Posthole Digger phd & tree roots

[whistlepig]

While waiting for delivery of my tlb I have decided on 2 must do projects that are at the top of the list. The first is getting a couple of truckloads of gravel delivered & trimming the driveway. I am looking for a box blade for that job.

The second and actually more important to me is putting up fencing for my dogs. I want to run the fence into the woods after I clear out the brush / sapplings. I am looking for a phd for that job as there will probably be 50-60 posts to plant. As I'm searching for the phd it dawned on me - what happens when an auger twists around a big root? After all there are some pretty big trees I'll be near - 24-36" diameters.

So what happens? There is no reverse as far as I know. . . How do you get the auger out?

Post hole diggers don't do big tree roots or big rocks. That's what our beloved spud bars are for. I have dug a few hundred post holes and have never stuck an auger. But you have to be careful. You have to be able to "feel" what the auger is doing. If you do like my friend and get an auger stuck you can get it out with a FEL. Wrap a chain around the auger and lift it with the FEL while wiggling it back and forth. Be gentle. It will come out.

 

[medicshawn]

Thanks for the quick responses guys.

well my plan was to use a 6 inch auger. are you saying that there won't be an issue with an auger that size?

Unless your land is 100% flat and level use a 9 inch auger. I just got done putting in 300 feet of fence. Between being off a little bit traveling in a straight line and the auger not going in straight all the time. I had to do alot of fine tuning, and in the end ended up running the 9 inch auger to widen the holes. The bigger auger gives you more wiggle room to get everything lined up and makes it easier to back fill the dirt.

 

[LBrown59]

Post hole diggers don't do big tree roots or big rocks.
*That's what our beloved spud bars are for. I have dug a few hundred post holes and have never stuck an auger. But you have to be careful. You have to be able to "feel" what the auger is doing. If you do like my friend and get an auger stuck you can get it out with a FEL. Wrap a chain around the auger and lift it with the FEL while wiggling it back and forth. Be gentle. It will come out.

*No thanks I will use this.

 

[ctgoldwing]

*No thanks I will use this.

well. . . I think I'd try the fel 1st - otherwise would have to dismount phd & mount bh. The machine is supposed to lessen the grunt work.

 

[jenkinsph]

Well since I have a pair of 36" aluminum Ridgid pipe wrenches maybe I will have a use for them after all.



Steve

 

[whistlepig]

I have two augers. A 12" for 7" corner posts and 7" line brace poles. A 9" for the 4" line posts. Two 60# bags of concrete per corner pole and line brace pole. One 60# bag of concrete for each 4" line pole. In some parts of the country I have read that concrete may rot the poles. We don't have that problem here. A 9" auger is good for chain link poles if one is doing chain link.