T-Post installation

[oldballs]

If I had a hundred T-posts to set.....even now, at my age, I'd do 10/15 per day by hand......and "Ta-Da" ...done....and nicely set and in a straight line.
And being only 5'4" (using 6 1/2 ft posts) and working by myself, I have to use a ladder and a 12 lb maul to get them started before using the pounder and a level.

I use 6" treated corner posts, set in dirt 30" deep....hand auger dug of course. Then I use T-posts for the corner bracing using some special post hardware.

 

[gwdixon]

Have to agree with all the others that caution against using the bucket. It seems more work and time than it is worth.

When I put in my T-posts I used a big electric drill with a 2" wood auger, a 5-gallon bucket of water, and my truck wired to put out 120V (some kind of inverter thing). Drilled about five holes filling them with water as I went along. By the time the last hole was done the water had soaked in enough on the first hole to soften the soil a bit.

Pounding the post in took only four or five strikes. Without the holes it was 25+ hit. Yes, hard dry ground in the hot summer. But the fence turned out perfectly straight.

As far as the wooden corner posts go you should use 7 posts on each corner. An "H" with an angle support post...sort of like this /H (imagine 4 posts). And then the reverse in the other fence direction for a total of 7. Also, about every hundred yards put in a wooden "H" using three posts.

Anyway, that is how I did it 35 years ago when I did my place and the neighbors place by myself. But I was also 35 years younger as well.

The fence is still going strong despite cattle, pigs, and horses trying their best to destroy it. I think horse "cribbing" has been the most damaging. It is wise to use electric fence as you have planned.

 

[Ford850]

There's no way I'd mess with the bucket to drive them with only 100. Especially with the soft soil you talked about, a good hand driver would make the job manageable. You'll end up with better results too since you can control the drive of each.
But I won't discourage the use of a tractor on a tractor site.

 

[PILOON]

I made a post pounder using a 3' length of HD pipe to which I welded a heavy slug of steed at one end to serve as the 'hammer'.(5 lbs or so is about just right)
2 lengths of rebar were welded to 2 opposite sides of the pipe to serve as grips.
Process is simple, slide the pounder over the T bar, lift and let it drop thus pounding the T bar in.
If the T bar strikes a rack and tilts sideways you simply keep driving it in 'til desired depth is attained and then simply bend the T bar straight using the pounder tube as the lever.
Works very well and cheap to make from scraps, for my tube I used the outer tube from a scrapped hydraulic cylinder.
Opted for rebar as the ribbing provided good hand grip.

Works so well that all the neighbors borrow it.

 

[mcfarmall]

Perhaps a bit off topic but the OP mentioned pouring concrete around the gate posts. I would not recommend that. Concrete will hold moisture around the post and the post will rot quickly...treated or not. Set the gate posts on some crushed rock or a few cobble stones for drainage and use tamped soil around the posts with a deadman post arrangement and diagonal tension wires to help support the cantilevered weight of the gate. As for the t-posts, see if a local tool rental outfit has a gas powered t-post driver to rent. You can buy one on-line for between $400 and $900 but that's a bit pricey for a one-off job.

 

[DieselBound]

Here's a great resource for fencing:

http://www.staytuff.com/PDF/Stay-Tuff Installation Guide final Oct 13.pdf

It's stated for fixed knot woven wire, not sure what the OP is going to use, but in general is applicable to non-fixed knot.

I've got a planned fencing project, about 2,000' (almost 500' on each side), and will be using fixed knot woven wire. Line posts will be wood on a couple sides, and metal (T-posts) on the other two. For end post bracing I'm going with single "H"s, setting (8') corner and brace posts to a depth of 3 1/2' - 4'. As noted in the above document, you don't need braces in-line unless you've got a long run of fence or a significant change in direction (up/down or otherwise).

I'll be renting a skid steer with augurs to do my end/corner and wooden line posts. I was going to pound the wooden line posts (fence pounder) but I've got rocks lurking, and hitting a good sized rock will skew the post: shifting wooden line posts is more significant than shifting T-posts. I figure I've got about 600' of fence line that will get T-posts- I'll do this by hand: with fixed knot fencing I can cut the number of line posts by 1/2; of course, this fencing is more expensive; I don't like twisting clips on T-posts, so a reduction here is a win for me. Somewhere around 30 T-posts will be hand-pounded: I've got an area (about 200') that I cannot get equipment to (unless I want to get it stuck).

 

[oosik]

My 80 acres is a perfect rectangle - 1320 x 2640. Its exactly one and one-half miles around. I set all the T-posts by hand using a home made pounder. I tried using the bucket on my tractor and it turned into a PITA immediately. #1 - since I did this all by myself, there was nobody to hold the T-post as I lowered the bucket & #2 - this operation invariably just bent the T-post & #3 - trying to get the tractor into many of the areas where the fence went was simply impossible.

Its just a lot quicker, easier and results in a much straighter fence line to do it by hand. Either buy or make a good heavy manual pounder and go at it.

However - I did use the tractor to transport the hundreds of T-posts around the property as I pounded them in.

It took me two years, working evenings & weekends to complete this fence AND it was done 34 years ago when I was a whole lot younger.

 

[MF283]

I wish i had a nickel for every T i've pounded over the years on my place & other's, a dollar would be even better. The FEL is great if you have a helping set of hands, which most of us don't it seems.
I 've got a homemade pounder & one of those springy ones i got cheap, the homemade one is used the majority of the time.
Fortunately, i only replace them if i get careless with the bush hog these days:ashamed:

Ronnie

 

[k0ua]

you might want to look at this video and see if this interests you.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I've yet to see where concrete on a post makes it more stable than properly packing the dirt back in. I've also noticed I have replaced more posts that have concrete around them than ones without. Another tip is make dern sure your posts are ground contact rated, preferably a utility pole. Putting a few hundred T posts in by hand isn't horrible, do about 10 in the morning and 10 later in the day if your shoulders can take it.