Goldenrod Fence Stretcher

[M-5]

with a slack wire all you need it about 2 inchs of pull. once its pulled between the stretcher that's where your slack is at a clean cut and slides your ends into the ferrule , swage it and your done

 

[M-5]

I have been watching tying techniques for HT wire. Im gonna give that a test on the next section of fence im building

 

[callmefence]

So does sleeve then have spot for both strands of wire to go in - the ones you are connecting together and then you crimp it with the plier end of your fence tool? If so then I would think you wouldn't have to add a piece of wire near as often as bending the ends back on themselves and wrapping around takes more slack.

My issue to is constantly having to cut the wire in order to do this. I would like some way to take up slack without having to cut and resplice the wire hence the staple trick but if that's going to break your wire, ain't gonna want to do it that way.

It's kinda like the bow saw or the chainsaw cowboy.
Jake's and the staple or bandaids. Getting the wire stretched back tight and putting in a splice is permanent.
I'm gonna add when you have to re tighten wire.
Either it wasn't stretched tight the first time or the braces gave.
Also the fastest and easiest way to do something. Is almost never the best way.

 

[M-5]

So does sleeve then have spot for both strands of wire to go in - the ones you are connecting together and then you crimp it with the plier end of your fence tool? If so then I would think you wouldn't have to add a piece of wire near as often as bending the ends back on themselves and wrapping around takes more slack.

My issue to is constantly having to cut the wire in order to do this. I would like some way to take up slack without having to cut and resplice the wire hence the staple trick but if that's going to break your wire, ain't gonna want to do it that way.

It's kinda like the bow saw or the chainsaw cowboy.
Jake's and the staple or bandaids. Getting the wire stretched back tight and putting in a splice is permanent.
I'm gonna add when you have to re tighten wire.
Either it wasn't stretched tight the first time or the braces gave.
Also the fastest and easiest way to do something. Is almost never the best way.

I concur. With the exception of folks that wait to build fences in the winter time so they don't sweat . a winter built fence will be slack in the heat of the summer for a vast majority of folks

 

[greybeard]

Goldenrod works fine. I'm not a professional fence man but I have stretched miles and miles of HT barbed wire with it. Like said earlier, may have to tap a little on clamps to get jaws to hold, but don't tap too hard or something could crack. Do not let your hand rest on wire during tightening process or prior to wire being secured to pull posts and goldenrod removed because slippage can occur at any time. I've pulled 700-800 ft or more at a time with it between pull posts. Wire still tight.

Same here. I have pulled US made Gaucho in two with a real Goldenrod.
The clones like they sell at TSC and even at McCoys--I wouldn't touch. Grips are not tempered enough and rivets wear quickly on the cheap ones. I really like the 3 grip Golden Rods too. One tool to do the whole stretching job. I do wish they made one of the end grips longer so they would more easily hold on a cut telephone pole post (round), but most of my posts are cross ties and they work fine. I don't like wasting time using a chain around a post to hook any kind of stretcher to--it's just one more 'something' to have to mess with.

I do have some of the Jake's tighteners. They work 'ok' in a pinch on tightening the old low tensile "American" wire left from the original perimeter 1966 fences here, but I don't care to use them on any high tensile wire--too much risk of breaking the wire.
There's all kinds of ways to stretch wire. No single way is "the only way'. It's like the old Gaucho vs Red Brand argument--some people can use Gaucho, some cannot.

Heck when I was 15, we used a long 1/2" threaded eyebolt and cable clamp and comealong. What a pita it was to tighten the clamp bolts each time, then take em off before we moved to the next strand. It worked, but was time consuming and of course you had to carry a wrench with you and ya better have some extra nuts in case you lost one somewhere. one more something..

 

[greybeard]

I concur. With the exception of folks that wait to build fences in the winter time so they don't sweat . a winter built fence will be slack in the heat of the summer for a vast majority of folks

More so with low tensile than hi tensile, but I agree, come August, you can sure tell which fences were built in Jan and Feb around here. Inversely, I've never seen a Aug built fence snap a wire come February when the strand gets shorter. ;)

 

[cfpinz]

I have been watching tying techniques for HT wire. Im gonna give that a test on the next section of fence im building

Leave a 1' overlap once you go around the post, bend a 90 degree "handle" in the last 6" of the lap and use it to make a half dozen wraps around the wire. Trim excess and you're done.

Some H-T wire is harder than others, I got some RangeMaster (pretty sure that's right, it was Made in USA FWIW) that was so hard it wanted to snap when I wrapped it.

 

[M-5]

I have been watching tying techniques for HT wire. Im gonna give that a test on the next section of fence im building

Leave a 1' overlap once you go around the post, bend a 90 degree "handle" in the last 6" of the lap and use it to make a half dozen wraps around the wire. Trim excess and you're done.

Some H-T wire is harder than others, I got some RangeMaster (pretty sure that's right, it was Made in USA FWIW) that was so hard it wanted to snap when I wrapped it.

I did that last week on one wire when I didn't have a ferrule in my pocket and it was a qtr mile walk back to the Kubota. Im using bull nose insulators on everything also. Some of the wire im using has quite a bit of alum in it I assume its very hard to cut but the roll is a little lighter. It came with the place and he doesn't know where he got it.

 

[callmefence]

No doubt temperature affects wire. Not as much as pipe. Long run off pipe fence you better put a expansion joint in it.
Still here in the south if you get it truly tight you won't notice much difference summer to winter. Everybody always hollers b.s. till they try it.
You stretch it until it breaks. Splice it back and stretch it again. Now you got it tight

 

[cfpinz]

I did that last week on one wire when I didn't have a ferrule in my pocket and it was a qtr mile walk back to the Kubota. Im using bull nose insulators on everything also. Some of the wire im using has quite a bit of alum in it I assume its very hard to cut but the roll is a little lighter. It came with the place and he doesn't know where he got it.

Not quite sure what a bull nose insulator is, but the little tubes you slide over the end and staple to a wooden post are about as cheap as they come and work well.

 

[M-5]

I did that last week on one wire when I didn't have a ferrule in my pocket and it was a qtr mile walk back to the Kubota. Im using bull nose insulators on everything also. Some of the wire im using has quite a bit of alum in it I assume its very hard to cut but the roll is a little lighter. It came with the place and he doesn't know where he got it.

Not quite sure what a bull nose insulator is, but the little tubes you slide over the end and staple to a wooden post are about as cheap as they come and work well.

I commonly refer to them as China insulator , They are the porcelain or plastic insulators that you use in corners or to terminate at the post

 

[NECowboy]

So does sleeve then have spot for both strands of wire to go in - the ones you are connecting together and then you crimp it with the plier end of your fence tool? If so then I would think you wouldn't have to add a piece of wire near as often as bending the ends back on themselves and wrapping around takes more slack.

My issue to is constantly having to cut the wire in order to do this. I would like some way to take up slack without having to cut and resplice the wire hence the staple trick but if that's going to break your wire, ain't gonna want to do it that way.

It's kinda like the bow saw or the chainsaw cowboy.
Jake's and the staple or bandaids. Getting the wire stretched back tight and putting in a splice is permanent.
I'm gonna add when you have to re tighten wire.
Either it wasn't stretched tight the first time or the braces gave.
Also the fastest and easiest way to do something. Is almost never the best way.

Look I'm not always looking for the easiest way or fastest way but the way that works best that's the right way. If it's also efficient then so much the better. I know with my business I'm always trying to find the "smarter way" of doing things and to innovate.

I don't mind cutting the wire (not like it's that hard) I just don't want my wire looking like junk because it has so many dang splices in it.

On what we just bought we have some really old fences, old wood posts, it's not all as tight as it should be, but I'm not ready to replace it just yet. So that's why there's so much tightening going on. That and needing to take bad posts out, dig post hole, put new ones in, and tamp. Sometimes it's easier to put steel t posts in as replacement (no holes to dig just use a pounder) but they bend in not terribly long in our winters.

 

[NolanCountyAG]

Look I'm not always looking for the easiest way or fastest way but the way that works best that's the right way. If it's also efficient then so much the better. I know with my business I'm always trying to find the "smarter way" of doing things and to innovate.

I don't mind cutting the wire (not like it's that hard) I just don't want my wire looking like junk because it has so many dang splices in it.

On what we just bought we have some really old fences, old wood posts, it's not all as tight as it should be, but I'm not ready to replace it just yet. So that's why there's so much tightening going on. That and needing to take bad posts out, dig post hole, put new ones in, and tamp. Sometimes it's easier to put steel t posts in as replacement (no holes to dig just use a pounder) but they bend in not terribly long in our winters.

https://www.livestockshed.com/p-130-the ... fixer.aspx

This is pretty easy and fast.

 

[Brute 23]

Set-up to repair with splice

That's the way I prefer also. I like the bigger wing span as opposed to the link posted.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Anyone here got one? How does it grab the H-T barbed wire?

Any other Made in USA models out there that are worth a look? My old one gave up the ghost last night.

I've got dad's old "Model 110" that grabs anything. I had lost it. Bought a new one that lost its teeth almost overnight. Then I found my Dad's. Keep up with it now. Was at a garbage sale and found another model 110 with springs missing. Bought it for $3. Took the springs off of the modern one and put on that old one. Now I have 2 :-)

When someone runs through the fence and breaks it, a goldenrod is the absolute tool to have to pull the wires back together. There's nothing better in my opinion for fence repairs.

I use them in place of come-a-longs for stretching wire too. That is mere preference. For runs over 1000 feet, you might need to rig up the pull twice for tensiled wire. Yes it will bite the wire if its a good model golden rod. Teeth like a rigid pipe wrench. If you get the el cheapo the teeth will strip.

I don't know the make of the model 110, but its a good one. The teeth have lasted for decades.

 

[greybeard]

If you get the el cheapo the teeth will strip.

It's not just the wear of the teeth themselves on the new clones--seems that the rivet holes on one end were bored incorrectly and only the last couple of teeth even contact the wire on the black one I saw at McCoys. Other end looked ok and looked like it would get a 'full bite' so I guess it is a flaw in their manufacturing process. My nearest neighbor has clone goldenrod from somewhere and his has the same problem.

 

[LongLopeSlowHorse]

Get the one with three hooks, it is well worth the extra money. It allows you to reposition the ratchet without giving up any slack. You can make longer pulls with it.

Interesting. I buy dozens of the things a year.
If I buy one with three hooks it's because that's all they had. And the first thing I do is cut that extra hook off. Just gets in the way :2cents:

Dozens?!
I've built miles of fence, sometimes several miles a yr. Maybe bought 5 in my life. You can sometimes break wire with them, they'll stretch it plenty tight. The 3 hooks are handy for long pulls, but kinda awkward. Two stretchers work just as good. I like to use one to tighten double wrap of #9 on H braces, then just a twist or two will do it.

 

[callmefence]

Get the one with three hooks, it is well worth the extra money. It allows you to reposition the ratchet without giving up any slack. You can make longer pulls with it.

Interesting. I buy dozens of the things a year.
If I buy one with three hooks it's because that's all they had. And the first thing I do is cut that extra hook off. Just gets in the way :2cents:

Dozens?!
I've built miles of fence, sometimes several miles a yr. Maybe bought 5 in my life. You can sometimes break wire with them, they'll stretch it plenty tight. The 3 hooks are handy for long pulls, but kinda awkward. Two stretchers work just as good. I like to use one to tighten double wrap of #9 on H braces, then just a twist or two will do it.

Yes I've bought a dozen at one time. And I build several miles a month, every month. And when we get really busy I might have three crews working.
The goldenrod is not for long stretches. Come along and dog for that.

 

[greybeard]

Evidently, someone at the factory forgot to tell that to some of the goldenrods as they were being built.

 

[callmefence]

Evidently, someone at the factory forgot to tell that to some of the goldenrods as they were being built.

Kinda like no body told the pipe wrench it wasn't a hammer.
Or the screw driver it wasn't a prybar