T post driver

[HomeBrew2]

Yeh, it's a handy little dude. 2" (pointed) pipe is working it pretty good in cobblestone and willow roots. This pic is of my little creek crossing. Sure glad I shot that line with my total station cuz the old fence was off 4' and I'd sure hate to do that job again if I wound up with a nasty neighbor.

(Howdy neighbor Rob, no poelice on a private road around here

 

[dkocian]

...I got a Hitachi 40# electric demo hammer off eBay for $300 and made a driving sleeve like the air model. Works good

How well did the jack hammer work on putting in the T-Posts? I have been thinking about doing the same thing. Ground is so hard I put bucket from front end loader on post, and it lifted the tractor front end off the ground. Did not move the post an inch. Then I lifted the bucket and "dropped" it on the posts. No movement. Using the hand pounder, I could get a post in the ground with about 200 hits. Got an 18" long masonary bit and drilled into the clay and filled it full of water. Then could drive a little easier. The propane, hydraulic, and air compressor drivers are just too expensive and all have mixed reviews. I have been thinking about making a jig for a jack hammer. Cup on top to go over the post, with a cup on the bottom of about a 5' piece of pipe or post to hold the jack hammer chisel. Wouldn't have to stand up on top of the pickup bed but could drive them from the ground. First, just need to know that the jackhammer will put them in the ground.
Thanks!

 

[John D]

Well seein this come back up. Mine did work well with FEL.

 

[Kfbeal]

I recall the rig, and comes in handy in more ways than one.

We have always set our corners, then string one run of barb wire (if barbed wired fence) and stetch it. We then set the posts next to it with the FEL. We have some hard soil (heavy black land) and do tend to bend some posts but they can be staightened and moved further down. On those we can't get, we use the driver or sledgehammer.

One thing about setting 10 posts in 6 minutes with the hand driver is my tractor never gets tired. We've run a 1/2 mile to mile of fence a fence in a day settings posts once and if we had to do that by hand we wouldn't have been worth a plugged nickel the next day.

I've seen an attachement on the bucket similar to John D's with a pipe with a large flange on bottom. You slide the t-post in the pipe, set it down with bucket and push it in. The flange keeps it from going deeper than needed. The pipe also keeps the t-post from bending.

 

[canoetrpr]

Interesting thread. I drove some T posts earlier last month to put up some snow fence (tired of blowing my driveway over and over with no snowfall in between!).

I prefer using machinery and saving my body. I put these in the FEL route with my wife as the helper. Some went in no problem but I did have problems with several - I imagine they are just hitting rocks and such. I bent two T posts.

I think if I had to put a whole fence line in, I'd be picking up the air powered one for $450.