ground hard as a rock....can't get post hole digger to dig

[3RRL]

Oooh man, that is Really nice!
Sorry to get off track, but I just had to ask.

 

[pat32rf]

Definitely worth getting off track for....We don't see them that big up here.

 

[moloss]

got the holes dug.......ended up getting my brother inlaws skid steer loader, and got him to put the bucket on the back of the PHD......guess what we got post holes......thanks for everyone's advice, I'm sure I'll need it again!

 

[GaryBDavis]

moloss,

Glad you got your holes dug.

I found some picture of my Belltec. I was digging hole through a solid piece of rock in a creek bed. I never hit dirt - just rock all the way down. The white powder you see is the ground up rock. It took about 10 minutes to get all the way down. Prettiest hole I ever dug.

 

[GaryBDavis]

Here was my first attempt at adding downpressure to my standard PHD. It worked. I could lift the back end of my JD770 off the ground. But the tractor was a bit unstable and it was just a matter of time before I broke something else. Still, it was a fun project and the engineer in me wanted to build it.

 

[weldingisfun]

Here was my first attempt at adding downpressure to my standard PHD. It worked. I could lift the back end of my JD770 off the ground. But the tractor was a bit unstable and it was just a matter of time before I broke something else. Still, it was a fun project and the engineer in me wanted to build it.

Wow! That BellTec is a nice piece of equipment. A few years ago I hired a fellow to dig two gatepost holes for me. He came by with his BellTec auger mounted on a large Kubota tractor with FEL. He positioned the auger then lifted the rear of the tractor off the ground with it. He then set his FEL down and lifted the front of the tractor. The full weight of the tractor was now on the auger. He charged $45 per hour and "guesstimated" an hour to do both holes. Two shear pins (he didn't have any with him so I gave him two) and 1.5hours later, he finished the first hole three feet deep. The hole on the other side of the road, just 18 feet away, was finished in just 15 minutes. He charged me for just one hour.

Gary, how did you determine the angle for the hydraulic cylinder mount on your regular PHD? That is a nice setup. I've been wanting to add downpressure to my PHD for a while but don't know where to start. I just can't justify the $5K expenditure for the BellTec. Would love to have one but the Tooth Fairy stopped bringing money to me a long time ago.

 

[3RRL]

Gary,
Is that a single or double acting cylinder on your PHD?
Nice job on the mod.

 

[GaryBDavis]

The cylinder was a double-acting, but I installed a simple filter plug on the "retract" port which turns it into a single-acting cylinder.

I didn't do any drawings for the modification. I simply used chalk to mark the cylinder position of the PHD in the full down and up positions and played around with the cylinder placement until it was close enough. I then fabricated the parts, tack welded them in place and checked the cylinder position in the full up/down positions. Some more welding and some paint and I was good to go.

 

[weldingisfun]

The cylinder was a double-acting, but I installed a simple filter plug on the "retract" port which turns it into a single-acting cylinder.

I didn't do any drawings for the modification. I simply used chalk to mark the cylinder position of the PHD in the full down and up positions and played around with the cylinder placement until it was close enough. I then fabricated the parts, tack welded them in place and checked the cylinder position in the full up/down positions. Some more welding and some paint and I was good to go.

Going back over your modified PHD pics to try and get a better understanding on how you did your mod, I noticed that in pic PHD 12 there are two hydraulic lines going into the cylinder. The other pics show only one line. Was pic 12 taken before you "installed a simple filter plug on the "retract" port which turns it into a single-acting cylinder"? With the retract port plugged, how are you able to retract the cylinder? I am a hydraulics novice.

 

[Sberry]

As for the original DIY question, I think I would have went with Tool on this one and got the rental jackhammer with attatchment.