Recommend tools to remove a few small trees

[qqzj]

These are a few small but old trees. My plan is to use a mattock/shovel to reveal the roots and then use a sawzall type of tools to cut off the roots. Does it sound about right? If anyone can point me towards a good YouTube video, that is very helpful.

For mattock, I am not sure whether I can get by with a small one? I don't want to swing a 5 lbs one if I don't have to. A 2.5 lbs one will be a lot easier. Home Depot is selling them for $23, wood or fiberglass handle. Which one I should choose?

For power tools, I got the Dewalt family. Which one is good? Dewalt had too many choices, compact, atomic etc. Should I pick the smallest brushless one? Thanks!

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[TC16731]

Search Hi lift jack removing tree. The jack (89-125 $) a good chain and a few 2 x 6s . I've had lots of success with this method with small trees, shrubs and fence posts. Best results are had if done after a soaking rain or hosing down the area.

 

[RKA]

Soft soil get the 2.5 lb. Hard clay, you may find the 5 lb can work faster.

Get the compact with a pruning blade, preferably not the 12” (will accordion too easily when it jabs into dirt). The compact has double the stroke compared to the atomic. And it’s great for one handed use while you’re holding the root with the other hand.

 

[landrover bodger]

a chain and a truck

 

[MushCreek]

A loader/backhoe, a Stihl chainsaw, a wood chipper, and a new 1 ton pick-up to haul it all. This is GJ, after all.

Seriously, I use a SawZall and pruning blade(s)for stuff like that. If it's clay soil, make sure it's moist before digging.

 

[SeisMec]

"Small but old." Does that mean new trunks growing from old, very well established roots? Are you trying to prevent regrowth?

And just how small is small? Maybe provide diameter at 3" above soil and 4' above soil.

Also what kind of trees?

 

[joey1320]

Farmer's Jack, chain, some 2x4 for legs when creating the tripod and a reciprocating saw to cut off any roots that are giving you problems. You may need a few pieces of wood to use under the tripod legs to spread the load.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PC2gPvvoBnY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[qqzj]

Magnolia, about 8 feet.

"Small but old." Does that mean new trunks growing from old, very well established roots? Are you trying to prevent regrowth?

And just how small is small? Maybe provide diameter at 3" above soil and 4' above soil.

Also what kind of trees?

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[mikeinri]

A loader/backhoe, a Stihl chainsaw, a wood chipper, and a new 1 ton pick-up to haul it all. This is GJ, after all.

You forgot the dump trailer!


Kidding aside, the OP didn't mention the size of the trees ("small" is too vague, and he did say "tree" not "bush"). Are we talking sapling (1 inch trunk diameter), fruit trees (5 inch diameter), oaks (10 inch diameter), or what?

Depending on the species, I've struggled with 1-inch ones. The roots can really be a pain to deal with.

Also depends how many, and how much time you want to spend. While a backhoe might seem like overkill, if you rent one for a day, you'll be done pretty fast, with minimal effort. Also a LOT of fun to operate.

Mike

 

[bob15]

I use a tractor and bucket. But this is an easy way to do it and only requires a chain or heavy rope and a tire & rim:

 

[ccogg]

A Pulaski is what you need. I wouldn’t bother with the saws-all (although there are lots of other good uses for it). A reasonably sharp ax will chop through roots faster than you can get them clear enough for the saw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulaski_(tool)




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[BD1]

I use a tractor and bucket. But this is an easy way to do it and only requires a chain or heavy rope and a tire & rim:

That's slick. I always add a bare tire in between for pulling. Run chain or sling through bare tire and then to stump. Then use another chain or sling through tire to truck or tractor. The stretching of tire helps in extraction.


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[qqzj]

Thanks!

A Pulaski is what you need. I wouldn’t bother with the saws-all (although there are lots of other good uses for it). A reasonably sharp ax will chop through roots faster than you can get them clear enough for the saw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulaski_(tool)




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[cowboy73]

You could also use a pressure washer to blast away the dirt to expose the roots. It would make pulling them out or cutting the roots easier.

 

[mikeinri]

A Pulaski is what you need. I wouldn’t bother with the saws-all (although there are lots of other good uses for it). A reasonably sharp ax will chop through roots faster than you can get them clear enough for the saw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulaski_(tool)

That looks better than what I own, which is a cutter matlock. Not beefy enough to really cut through much of anything.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattock

Mike

 

[RTM]

I use a tractor and bucket. But this is an easy way to do it and only requires a chain or heavy rope and a tire & rim:

This is the method a buddy taught me. He loaned me a rim from a semi, sits wide, never tipped over, the chain stayed in the center of the rim quite easily. Mine was easy, was a herd of bushes out front, so I was able to mostly sit on asphalt. I found it easier to pull the whole bush, branches and all, as the attachment didn’t try to climb the stump. I had failed earlier on smaller bushes trying to pull laterally. I had the street mostly free, so pulled them all, then cut them up later.

If you have to dig, a small Pulaski or similar tool is nice once you get down a foot. Swinging a full size while standing is hard to control, kneeling with a smaller one means you can get better control.

I would use a demo blade with the sawzall, gingerly. The pruning blades I’ve seen won’t last long wupith the dirt and **** you’ll hit. I have a dedicated cheap hatchet for root work.

Here is a quick video of just the pull. I may have used a rigging loop around the stump. I was facing the neighbor’s car about 15’ away, so I was in 4Lo, and first gear, so it wouldn’t run away if it broke away quickly. Don’t laugh at my wimpy little truck.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/House-Stuff/Bush-Removal/i-PdHF4Ht

 

[MarvinBerry]

Farmer's Jack, chain, some 2x4 for legs when creating the tripod and a reciprocating saw to cut off any roots that are giving you problems. You may need a few pieces of wood to use under the tripod legs to spread the load.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PC2gPvvoBnY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That's pretty slick!

 

[MushCreek]

It can be surprising how firmly anchored some trees can be. I was pulling small trees with my 4000 lb. Ford tractor. Most trees up to 4" or so came right out, except sweet gums. Even a little 2" sweet gum is a no-go. Just one of the many endearing qualities of those cursed things.

 

[Showkey]

As mentioned small is too vague..........but even 6” trunk can be cut flush with any old saw and ground deep* in 10-30 minutes with rented stump grinder.





* call utility markers first no matter the tools used. 811 DIG

 

[Fatboy148]

Here is a quick video of just the pull. I may have used a rigging loop around the stump. I was facing the neighbor’s car about 15’ away, so I was in 4Lo, and first gear, so it wouldn’t run away if it broke away quickly. Don’t laugh at my wimpy little truck.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/House-Stuff/Bush-Removal/i-PdHF4Ht

Your "Wimpy little truck" did an admirable job. Too bad there wasn't some one that could have used the bushes. They came out with a nice root ball that would have made a successful transplanting quite easy.

 

[M635_Guy]

Farmer's Jack, chain, some 2x4 for legs when creating the tripod and a reciprocating saw to cut off any roots that are giving you problems. You may need a few pieces of wood to use under the tripod legs to spread the load.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PC2gPvvoBnY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That's actually pretty impressive. Wish I'd seen that 18 mos. ago when I had some holly "bushes" removed and paid extra for stump-grinding. The stumps are well and truly gone, but there's a ton of roots that have made for some pretty-miserable hacking since then. Would have totally tried the farmer's jack... (though these 15'+ tall "bushes" were pretty established - all 18+ years old...)

 

[pkpk]

Farmer's Jack, chain, some 2x4 for legs when creating the tripod and a reciprocating saw to cut off any roots that are giving you problems. You may need a few pieces of wood to use under the tripod legs to spread the load.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PC2gPvvoBnY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Thanks for sharing! I've got a couple small-ish stumps to remove and would usually just toil away with an ax and sawzall but this looks like a better idea.

 

[didit]

Take a look at one of these or build one similar. The object is to apply as much leverage as possible in a straight-up direction. I have also seen a few made with a very large, wooden wire/cable spool and a length of 4x4.

 

[BombShelter]

This old house has a YouTube Video showing them expose the roots, cutting them and pulling the stump with a fairly large tree.

I consider small to be 1/4"-3", I've pulled hundreds of Buckthorn Trees by using my trusty Makita R-Saw and a 9" Diablo Pruning Blade (pruning blades are the best, I've used them all in a pinch). I circle around the tree with the blade in the ground and use the trunk to get leverage to break the little roots by pushing it down. Sometimes I'll have to find more roots to cut but it's been highly effective and quick.

I've also got a Buckthorn Puller, it grabs the trunk at the ground, clamps it, then you leverage it out, it works good up to about 1.5" but I think the recipricating saw is faster.

 

[HaiKarate]

Take a look at one of these or build one similar. The object is to apply as much leverage as possible in a straight-up direction. I have also seen a few made with a very large, wooden wire/cable spool and a length of 4x4.

We use those extensively in this region - I think they are colloquially (if not officially) known as 'scotch broom pullers' around here. I've used them and they do work great for scotch broom.

 

[RTM]

Your "Wimpy little truck" did an admirable job. Too bad there wasn't some one that could have used the bushes. They came out with a nice root ball that would have made a successful transplanting quite easy.

Unfortunately, the trees were dying, something was attacking them, think a ground mold, layer of white in some of the root balls. Three died quickly, so I pulled the rest shortly thereafter.

That HiLift Jack method looks pretty good, may have to keep that in mind for when I can’t get the truck close.

 

[mikeinri]

RTM: Nice job getting those out!

15 feet would have been WAY too close for comfort for me, I can almost guarantee something would have gone wrong and I would have crashed, LOL! You couldn't get your neighbor to move the car for a little while?

Mike

 

[RTM]

Nah, he was in China at the time. It would have only been a glancing blow had things gone poorly, so I wasn’t terribly concerned. Not like a t bone, or head on. I only move about 3’ or 4’ total.

 

[mikeinri]

Gotcha!

Mike