Post Driver Usage Observations

[CATMAN]

MtnViewRanch; Dad's cattle must believe that the grass is always greener on the other side. In wide open spaces, I'm sure steel posts do their job just fine. When cows or cattle are more confined, then the tall green grass at the fenceline is more appealling, even when you feed them haylage or corn silage in the feed bunks.

Really boils down to "animals per arce". Put 65 head of stock cows in 6-7 acres, they want to reach thru the fences(even with feed in the bunks), put that same 65 head of cattle into 40-45 acres of grass pasture and you really don't have a problem.​

Sometimes, there are just too many animals on the farm and the lots become more or less like a feedlot enviroment. Even on 40-45 acres pasture, they still get big round bales to munch on if they choose. This is also why he can get away with only 4 strands of barbed wire in the crop fields for "after harvest" grazing (bigger area and lots of grass waterways for the cows/cattle).

 

[MtnViewRanch]

MtnViewRanch; Dad's cattle must believe that the grass is always greener on the other side. In wide open spaces, I'm sure steel posts do their job just fine. When cows or cattle are more confined, then the tall green grass at the fenceline is more appealling, even when you feed them haylage or corn silage in the feed bunks.

Really boils down to "animals per arce". Put 65 head of stock cows in 6-7 acres, they want to reach thru the fences(even with feed in the bunks), put that same 65 head of cattle into 40-45 acres of grass pasture and you really don't have a problem.​

Sometimes, there are just too many animals on the farm and the lots become more or less like a feedlot enviroment. Even on 40-45 acres pasture, they still get big round bales to munch on if they choose. This is also why he can get away with only 4 strands of barbed wire in the crop fields for "after harvest" grazing (bigger area and lots of grass waterways for the cows/cattle).

Makes sense, and I very seldom see cattle by this guys fences. In fact very seldom see his cattle at all, did see a few thousand head this weekend though.

 

[patrick_g]

Pat,

Thinking about T-post installation. Need to have ability to go over uneven ground. Looked at Shaver ( nice ), dedicated to post driving and no other use.

Any thoughts about a Hydrolic hammer or drill (reversable, several other uses) so you don't need electricity, have 7.5 GPM at 2100 PSI? Any cost thoughts, sources?

Could it be mounted on a boom pole? Still may need two people.

Can you add weight or down pressure?

Looking for an easy answer to fencing for goats, May need to install a few wooden post here and there, so probably need a hydo digger as well unles you all have a better solution.

Thanks,
Neil

Neil, I have no experience beyond the three T-post driving methods I personally have used: 1. manual with closed pipe style driver (spring loaded type, I like it better), 2. FEL (with or without gauge and bend preventer with post holder. When have a second person I just use FEL.), 3. Electric demo hammer with chisel replaced with elongated metal cup to keep tool on the post. (Cheap on sale at HFand will run from modest generator.)

I have a friend who has had a fencing company as a sideline for over 40 years and he uses the closed pipe with handles (no spring) type driver but I have got him to tolerate me using the FEL when we do fence together since it is so much faster and easier.

I have never personally seen a hydraulic post driver in action or up close when not in use. Seems to be too expensive for something you won't use all the time but something that renting for times of intense use could make sense.

With one guy driving the tractor with FEL and the other holding the t-posts till the FEL touches them and then holding a wooden wand under the bucket to act as a driving depth gauge, you can drive an awful lot of posts in a short period of time and get them to the same depth. My friend insists on a STRAIGHT LINE OF POSTS so he hand tweaks any posts that lean out of perfect alignment.

Left to my own devices, I stretch one strand of wire (wire fence not field fence or whatever) to get a straight line. He drives posts and gets the line by sighting along them. His results are as good as it gets.

The other topic: Containment of cattle at the feedlot requires a different solution than for pastures. I am putting graduated field fence with a strand of 4 point barbed wire at the top along my highway frontage for the part of my land that will have a high number of newborn calves. Between pastures interior to my place and at boundaries with neighbors as well as along section line roads, I use 5 strands of barbed wire.

I find that 5 strands of 4 point barbed wire keeps grazing stock just fine with the exception of certain incidents when bulls are in adjacent pastures. Bulls on opposite sides of the fence will get to contesting each other across the fence and one or both will walk right through a good barbed wire fence to get at the other. Later my neighbor, myself, or both will find and fix the damaged area. I have neighbors with cattle operations on my south and east sides with 1/2 mile of common fence in each case. We have had 3-4 breakthroughs in 5-6 years.

Pat

 

[Neil L]

Pat,

Thanks good feed back. I will look at HF.

Neil

 

[patrick_g]

Pat,

Thanks good feed back. I will look at HF.

Neil

I found the big electric demo hammer reduced on sale. It is not particularly faster than a motivated guy with a manual driver but is easier on the user. It is a handful to hoist up in the air to put on a post so I put the "cup" on the top of the post, the end of the post on the ground, and then stand the post up vertically and turn it on. If you drive tall posts or are less than about 5'10" or so tall yourself (I'm 6'2") you may need a small step stool. I expect I will be trying to find a way to automate its use a bit. Probably a holder on the FEL and the generator on a carryall on the 3PH or some such.

Pat

 

[ponytug]

I just use a bungee cord with metal hooks to hold the post to the driver. The hooks connect across the post and keep it tensioned against the post driver. The metal hooks act like mini-rollers. Works like a charm at keeping the posts vertical. I thought about putting a boat keel roller on the bungee, but this works well and is dead simple.

I definitely echo using the angle indicators. Sure it is a bit of messing around to get the PHD level, but the result is a straight, incredibly solid post in minutes.

The PHDs aren't cheap, but you can always sell it when you are done, assuming you don't keep it around for repairs. Just don't tell people how easy it is, or you'll be out building fence and corrals for them!

All the best,

PT

 

[patrick_g]

PT Thanks for the response and I'm sorry I'm not getting it but I didn't follow your description. Could you break it down for me. It sounds like something I would like to try if I could "catch on."

Pat

 

[ponytug]

My apologies for not being clear. (I don't have a Shaver brand PHD, but the design is similar.)

Basically, you have a "C" shaped metal beam with a weight on top. You put a fence post against the beam, raise the beam up, and then drop it on the fence post, right?

I looked at some of the slick suggestions here on TBN and the Shaver "Safety Arm" and thought about how to hold the post in constant contact with the driver, which would keep the post aligned, as you drove it.

My original plan was to use a boat keel roller attached to a bungee cord wrapped around the drive beam. I thought that I would just try taking a short bungee cord (~18") and connect it around the driver and the fence post to see how well it might work. (about 4' off the ground) I centered the bungee cord hooks over the widest part of the fence post. What I noticed was that if the ends of the bungee cord (the metal hooks) are centered on the post that is being driven, they act like mini-rollers and roll over the beam as the driver goes up and down. The bungee stays relatively stable on the driver, while rolling up and down the post. Importantly, the bungee holds the post against the driver during the critical driving phase, which keeps the post aligned and centered.

Long run, I may add a keel roller if the bungee wears out too quickly, but for the moment it seems to be working really well.

Does this help?

All the best,

PT

PT Thanks for the response and I'm sorry I'm not getting it but I didn't follow your description. Could you break it down for me. It sounds like something I would like to try if I could "catch on."

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

My apologies for not being clear.

Does this help?

All the best,

PT

Ponytug, They say 20% get it late and another 10% don't get it at all. I suspect you know what you are talking about and others may get it but I don't. I think the fault is in my receiving equipment.

If you post pictures I will probably have one of those du-uh moments and hit myself on the forehead and say something like well, sure, of course that is what he said!

Pat

 

[SPYDERLK]

Ponytug, They say 20% get it late and another 10% don't get it at all. I suspect you know what you are talking about and others may get it but I don't. I think the fault is in my receiving equipment.

If you post pictures I will probably have one of those du-uh moments and hit myself on the forehead and say something like well, sure, of course that is what he said!

Pat

Hes talking about a full sized post pounder. They have a hydraulically lifted ram that weighs 2-300#.
larry