Tool for removing a tree stump?

[Lobster]

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

or

Any other suggestions?

Thanks David

[Huge]

[14 lines snipped]

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

[Rob Morley]

Burn it?

[Ian Stirling]

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.

[Lobster]

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

[Lobster]

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

[AJH]

As these tools cost about half the fee my employer would charge for grinding it out and they'll likely be ruined in the process I don't rate them.

AJH

[Rick]

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

Rick

[Rick]

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

[Lobster]

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

David

[EricP]

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.

[Hzatph]

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

[Henry]

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

[David Lang]

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

Dave

[Rob Morley]

Probably not then.

[John Rumm]

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

[bruce_phipps]

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

Bruce

[tony sayer]

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

[dingbat]

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.

[John Schmitt]

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