Thermite Testing

So I have a fairly large tree stump in the back yard that I'd like to get rid of, or hollow out a bit to use as a decorative flower pot. I assumed that thermite was not going to be particularly useful on the stump, but I've always wanted to make thermite. I heard countless anecdotal stories about how awesome it is, and it's relatively easy to put together so I figured I'd give it a try...

And yeah, it really wasn't effective at all on the stump :) It was fun though, and it took a few tries to get the mixture to the point that it instantly ignited with the magnesium strips. The initial reaction was short lived and hard to ignite, so I had to increase the ratio of aluminum.

I also tested the thermite on a steel lid, and was a little disappointed.. I'm sure that I could have further tweaked the mixture to make the reaction more effective, and I could have set up a better "funnel" system for the molten metal, but I don't think I could have made it effective enough to melt through the steel lid.

**And after doing a quick search on thermite's effectiveness on steel I ran across this well documented video where 'NightHawkInLight' tried to melt steel but had no luck, even after trying several different additives. It's a bit sad, because in my mind I still want to believe that thermite is that super amazing compound that when ignited on a car hood "will melt straight through hood and engine, until it hits the ground"..