How many Post Hole Augers for a Big Project?

[Stocker Steve]

We used to put in word corner posts and steel T line posts by hand for small projects. I need to put in 4.5 miles of high tensile and a corral system this year but my best fencer joined the Marine Corp. I think I need to invest in some better equipment to keep the wife and the daughter on the fencing crew.

How big of an auger should you have to put in railroad ties for a corral system?
Does it make sense to buy both a 3 point auger and a hand held auger?
Any recommended auger brands?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Wewild]

Can you drive them in the ground where you are. Them wood post drivers are the stuff down here. Except for this past year with the drought and all.

 

[dun]

A 12 inch auger is a fairly tight fit with RR ties. A 16 would be better. If you can;t dig it with a 3pt the and held jobs won;t do squat. Better the 3pt auger and a regular posthole shovel.

 

[Wewild]

A 12 inch auger is a fairly tight fit with RR ties. A 16 would be better. If you can;t dig it with a 3pt the and held jobs won;t do squat. Better the 3pt auger and a regular posthole shovel.

I missed the RR ties. You can't drive them. But the cost may be made up on the driver cost verses the time required unless the ties are free.

 

[poorboy]

A 12 inch works good on most ties unless they are some of those big'uns. I would love to have a post driver though.

 

[hayray]

12 inch auger will do it. But before you buy a auger I would check into renting one of those self propelled units from Home Depot. They work awesome with lots of down pressure. I have a Ford heavy duty digger with a 90 horse gear box on it that I use on my 100 horse tractor and there is only a couple months out of the year I can get it to dig because the ground gets so hard. I would never waste the money again on another 3 point digger. The augers also bend real easy on a 3 pt. digger. The one my friend rents from Home Depot has really heavy duty augers that don't bend, it also has a reverse on it.

 

[hurleyjd]

12 inch auger will do it. But before you buy a auger I would check into renting one of those self propelled units from Home Depot. They work awesome with lots of down pressure. I have a Ford heavy duty digger with a 90 horse gear box on it that I use on my 100 horse tractor and there is only a couple months out of the year I can get it to dig because the ground gets so hard. I would never waste the money again on another 3 point digger. The augers also bend real easy on a 3 pt. digger. The one my friend rents from Home Depot has really heavy duty augers that don't bend, it also has a reverse on it.

The secret to getting the augar to dig any time is to replace the digger blades and the little stinger in the center if it has one. It does not take very long to weat out a set of digger blades.

 

[dun]

The secret to getting the augar to dig any time is to replace the digger blades and the little stinger in the center if it has one. It does not take very long to weat out a set of digger blades.

A 12 inch in my opinion doesn;t allow enough room around a tie to get the idrt/rock back in the hole to back well. I hard face the tip and the blades of my auger. In our rocky soil they only last about a half doesen posts befroe they're worn out if I don;t.

 

[Nowland Farms]

.....need to put in 4.5 miles of high tensile and a corral system this year.....I think I need to invest in some better equipment to keep the wife and the daughter on the fencing crew

I wouldn't want to work for you either if you didn't have a post driver or 3 pt auger.....

 

[bigbull338]

a 12 in auger should work on putting in crossties.now in most all cases youll have to use hand diggers to widen an clean out the hole as well as deepen it some.if you want a 3pt digger thatll go through anything get a belltec hrydro digger.that thing will digg through anything.but they do cost about $4500 new.lest thats what they was when i checked on them.

 

[Calman]

The secret to getting the augar to dig any time is to replace the digger blades and the little stinger in the center if it has one. It does not take very long to weat out a set of digger blades.[/quote]

I agree 100%.Any tool thats supposed to be sharp will not preform like its supposed to if it's not kept sharp. I've went through a bunch of those little blades on the diggers. Always make up a bunch before starting to dig holes.

Cal

 

[MikeC]

Crosstie sizes here are 9" X 7" X 102".

A 12" auger will work fine.

Have pushed ties in the ground with a large trackhoe in damp clay prairie soil but it will not work in sandy soil.

 

[Stocker Steve]

.....need to put in 4.5 miles of high tensile and a corral system this year.....I think I need to invest in some better equipment to keep the wife and the daughter on the fencing crew

I wouldn't want to work for you either if you didn't have a post driver or 3 pt auger.....

It is hard to find something my wife really needs. Do you think a 3 point auger would make a good birthday present? 8)

 

[KenB]

.....need to put in 4.5 miles of high tensile and a corral system this year.....I think I need to invest in some better equipment to keep the wife and the daughter on the fencing crew

I wouldn't want to work for you either if you didn't have a post driver or 3 pt auger.....

It is hard to find something my wife really needs. Do you think a 3 point auger would make a good birthday present? 8)

Just make sure it is a good one, a cheap one would make you look bad. :tiphat:

 

[dun]

.....need to put in 4.5 miles of high tensile and a corral system this year.....I think I need to invest in some better equipment to keep the wife and the daughter on the fencing crew

I wouldn't want to work for you either if you didn't have a post driver or 3 pt auger.....

It is hard to find something my wife really needs. Do you think a 3 point auger would make a good birthday present? 8)

For our first anniverary I gave my wife a shovel and a wheelbarrow, her birthday was a month later and I gave her a rototiller. We're still married after 37 years, still ahve the shovel and wheelbarrow, tiller is long gone.

 

[Wewild]

I bought my wife a nice commercial grade weedeater for her birthday one time. She got a used low hour JD 265 lawnmower for no apparent reason as well on another occasion.

 

[john250]

.....need to put in 4.5 miles of high tensile and a corral system this year.....I think I need to invest in some better equipment to keep the wife and the daughter on the fencing crew

I wouldn't want to work for you either if you didn't have a post driver or 3 pt auger.....

It is hard to find something my wife really needs. Do you think a 3 point auger would make a good birthday present? 8)

Only if you get the diamond coated drill bit.

 

[somn]

Several years ago I bought some cows and realized I needed room for them to roam. So I had these people come and fence in a 80. It costed me around $3500.00 with the electric fencer if I remember right. Only 4 wires. not the 6 they suggested.

http://www.kfence.com/hightensile.html

It might be worth looking into for you.

 

[cowwrangler]

most people here are drilling a 9in hole for rr ties ,they then push the tie in with a loader,they are nice and tight then

 

[dyates]

"Sharpen" your big posts. Drill a 3"-4" pilot hole with one of those little handheld augers. Fill the hole with water and use a driver the next day. Works especially well when the ground is hard and dry. You can drive a telephone pole if you can fit it in your driver. I also saw a guy using a gasoline powered pressure washer to do essentially the same thing. He had a real fine, high pressure nozzle and stuck it right in the ground. This trick only works for normal sized posts though.