Stubborn tree stump exacts revenge on would-be uprooter

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/04/14/stubborn-tree-stump-exacts-rev.html

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I’ve seen enough videos of people trying to pull X out of Y with their trucks that I pretty much knew exactly what was going to happen.

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I need to see a few more I guess. I thought more of the tree was gonna smash, not just that top part.

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#literallyNSFW

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Stump: Make Desert Great Again :cactus:

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I have two questions.

  1. How in the hell did this person not realize that you need to pull from the base, not the top?
  2. Why does this stump need to come out!!! Seriously…its literally in the middle of nothing. Are they putting in drainage or something? I really need to know why THAT stump had to go!!!
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Same questions. And couldn’t they put a shovel to the dirt, even a little bit to help the thing out of the ground? C’mon fellas, you had one job.

Also: my experiences have shown that it’s always better to be the person watching the stump-pulling from a distance, while someone else uses someone else’s car to do the pulling.

Also: when under-pressure stuff breaks, some of that stuff moves at high velocity in unexpected directions. Wear protective glasses, take cover from dildos like this crew.

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If you want to get a tree stump out, you need:

  1. A mattock
  2. A shovel
  3. A hose

Use the mattock to clip visible roots, shovel to loosen soil, then run a hose to both loosen soil and get the loose soil to flow out of the way. Trench with the shovel to get the muddy water to flow away from the stump. Repeat until you’re at the base, then cut the tap root with the mattock.

Or you can rent a stump grinder.

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I have to be honest, I do not think there is a Home Depot within driving distance of these guys. Just totally going out on a limb there.

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Definitely seems like they could have dug around the stump a bit, or go the farmer method and blown it up. Pretty much expected that thing to fling out to the car, still rather satisfying though.

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Someone needs to get to the root of the problem here…

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feels like we are leaving a lot if unanswered questions here…

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I’m a big fan of cut the stump down to the ground level.

Use the chainsaw and slice a nice cross hatch across the top. Maybe get your drill with an auger bit and put some deeper holes in it

Add some of stump-b-gon powder and water it in.

Wait a year.

Dig it up to with a shovel.

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I use an old sawzall with a rescue blade, a come-along and a chain. If there’s no massive tree nearby to hook the chain to, I use my antique electric tractor, because lead-acid batteries are insanely heavy.

You’re right about the water - I pull after ground-soaking rains - but I don’t think these guys have outdoor hoses. Judging by their garb and surroundings.

Anyway, I was rooting for the stump all along.

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Gotta stop branching out and focus

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Just put an ISIS flag on it.

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Given the apparent location and for greatest economy, just write “ISIS Base” on a convenient location in Arabic, then retire to a safe distance - over 300M.

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We had a huge stump in the backyard. I went out, drilled holes, did all the stuff, nothing happened. Eventually we discussed pulling it, I priced out all the stuff we’d need to get, how to attach things safely, whole nine yards.

The wife then asked how much would that be to spend half a day on this vs. hiring someone, and how much was my time worth. I named a number. She made a call. Their number was lower than mine.

Since we didn’t have a second stump it was money well spent once.

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I thought it was going to swing over and hit the front windshield.

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