Big Ash Stumps

[farmerfred]

I have a relative who approached me to bury some old building foundations and take out some trees. Over the winter, he let someone cut the trees down, leaving big ash stumps that are at least 3 feet across and from live trees. The stumps are only about 6 inches tall and they border a lane he wants to keep. How, pray tell, would you get them out of the ground? I have tangled with big ash trees when I could build a 6' or 8' ramp with my D7E and it still wasn't any fun! I have no idea how I would get these out of the ground. Any suggestions?

[Paul L.]

My experience with those kind of stumps is to cut the roots all the way around it, sometimes you have to go fairly deep. just my two cents, Paul

[Jack]

I use a splitter on back of my D7 3T, hung under the towing winch. Pick a spot between lateral roots and ram it through about 2nd gear, wide open. You need to build up some momentum to push it through. After splitting the stump in about four pieces, you catch the pieces with a corner bit and roll them outward. Before I got the splitter, before the country got paranoid, I could get dynamite and I used a pile of it.

Without those two options, I don't know. Good luck.

[zootownjeepguy]

You could take the easy way out and get a Stump Grinder. Grind them down as deep as you can and bury them.

[KCB]

Farmerfred: See photo of splitter that mounts on bulldozer blade.

[Toolbox]

I had an old sawyer tell me that if you can still get a hold of blasting caps, 100 lbs of ammonium nitrate and a quart of diesel, and he would blow entire trees right out of the ground. He would usually push over the whole tree with a D7 and pushbar mounted high on the blade. He would only blow the really big ones. He said he would blow three holes around the tree with the caps. He would then mix the ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel together. He warned to be carefull with it because it gets pretty hot with too much fuel. NO SPARKS. He would set three charges with one a little stronger than the rest that way it lift the tree right out of the ground and then lay it over. I have never been brave enough to mix the fertilizer and diesel fuel together because it gets very unstable. I think I would get a stump grinder.

[tanker]

[QUOTE=farmerfred; Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

I always bought premix nitrate & diesel fuel-stuff in fert plants is damped w/ lime so it is harder to set off & doesn't seem to work as good- takes 1/2 stick of 60% dynamite to set off- don't clear land any more but last time I bought stuff you had to buy a 300 ft roll of fuse & dynamite by case which got to over $100/ case[they push electric caps as safer - but someone hast to pull shunt off cap @ which time it is open to static elc][they cost a lot more to] since you are in IA you should be able to purchase w/ sheriff's permit..I always carried a bag on seat/ my D9 in a bag-- just dig down beside the stump opp to way you want it to go add power & cover w/ dirt- 50 lb should do stumps you describe- did some huge cottonwood in same situation - dug under w/ hoe as was in very wet ground-[ if wet conditions wrap in plastic as water kills it] we were back bout 1/4 mile & were looking almost straight up @ the stump- guess 150 lbs was a little much Another option-I would part w/ my air drill w/ bit for drilling into stump to split w/ dynamite-guess I won't be using anymore- takes a fair sized compressor to run however..

[Catmatt]

Tool Box- You can mix all the Fuel oil and AN you want and do whatever you want to it and it will not be unstable- Someone is telling you wise tales!!! ANFO is only a blasting agent and never cap sensitive.

Tanker- Must of been a long time since you bought powder. Nearly everything now is either non-electric or electronic. Everyone needs Federal ATF Permits now- we now live in a post 911 world.

[ROME/KG]

Heres your solution!

[D6c10K]

Found this article on land clearing in Vietnam...lots of pics of equipment and techniques along with some blasting methods. Has several more pics of the Rome clearing blade. Don't suppose it's that helpful for you problem, but I found it interesting.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/19272313/1...-Clearing-105p