problems stretching fence

[LuckyLegs]

I recently installed some 47 tall red-Brand field fencing and am having trouble getting all the wires tight - the longest pull is 200? I clamped the fence between 2 pieces of angle iron, slung a chain over the top and bottom and pulled it with a 2ton come-along attached to a tractor - I pulled until it began to move the tractor. The top 3 wires are super tight and the bottom wire is tight, but the wires in the middle have tons of slack and they look bad. I tried re-clamping the fence and re-pulling, thinking the wires had slipped, but it did not help.
Any ideas on how I can take the slack out of the wires? I even tried pulling the wires individually with a come along and wire grab and it would not pull slack out the fence. I read on the net that I could weld 2 pieces of nested angle iron to the jaws of a pair of vice-grip pliers and put multiple bends in the wires to take up the slack, but it seems like all those crimps would look bad. I also found Jake's Wire Tighteners and it looks like they may work also.
I need some help!

 

[Rookie]

Kinda sounds, from what ya wrote here that ya be tryin ta stretch all the strands at once? What da ya mean by "field fencing" Barbed wire or woven.? If it be barbed wire ya need be stretchin and securin each strand individually. If it be woven, a pair a 2x6's bolted together with about 6-8 bolts clampin em to the the wire is what I use. Drill ya a hole thru both boards every 5-6" ta put the bolts thru and clamp em tight ta tha wire. ;-)

 

[dun]

If you have the top wire and the bottom wire tight, you should be able to just stretch and tighten each line wire one at a time. But Jakes are a real big help.

 

[cfpinz]

The reason your top and bottom wires are tight and the others are not is they (top and bottom) are larger guage than the filler wires. The metal clamp is grabbing the larger diameter wires and not getting a firm grip on the smaller ones. Wood will grab the wire more uniformly than the setup you have, or there are some different manufactured devices just for that purpose.

cfpinz

 

[Tod Dague]

For field fence I attach one end to a post, roll the wire out, stretch the bottom wire good and tight. If you get it real tight it will just about stand up the whole section. Next I stretch the top then middle and so forth. I only stretch one roll at a time. I had put in a couple of thousand ft before I figured out how to do it. You can see the difference.

 

[Txwalt]

Maybe you could tie off the wires you get tight then go back with a fence stretcher and stretch the wires that were loose.

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... ccd=INK003

Walt

 

[rv@L&R]

I agree with cfpinz .... we use 2 2x6's and bolt them together on both sides of the fence ... then use a come-along and tractor to pull it tight. The wood is soft enough to allow the bigger wires to mash into it and still grab the smaller wires. Have to change the 2 wood pieces after a few uses but that part is easy ... redrill and go again. Good luck.

 

[hillrancher]

The reason your top and bottom wires are tight and the others are not is they (top and bottom) are larger guage than the filler wires. The metal clamp is grabbing the larger diameter wires and not getting a firm grip on the smaller ones. Wood will grab the wire more uniformly than the setup you have, or there are some different manufactured devices just for that purpose.

cfpinz

Will give you A+ cfpinz
Have tried the angle iron with a flat iron bolted to it. Did not work. Oak 2X4 is what I use.

 

[LuckyLegs]

Guess I will be trying the 2-2x6 idea next time. I may try unstapling and repulling the fence I already put up

 

[Nowland Farms]

Lucky,

I have used the two 2"x4" and they worked well. I use the fence puller from Tractor Supply listed below.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp..._____14345|14359|14374|28755?listingPage=true

It works the same way, as you tighten the sides down the wires squeeze the wire into the wood board which holds each wire.

 

[Crowderfarms]

I've always used 2 2x6's bolted together with carriage bolts.Makes it easy to remove the bolts for the next pull.

 

[mountainranch]

Lucky
I use oak 2x4 's bolted tyogether. If you are stretching 200 feet or more I usually nail all the wires to a line post at least every 100 ft, then strech it a bit more.

 

[mtncows]

` Don't make the same mistake we did once and start stapling before you check all the way back.We pulled two rolls with a 4X4 tractor and stopped when the wheels spun then started nailing without checking .The further we went back the more loose the wire was.Still turned cattle but looked sloppy.

 

[c farmer]

I stretch the wire the same way using the 2x6's, but instesd of using bolts to hold the boards tight I use big c-clamps. Works very well.

 

[gabby]

Lucky,

I have used the two 2"x4" and they worked well. I use the fence puller from Tractor Supply listed below.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp..._____14345|14359|14374|28755?listingPage=true

It works the same way, as you tighten the sides down the wires squeeze the wire into the wood board which holds each wire.

I use one of these too, and after bolting it up I cut off the wire and tie the ends back so it can't slip through the stretcher. I use two come alongs to pull it.

 

[js2743]

i always stretch it one strand at a time starting with the bottom one and going up with every other one works fine for me. but i have a old pair of fence stretchers and they work really good not many of these type around, i have never seen any like them before.

 

[Brute 23]

Use a boart to clamp with and put more bolts in the boards to clamp with. Instead of just one at the top and bottom use 4 spaced out. It works alot better. ;-)