In October 2014, we had two large dead elm trees removed. A large crane was needed since there was little room between our house and the neighbor. Here is the post about that impressive removal job.
In March 2015, the tree stumps were ground out to complete the job. Here are a few pictures and video.
Stumps right after the trees were removed in October 2014.
This overall view of the grinding machine shows the operator at the side, steerable rear wheels, and the articulated front end. At the front is a spinning disc with teeth that cut into the stump. It is moved left and right and is lowered to several inches below ground level. The heavy machine is sitting on a 1″ thick piece of plywood to prevent damage to the lawn. It took about 30 minutes to finish grinding the stump. Grinding bits were scattered along the trail in the woods behind the house.
Overall view of the grinder.
Closeup of the spinning grinder disc in action.
This 30 second video shows how the operator moved the grinder to remove the layers of wood.
Our View From Iowa 