Has anyone used a wire 'saw'?

Box Brownie

Box Brownie

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Hi all

We cut down an old Buddleia a while back and really need to remove the 'stump'. However, it is close in to a wall so the logical tool is a wire saw but I have read all sorts of varied reviews about them breaking or not as the case maybe???

The costs seems to fall into two areas:-
(a) <£10 , a nice price point for something needed for this one job but good to have to hand should another need arise?
(b) approx £30 to £40 that seems to be above the price point for one immediate job and limited needs prospects for future usage?

Hence the question, have you used one and which make (version?) was it? And would you recommend it???

TIA :)
 
Box Brownie said:
We cut down an old Buddleia a while back and really need to remove the 'stump'.
Click to expand...
I've not used a wire saw, but you need to kill that stump dead, if you don't want it to regrow.
As you may know, Buddleia only flowers on new growth.
Every year I take mine to a few inches off the ground keeping a few select branches a little longer to train it.
and every year its 6 feet and bushy, very quickly.

Best I can suggest is cut it as short , drill a few holes in it, and treat it ( pour in) with something that contains glyphosate.
Its nasty but works.
 
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Cobra said:
I've not used a wire saw, but you need to kill that stump dead, if you don't want it to regrow.
As you may know, Buddleia only flowers on new growth.
Every year I take mine to a few inches off the ground keeping a few select branches a little longer to train it.
and every year its 6 feet and bushy, very quickly.

Best I can suggest is cut it as short , drill a few holes in it, and treat it ( pour in) with something that contains glyphosate.
Its nasty but works.
Click to expand...
I have cut it to approx 18inches, the closest I can manage with pruning saw. Hence the need for a wire saw.

As for its destruction or not I will leave that up to the OH...when said remove the stump I was not at this point meaning it's complete removal but rather to cut to minimum/ground level.

Because as you say it needs managing in regard to its yearly growth so at this stage the closer I can cut it to the ground the better :)
 
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I used a cheap wire saw to cut off a seized pipe fitting in a place inacessible to a hacksaw.

It worked, and the one thing I learned is to keep the curve as gentle as possible. The more acute the curve you make at the cutting suface th more stress you place it under. I overdid and snapped my first one. The second one I still have because I didn't make that mistake again.
 
Mike_9000 said:
I used a cheap wire saw to cut off a seized pipe fitting in a place inacessible to a hacksaw.

It worked, and the one thing I learned is to keep the curve as gentle as possible. The more acute the curve you make at the cutting suface th more stress you place it under. I overdid and snapped my first one. The second one I still have because I didn't make that mistake again.
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Thanks for the post & usage insight :)

I did surmise that some of the "it broke first time....." reviews were likely down to folk putting to much strain on it???
 
You don't say how thick the stump is, since that will make a difference as to how you tackle it. The main issue with a wire saw will be the tendency for the cut to close in on itself and jam the wire, unless there is some force applied to the opposite side to keep the gap open. That wouldn't have been a problem for Mike above, since he was cutting a pipe fitting of metal or plastic, rather than a solid living thing.
 
Peter B said:
You don't say how thick the stump is, since that will make a difference as to how you tackle it. The main issue with a wire saw will be the tendency for the cut to close in on itself and jam the wire, unless there is some force applied to the opposite side to keep the gap open. That wouldn't have been a problem for Mike above, since he was cutting a pipe fitting of metal or plastic, rather than a solid living thing.
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A very good point.

It has two 'trunks' out of the ground.....one approx 2.5 to 3 inch diameter and the other a little larger.

I should be able to get to them separately especially in light of @Mike_9000 insight about using as open an angle as possible. And yes, an extra hand applying pull pressure to keep the cut open does make sense :)

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating......will have buy it/a couple and see how I get on!
 
I've used a battery operated multi tool with the saw attachment to cut small stumps down to ground level.
The blade is only about 2" wide so I made a number of small cuts.
Of course I already owned one. If you can borrow one it will do the job.

www.dewalt.co.uk

Oscillating Multi tool | DEWALT

www.dewalt.co.uk www.dewalt.co.uk

Can you not get to it with a pruning saw?

https://www.hughiewillett.co.uk/pro...7a151Ufqoxz88hrJX-WUCSrz8uX7j6rxoCXo4QAvD_BwE

For bigger stumps I have done as Cobra recommends, roundup sell a special stump killer mix.
 
Box Brownie said:
I have cut it to approx 18inches, the closest I can manage with pruning saw. Hence the need for a wire saw.

As for its destruction or not I will leave that up to the OH...when said remove the stump I was not at this point meaning it's complete removal but rather to cut to minimum/ground level.

Because as you say it needs managing in regard to its yearly growth so at this stage the closer I can cut it to the ground the better :)
Click to expand...
If it’s not going to be killed then you may have cut it too short to manage the yearly growth. The usual thing is to cut the trunk to a convenient height for annual pruning back to the stump each Spring to get regrowth and flowers later in the year!
 
Peter123 said:
I've used a battery operated multi tool with the saw attachment to cut small stumps down to ground level.
The blade is only about 2" wide so I made a number of small cuts.
Of course I already owned one. If you can borrow one it will do the job.

www.dewalt.co.uk

Oscillating Multi tool | DEWALT

www.dewalt.co.uk www.dewalt.co.uk

Can you not get to it with a pruning saw?

https://www.hughiewillett.co.uk/products/stihl-pr16-handycut-folding-pruning-saw?currency=GBP&variant=19681519501410&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwzOqKBhAWEiwArQGwaP74MfYR_hg-LobE6DgBzm7a151Ufqoxz88hrJX-WUCSrz8uX7j6rxoCXo4QAvD_BwE

For bigger stumps I have done as Cobra recommends, roundup sell a special stump killer mix.
Click to expand...

Re: pruning saw ~ yes, we have one and it has done cracking service but as noted in a previous post I have reached the limit of angle of access for sawing.

The plant is in the internal angle of a brick wall so the nearer the ground you get the greater the need for alternative tools

Re: multi tool ~ something I had considered but was none too sure, bearing in mind the diameter, how effective it would be???
 
Right, an update!

Having had another chat with the boss about it, the decision is we don't want regrowth.

So, will get wire saw and reduce as close to ground as possible...... then drill it and put stump killer into it.

PS FWIW we have two other Buddleia shrubs in other positions that are not so problematic :) and will be looking at planting other additional pollinator friendly plants to make up for the loss of this one :)

We do love to see the bees and butterflies 'enjoying' the plants :D
 
Box Brownie said:
Re: pruning saw ~ yes, we have one and it has done cracking service but as noted in a previous post I have reached the limit of angle of access for sawing.

The plant is in the internal angle of a brick wall so the nearer the ground you get the greater the need for alternative tools

Re: multi tool ~ something I had considered but was none too sure, bearing in mind the diameter, how effective it would be???
Click to expand...
Just make a number of cuts side / side. You are not looking for a perfect finish
 
sphexx said:
If it’s not going to be killed then you may have cut it too short to manage the yearly growth.
Click to expand...
I cut below the stated by @Box Brownie 18 inches each year,
and prune to shape as it grows.
I've not killed it yet :D
 
Depending on the size of the root ball, it might be an idea to dig as much of it as possible out.

Not sure if Glyphosate is the best thing to kill stumps - it's usually absorbed through the foliage. Plenty of specialist stump killers available.
 
Nod said:
Depending on the size of the root ball, it might be an idea to dig as much of it as possible out.

Not sure if Glyphosate is the best thing to kill stumps - it's usually absorbed through the foliage. Plenty of specialist stump killers available.
Click to expand...
It does kill stumps — I’ve poured (near*) glyphosate into drilled holes in a number of biggish laurel stumps and it killed all.

Edit *neat!
 
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I've killed several with roundup stump killer. Some quite large.
Drill a number of small holes around the perimeter of the stump, a larger dia and deeper one in the middle and fill all with the undiluted liquid.
It's worked every time I've done this.

As per cobra, I've cut back Buddleia's for years and they always grow back.
 
Nod said:
it's usually absorbed through the foliage.
Click to expand...
As there is no foliage, if you drill down through the heart wood ( the light bit) it'll still get to the roots.
The (most) plants are protecting themselves this time of year by drawing down all the energy into the roots.
And storing it there till next spring.
 
I stand corrected. Been a while since I did a horticulture course and back then, glyphosate wasn't the stump killer of choice.
 
Cobra said:
I cut below the stated by @Box Brownie 18 inches each year,
and prune to shape as it grows.
I've not killed it yet :D
Click to expand...
Yes, I didn‘t mean to imply it would kill it! It’s just a question of convenient height to prune — maybe I find 18” a bit low, all depends on your height and athleticism :(.
 
sphexx said:
Yes, I didn‘t mean to imply it would kill it! a bit low, all depends on your height and athleticism :(.
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I have no problem getting down to that height ( personally) getting back up again,
is however, a totally different matter :D
 
sphexx said:
Yes, I didn‘t mean to imply it would kill it! It’s just a question of convenient height to prune — maybe I find 18” a bit low, all depends on your height and athleticism :(.
Click to expand...


On the course I touched on above, we were taught that to prune roses correctly, we should prune them at the second outward facing bud up from the branch join but that doing it the council way (hedge trimmer at a convenient height; sod the outward facing etc.!) worked just as well, if not better!
 
Reciprocating saw?
 
Steep said:
Reciprocating saw?
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That's what I use, great for stumps in awkward places.

Also you can kill the stump with table salt, just apply it several times to a reasonably fresh cut. it might spread a bit into the surrounding soil but you can dig that out.
 
Box Brownie said:
Thanks for the post & usage insight :)

I did surmise that some of the "it broke first time....." reviews were likely down to folk putting to much strain on it???
Click to expand...
In my case, it wasn't sawing too hard but beding it too tightly around a 15mm pipe. They only bend so far, then they snap.If you ae sawing though a large object, that's not a problem.
 
simon ess said:
Haha.

Thing is though, he's sawing tough material at a tight radius with a lot of effort. Must be a hell of a saw.
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Yes, and probably a big market for that sort of thing in Australia.
 
Would a cheap (or already owned) angle grinder work? I know they aren't designed for wood but a fast rotating carbide blade will cut most things. If you can get access from the front then this might work. Or even better one of those electric multi tools - they are good for cutting in tight spots.
 
Steep said:
Reciprocating saw?
Click to expand...
That's what I've used on various plants I've wanted to get rid of, or at least remove to below ground level.
SBK is a killer that I've used, think it doesn't contain glyphosphate but still seems to work.
 
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