building a wood post driver tractor mounted page 2

[ishiboo]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like overall its been working well for you. I appreciate you sharing the build!

I'm on the fence between a drop-weight design or a vibratory design like this. I'm in pure sand with no rocks anywhere. If I could go with a vibratory design on my skid steer then I wouldn't need to build any side shift or forward/back tilt. Only left/right tilt. I had a shaver HD-8 on my skid steer but it bounced around too much so I sold it. So then I was thinking a knocker on the 3-point on the tractor. But then it would require a ton more time to build versus a vibrator on the skid steer. I think the knocker would be the best at driving posts. Yet I watched videos of guys putting in 4" posts with a gas powered hand-held vibrator. So it appears the vibratory models work great too.

Unless your skid steer was tiny, I can't imagine it would be any better on the 3-point. I have a HD-10 and it does move the tractor a bit, but that's kind of expected for a hammer.

I would imagine being in sand would make either method very easy

 

[sequoyah101]

Starting my build this winter. I've concreted my last post. I would like to build a single cylinder two line driver similar to the Vector design but am concerned about the oil getting out of the way fast enough to let the hammer free fall. I've even considered a regen system. It seems almost everyone has problems with oil flow rate on the down stroke and I don't want to go to all the trouble only to find I too have flow rate problems. I have done calcs and even some friction calcs but still am unconvinced it will be fast enough.

And so my plan is to build a motor drive unit similar to Danser or Cross Engineering in Ireland. Trying to figure out how to get a lift nub on to the chain and still allow it to roll over the sprocket.

The goal is consisent length of fall and not let it get too short with long posts. The other premise is that of a leg that extends all the way to the ground with a centering foot for the post. I can't see the thing being up off the ground reliant on the machine for stability driving posts very straight.

 

[BHD]

I set mine on the ground and only use the three point for transporting the unit,

I would not consider my oil flow to be any problem, (but some where I think I stated, I did up the size of the hose and the nipple on the cylinder,

if you want pure free fall, one could use a cylinder that would lift it up and at the top a trip system to let the weight free fall, may be some type of a guide that flares away from the weight and lets it free fall, and if the catch was hinged or pivoted it could slide (flip up) out of the way and pop back in place to lift the weight again,

I considered a design like this and if my first attempt was unsuccessful would have tried some thing like that,