Today wifey was digging a trench for a pipe with a pick axe.
She bumped into a root of the persimmon tree, more or less 50 mm thick, which was too deep to be cut with a hack saw and too flexible for a chisel.
While she was cleaning the spark plug of the chainsaw to cut it, I mounted a 30 mm Forstner bit on the Bosch hand drill (it was too deep for the drill press too :rofland made a hole into it: underground woodworking… but I get rid of that annoying root in a way faster than the chainsaw.
If you try this be careful: live wood is sticky!
Maybe a better tool for the job is a Pulaski:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulaski_(tool)
Or really, any old beat up axe. I cut lots of roots and these work about the best.
I agree that using a chain saw on a root isn't a good idea. It could result in a kickback and hurt the operator.
Walt