so that irritating suckers do
not keep popping up.

John Schmitt

In article . com,
writes
Don't even think about using a chainsaw on a stump !
It's plunge cutting (bad) in a stump that's likely full of rocks
(worse)

I'd hire the stump grinder.

Or if it was in the garden and I wasn't in a rush, drill and burn it on
the next barbecue as a logger's candle. X-shaped cut down the middle,
or else a few big holes broken through into each other, then stuff a
paraffin rag into the gap and and light it. The two vertical timber
faces facing each other burn pretty well, once you've got them going.
Pre-soaking a couple of weeks before with a nitrate solution helps too.


Not DIY, but I rang round a few people in the yellow pages when I wanted
a stump ground out in our garden, and the going rate was about 50 quid
to come and do it (this is in East Yorkshire). At that price it wasn't
worth hiring the kit to do it myself.

I watched our next door neighbour trying (for several weeks) to remove a
small tree stump using just about everything from fire to chainsaws and
decided it was 50 quid well spent.
--
Tim Mitchell

On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 20:32:09 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "Lobster"
says...

Any other suggestions?

Burn it?

Interesting one - reckon that be done without building a bonfire over
it? It's only a couple of feet away from a bush, and slightly further
from two wooden panel fences.

David

OK - you could try this. Drill a 10mm hole around 6 inches deep and
pour in some granular sodium chlorate weedkiller through a funnel.
Ignite with a blowtorch while wearing safety goggles - (it spits a
little).

After the combustion has completed, inspect and decide if drilling
several holes and filling with weedkiller will benefit.

The only danger with this is getting any on the aforementioned bush -
it's quite a good weedkiller, though one or two crystals won't kill a
large bush.

Mr F.

John Rumm wrote:
EricP wrote:

Hire or borrow a chain saw and carve it away. Doesn't take that long
to do when the weather is nice. Surprising how much can be removed
with patience.

Or even one of those "angle grinder crossed with a chainsaw" carving
thingies from Axminster.

All the fun of a chainsaw, and even more insanely dangerous, when
dealing with stuff likely to have rocks in.

On Tue, 09 Aug 2005 03:55:50 +0100, John Rumm
wrote:

Or even one of those "angle grinder crossed with a chainsaw" carving
thingies from Axminster.

I don't think Axminster sell these, although Machine Mart do. Lancelot
or "KATS"

The ones Axminster do are the Arbortech disks - a solid steel disk with
cutting edges either formed onto it, or with carbide inserts bolted on.
These are pretty fearsome tools (both for cutting and for throwing
chips) but they have nothing like the kickback problems of the chainsaw
chain disks. I wouldn't allow one of the chain disks in the workshop -
just far too dangerous, given the easy alternative.

Andy Dingley wrote:

On Tue, 09 Aug 2005 03:55:50 +0100, John Rumm
wrote:


Or even one of those "angle grinder crossed with a chainsaw" carving
thingies from Axminster.

The ones Axminster do are the Arbortech disks - a solid steel disk with
cutting edges either formed onto it, or with carbide inserts bolted on.

Yup, that was the beastie I had in mind.

Not ever really been into carving I have not found the need to acquire
one, but often wondered what they were like.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Schmitt wrote:


Lobster wrote:

There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)
Drill a number of holes, fill these with a saltpetre solution. Keep
topping up every few days.
Come November 5th, set fire to it.


--
All replies to this email address are deleted on receipt.

Common sense, not common market.

Lobster wrote:

There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed. I'm not fussed about what happens below ground, it just
needs to be pretty well flush with the surface; so it's not worth the
expense of having it removed properly by pros, or hiring an mini digger
or something (although it would be a nice excuse; I've always wanted a
go with one...!)

Last time I needed to do this, with a small stump about 6" across, I
used a 25mm spade bit to honeycomb the stump, then pulverised the
remnants with an axe - it vanished quite quickly and easily. However,
this beast is about 18" diameter and 8-10" high, so might take some more
doing. I favour a similar approach, and am looking for a suitable
attachment for my SDS drill this time, basically to shift as much wood
as possible from the bulk before I attack it with an axe as before.

I'm thinking maybe
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25503&id=37471
or
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=25583&id=37074

Any other suggestions?

Yes.

Build a bonfire on it.

Friend of mine swears by drilling holse and pouring in saltpeter and
igniting it.

I'd use a mixture of methods - axing off as much as possible, or using a
bowsaw to get close to ground level. dig down a bit and if it really is
old, burn a fair bit of what is left.


Thanks
David

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Lobster wrote:

There is an old tree stump in the garden which SWMBO has decreed shall
be removed.

Build a bonfire on it.

Ah, we've already discounted that one earlier in the thread due to
proximity of fences etc!

Friend of mine swears by drilling holse and pouring in saltpeter and
igniting it.

Somebody else mentioned that one, and I'm tempted to give that a go.
Sounds like fun apart from anything else!

Now... in this post 9/11 age that we live in, where the hell would I go
to buy saltpetre?!? What's it's legitimate use, other than zapping
treestumps?

David

Lobster wrote:

Now... in this post 9/11 age that we live in, where the hell would I go
to buy saltpetre?!? What's it's legitimate use, other than zapping
treestumps?

Oops, following up my own post... googling for 'saltpetre' took me
straight www.sausagemaking.org! ROFL - wouldn't have guessed that!

Lobster wrote:

Oops, following up my own post... googling for 'saltpetre' took me
straight www.sausagemaking.org! ROFL - wouldn't have guessed that!

Look on the back of any packet of bacon for "Potassium Nitrate"... same
thing.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Lobster wrote:

Now... in this post 9/11 age that we live in, where the hell would I go
to buy saltpetre?!? What's it's legitimate use, other than zapping
treestumps?


I believe it is used in some sorts of vegetable pickling. As chlorates
are still used as weed killers and Nitrates as fertilisers, sulphur for
a variety of things and charcoal (which can be ground finely in a food
processor) for barbecue use is also available, creating an explosive is
not a great challenge for a murderous zealot. Gunpowder, however is a
deflagrant as opposed to a high explosive, so needs some sort of
containment. The speed of sound in HE is less than the propagation speed
so containment is redundant. With deflagrants, the opposite is the case.
It is of course, far more efficient to break into a quarry and steal
some rolls of HE and a box of detonators. Do not try this at home, or
you might just find yourself in the surrounding counties.

John Schmitt