Hi, James. Let me see if I understand you correctly here. You are having your timber clear-felled, cut at ground level and you want to know if a D8H with a single shank ripper will do the stump extraction honours. If I've got it correct, I'd say yes, it will remove the stumps. However, contrary to some people's opinions, if you hit a 16" hardwood stump at full throttle, even in first gear, with that single ripper shank, you WILL know it. You would do both yourself and the D8H a favour by using your eyes to find the stumps rather than the ripper. Then apply the ripper to lift them out. If you do have to use the ripper as an exploratory tool, I'd suggest you exercise a little restraint in the 'noise' department - throttled back. Even some softwoods can have a pretty firm grip on terra firma. With the bigger ones, you may have to rip right around them to sever all the surface roots before you will be able to pull or push them out. Leland's suggestion of a rake instead of a blade to clean up is a good one but it would need to be a good rake or it may cease to be a rake and become a pile of scrap steel with a D8H pushing it around. Hope this helps. You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.
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