T-Post installation

[TheMan419]

No worries - I understand. Just wanted to pass on my experience. I had to replace 300' of fence this year around my equipment yard which is next to the horse pasture. I had used a combination woven fence with T-posts that was supposedly horse rated. One of the mares got a hoof caught while kicking at another horse - I was very lucky I was right there. At least it came off the T posts easily when she struggled. I was able to get her untangled with only a badly bruise hock. I replaced the T posts with wood, and full wood top rail and chain link fabric (Was cheaper then tight weave horse fence) I wish you the best. If I may ask what kind of horses do you have. Mine are a 1/2 paint and 1/2 Arab and a full registered paint - the one that got tangled.

We have an Irish Draught, Quarter Horse and Off the Track Thoroughbred. So a little of each.

 

[groundcover]

Grab N Drive - YouTube

Here you go , plus you get to buy an excavator !

 

[TheMan419]

Grab N Drive - YouTube

Here you go , plus you get to buy an excavator !

Dang it, now I want one.

 

[Creamer]

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.

Sounds like the right idea. the one I bought at TSC had about 30" which is not quite long enough. I would get rid of the handles on the sides though. I would much rather grab onto the pipe diameter directly and having it smooth so your hands can slip a little takes a lot of impact out of it.

In the ground the OP is talking about 3-4 hits after the initial start should set a post. Growing up up I set miles of fence with a post every rod (16.5'). Setting a half mile of posts was about an hour. We had distributed them previously though and had the wire pulled so I was just walking along and setting spacing and driving them. Couldn't do it that quick today but I sure wouldn't spend a lot of time finding a way around it for 100 posts.

 

[Threepoint]

OP, you have sandy loam soil! Forget the FEL; you don't need it, and you'll spend way more time getting on and off the tractor and trying to set up for each post by yourself to push it in. And it will likely still be crooked! Also forget the sledge hammer and a step ladder. That's just nuts. Spend $30 for the tool specifically designed for your situation: CountryLine T-Post Pounder - For Life Out Here Here's another source: Post Driver With Handles by Speeco Inc (GRAY color) for $19.99 in Fencing Tools - Electric Fencing - Fencing Supplies - Agriculture : Rural King
Easy to use, and your shoulders will be just fine. :thumbsup: Get yourself an inexpensive 24" level with a magnetized edge, and use it to check the post for plumb in between every few blows as you drive it in. You'll be amazed at how fast you can go.

While you're at it, spend another $30 or so for a manual T-post puller Makes removal of a post a snap, and you won't bend it like you may trying to pull it with the FEL.

 

[DieselBound]

I've got this T-post puller, works good.

Little Mighty Man T-Post Puller - YouTube

I sometimes just wrap chain (or a strap with hooks) around the t-post and yank with the FEL (if I'm not carrying the above puller).

 

[TheMan419]

Yep I have a t post puller. It looks like for getting the horses in before winter we are going to start with a small paddock. Like 60 posts. So I am thinking even if we only do 10 a day that is a week and it is in. Just pound them in manually.

When we have time in the spring to plant grass and then fence in larger areas we will want some mechanical method. I have called the local rental places and none of them have anything that will pound in t-posts. So I will have to widen my search on that.

 

[gwdixon]

Aw, come spring, you'll be able to put in a T-post with just a few taps of the post driver given the quality of the soil. Much faster, more accurate, and easier in the long run than messing with a mechanical device. YOU CAN DO IT!

Plus, digging post holes with a clam shell digger will be quite doable. You mentioned that you might have a helper for the project.

It sounds like a "just keep at it" project like with your 60 posts. Ten a day is nothing. Bet you can put in 60 easily in one day. Then there is string the fence...now, that takes a bit of time.

This paddock experience should give you the confidence and experience to do the remaining fence.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Saw this video on the sidebar when looking at the Striker video Fence Post Driver - Self-Propelled Extreme Driver - YouTube Why do all the videos advertising driving wood posts show them driving posts with flat ends? Am I the only one that thinks it's silly to do it that way? A few seconds with the chain saw to sharpen the end would make driving the post SOOOOOO much easier. No more or less susceptible to frost heave and far easier to drive back down if/when they do heave.

Best one I saw. Semi-Homemade..

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Best one I saw. Semi-Homemade..

Now that's pretty slick. 180 posts in 10 hrs is 3:20 per post average. That's pretty impressive for an average time including moving and lining up for each one.

When you have the choice, I think vibrating them in is far nicer than driving them. I remember seeing a video posted on TBN quite a while ago where a guy rigged up a hydraulic breaker on his mini ex and added a little claw to grab the posts and position them under the driver. He also had a little trailer hooked to a hitch on the blade to carry all the posts. Never got out, never set the post down, never had to re-grab or re-position on them to drive. I can't seem to find the video now.

Interesting difference with the Grab-n-drive video compared to most. His ground is so soft that he mostly just pushes them in with the boom. Most manufactures make videos showing them driving thru packed/dry dirt or a gravel driveway.


Closer in relation to the T-posts, I remember seeing a highway crew installing 1x1 steel posts to hold reflectors in the median of a highway. They used an electric demolition hammer run off a generator in the back of the truck. They were putting them in thru some pretty heavily packed crushed rock & gravel.