Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

How to hollow out a tree stump?

Does anyone know how to make a big hole in a tree stump? We've the old tree stump on Frobisher Rd to put pot plants on, but people keep nicking or breaking them, so i wondered about hollowing it out and growing things right inside it. Something like this:

Any ideas on how I could make a big hole like that?

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Fowler on April 23, 2013 at 12:09

Mark out with a pencil the circle for the hole you want. Take an electric drill with wood bit in it, bigger the better, and drill holes all round the edge of the circle, as close together as you can. Then drill a line of holes across the circle, at least two lines at right angles to each other. Use a chisel and wooden mallet to chisel out the wood. Repeat until the depth of the hole is what you want. Lot of work, but real artisan stuff. PS Wood chisel + metal hammer = A Big NO.

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Permalink Reply by ant on April 23, 2013 at 20:58

Ok thx, thats about what i expected. Tried this today, the wood is really hard and my little 1.3amp cordless drill gets quite hot and starts complaining after a few holes so its going to take quite a long time. I also have a jig saw, wonder if hacking about with that would do anything useful or just break a lot of blades?

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Permalink Reply by Nick G-T on April 24, 2013 at 9:35

Out of interest Ant, how come the contractor left the tree stump behind? When we had trees removed in Falkland they took out the stump not long after the trees were chopped down.

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Permalink Reply by ant on April 24, 2013 at 10:06

Yes, i'd seen that happening as the other trees on the Ladder got removed. The original post about the tree cull had the contact for the council tree person Clare Pappalardo so i asked her if we could keep this one as a stump and after a bit of persuasion she said ok.

This is the hole so far:

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on April 24, 2013 at 10:30

Glad you did. You've been very creative with it.

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Permalink Reply by Geoff Amabilino on April 24, 2013 at 13:19

I have an electric chain saw you can borrow if you feel confident - you can't make jab cuts like you can with a petrol one, but it'll certainly have a go at it...

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Permalink Reply by ant on April 25, 2013 at 7:40

That would probably be perfect for this, but i'm a little frightened of chain saws and worry i'd accidentally cut an arm off or something. Would anyone else out there offer to wield it?

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Fowler on April 25, 2013 at 7:50

I would share your worry about a chain saw. Also, there would be a risk you would fragment completely the top part of the stump. I had a thought last night: what about using a cold chisel and metal hammer? I have two cold chisels (these are made entirely of steel, no wooden handle) and are designed for chipping away at very hard materials. I'd be happy to come round and see if that works, or give you a hand otherwise. I think this is a really worthy project. Also, there's a big tree stump in place about 150 yards from my home, and I'm wondering whether this might be a time to try the same thing with that one.

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Permalink Reply by Geoff Amabilino on April 25, 2013 at 8:45

Ach, it's only a wussy electric saw!

If you like I can ask my chain saw wielding son if he's willing to do a little voluntary work (can ask about both stumps - he has a petrol saw - but he might need transport for the saw if I'm not available).