How to Remove a Tree Stump with a Wedge

G'day Everyone, here's some info/knowledge about wedges I received that I thought was worth sharing here: Hi Mark, love your Youtube episodes and I'd just like to pay a little bit back and give some advice from an old man. I just watched your video on stump removal. ..... no, I'm not the fun police and gonna bang on about PPE .... What I'd like to say is next time you make wedges make them along the grain not across the grain because they'll be stronger and won't (shouldn't) snap. Also, wedges are more efficient with an angle between 10 and 15 degrees. if the gap is too wide, two wedges opposing each other will work or use a block to fill the gap and a wedge.

Here I am eating leftover pizzas watching an Australian man remove a stump when I don’t even have a stump, or a wedge or motivation.

i use my sawzall with a really long wood blade to cut the roots with, this saves my chain saw chain

Some advice for anyone who tries this: when you cut your wedges you want to cut in the opposite direction as shown, ie: closer to the direction of the grain. In the video the wedges are cut perpendicular to the grain direction, which is why they were splitting in half as you can see at a few points in the video. To prevent splitting you can instead cut a short length of your hardwood scrap board to 8-12in (or whatever your desired wedge length is), rotate the board 90 degrees, and then cut your wedges. They will be much stronger and more resistant to splitting as the grain runs in the same direction as the force is being applied to the wedge. If using dimensional lumber it helps to use a wider board like 2x12 or 2x10 so you have more space to make wedges before you run out of room. Cutting small pieces of wood with a circular saw can lead to the saw blade binding in the cut so be sure to secure the length you are cutting with a clamp or risk losing fingers. Miter saw could work for this if the wedges you are cutting are short enough (6-8in depending on your miter saw's max travel)

One of the most important tips that many people forget is the shorter the stump the harder it is. If you are starting with a full tree, You have so much leverage you don't even need to do a single split, just cut, not even necessarily all the way through a root or two on the opposite side you want the tree/stump to fall. I have seen someone plan on going from full living tree to removed stump, and they started out by making a short stump. You go from something I could take down with an axe and a rope to something you will need a commercial bulldozer to remove An old rotten stump is not too bad, but if you are starting with a full tree, leave yourselve as much levelerable tree as fits in the area you are working in.

Watched my grandpa do this many times on his land to clear for planting and such. Brute strength is what this job takes! Great job, Mark! A great lesson for all! 🙌💚🌿

Ummm where was this when I was 14 and was removing tree’s for my Mom?😫 We had a stump almost your stumps size and my cousin tried to help me but gave up after an hour of hacking at it. I knew I had gotten all the side roots cut, but that tap root wasn’t budging. I finally got fed up, grabbed the stump around with both arms and just started throttling it to death, rocking back and forth,14 years of frustration.😂 All the sudden it snapped and I stood up, very satisfied with myself, to see my uncle looking at me with his eyes as big as saucers, he told everyone about it, very impressed with his niece.☺️

I’ve tried many methods and this is broadly how I do it combined with a chain saw or battery sabre saw with the right blade. Handy for cutting the support roots. Metal wedges can be found by shopping for ‘log splitter’ wedges which I use to split stubborn logs with the grain running in different directions. Great practical advice in this video. Thanks !

mark i could listen to you talk about anything. i dont even care. your voice is so positive and encouraging.

Omg, as soon as he said ,dig all the around the stump. I almost passed out.

"This took me over an hour". Looked like a day's work to me. Great job.

Thanks for the tip. Wedges was the furthest of idea for about 8 stumps I have to get rid of. I'm inspired.

If you have a long drill bit, you can drill two holes. One from the tip of the stump and one at the base of the stump that connects to the one that is drilled in from the top. Even if the wood is still green, you should be able to burn the stump away because it will create a rocket effect. The heat of the fire will suck air from the bottom hole, which will feed the fire and make it hotter which will suck more air. If the wood is green, you might have to make a really wide hole so you can fit other materials for burning.

Good tip regarding the wedges. I use a reciprocating saw with long wood blade to cut main roots systems as I’ve hit too many hidden rocks with the chainsaw. Same can be said even cutting down the centre of the tree as I’ve dug put many stumps which have grown around many large rocks. Took me 4 days to take out a huge double stump. Left with a massive hole which I turned into a fire pit 😁

I am really impressed. I have removed a number of stumps in my life using various methods, all plenty difficult. Your method appears to be the fastest, best and least amount of work way to do it that I have ever seen. This is a really well done video. Thanks a lot. Have a great day.

Can we acknowledge the fact this man is built like a refrigerator...I bet he played rugby in his younger days...strong

No lie, clicked subscribe after the first 10 seconds of hearing this guy for the first time. Loving the energy he’s bringing!

My fiancé who also watches your channel: “hey did you see the video mark made about stump removal? Maybe you can take care of those stumps around our property?” Me: sweating nervously

This was literally the clearest, easiest way i've seen all day, and i've been googling this subject for the last few days!

Helpful video, I've been at it 3 weeks removing 3 large stumps by burning & and chopping them away with an axe. I refused to pay $400 per stump for someone else to remove it. This video has been very helpful, will begin tomorrow using the Wedge, it's got to be easier and take less time !!!