is it better to do your own fencing??

vanderbadger

just wondering about this, I see major offering a post driver for about 1500 in the journal, fence around the farm is 15+ years old starting to fall to ****..got quoted over 3k to do a portion of it from farm relief!! not even half of it actually. probably better just hire a post driver i guess as might not a have regular use to justify a new one, anyone ever hire one out and do their own, its probably not as easy as it looks to get a fence right??

cormywormy

i think you would be better to get someone in to do it for you.It is fairly hard to get a fence straight , level and making sure it does not fall apart. Where are you, i know of a good fencer, he does work all over the south of ireland.

But if you buy the post driver when your done you could sell it.

vanderbadger

Clare

JohnBoy

There's relatively few second hand post drivers on the market and they're never cheap, so I'd say cormywormy's idea has a lot of merit.

however make sure you're comparing like with like when pricing fencing. there's lots of options on quality/sizes of stakes and wire.

adne

as well to buy a cheap 2nd hand 3 tonne machine and use it to drive posts.... u have it got clearing hedges etc and sell it on after

Rujib1

adne wrote: »

as well to buy a cheap 2nd hand 3 tonne machine and use it to drive posts.... u have it got clearing hedges etc and sell it on after

No way will a 2 / 3 ton digger drive fence posts in anything but soft bog.

Need 8 tone min I would think :cool:

R

adne

Rujib1 wrote: »

No way will a 2 / 3 ton digger drive fence posts in anything but soft bog.

Need 8 tone min I would think :cool:

R

3 tonne will do the job in the hardest of ground if the driver knows how to use the machine :rolleyes:

vanderbadger

I actually have an old 2.8 tonne kubota kh-66 that my dad used to mess around with, handy for digging a hole to hang a gate but couldnt see it driving a post to be honest, that said i wouldnt be the greatest man in it. its eaten with rust but still lifts a 1/2 ton bag of CAN

messrs

what size is area ur lookin to fence? i no guy who does all fencing - does a lot of wrk done around the shannon area - mite be helpful?

vanderbadger

its 100 acres about with a few internal bits also, if you were to look at alot of it you would say it was a good fence but posts starting to rot and break just at ground level, dont think i could even dream of getting ti all done though if my last quote is anything to go on

marko3

i did a fencing job with my dad on 90 acres last month, i reckon we did a lifetime job aswell even cresoting the posts. the trickiest bits are gate hooks though, its an easy enough 2 man operation if you have the know how, the 3cx worked fine for us.could give a hand if needed

Bitten & Hisses

Down my way, the local co-op gives out a post driver, provided you buy your stakes from them

vanderbadger

thanks marko, thats what I was thinking, if i bought fairly good steaks, got hold of the brother for a few days and hired out a post driver we should be able to manage it surely, I have one of them gripple things for tensioning, handy tool. by the way how do you drive the steaks with the 3cx, do you bang them in with front bucket or push them down hydraulically so to speak, have seen guys with hymacs just pushing them in, seemed like a good job

marko3

i just pushed them down with the back actor worked great even with the corner posts. a fence reel and poly wire is very handy for keeping the line and the handiest way we found of reeling out the wire is on a transport box of a slowly moving tractor. get your strainers and eggs on correctly and the rest is actually easy

messrs

do u want number for guy i no? u can ring him for quote - he is very reasonable

its baltic

First of all if your going doing on your own, you need to be able to set aside the time to do, realise that its not going to just go up perfect first time, where if you take your time with it and get the first few bits right you wont feel getting quicker.

Is it just posts and strands of electric fence? If it is you should deff think bout doing it yourself.

Thing about those 1500 euro post drivers is, they will drive a post as good as any but wouldn't be suitable for driver post and rail fence posts as its hard enough to drive the post perfectly straight.

Once you have a post driver you would be supprised the amount of times you will use it.

If you want more info about hiring one for a week or two pm me, im in clare.

cormywormy

sent you a pm

vanderbadger

ya pm it on to me cheers

vanderbadger

messrs wrote: »

do u want number for guy i no? u can ring him for quote - he is very reasonable

ya send on cheers

Jollyone

If this works why do guys put post drivers on to track diggers. I know guys with digger that also Hav post drivers. They say post driver is the only job . No comparison really. Post goes all over the place with digger and also you havnt got the force to push down the post. The force a post driver hammer gives is incredible.

Muckit

I've 7 acres to fence this autumn. I've the stakes bought and will be using a local guy with a track machine (ex60 type) to push down the posts. He's put down loads of posts for me before with no problems.

Using a track machine in the autumn makes sense. The hedges will have died back, the ground will be softer to sink stakes, and it wouldn't root up the ground as much as a tractor and post driver would. If your fencing along by a hedge, you can level the ground underneath the sheep wire etc. Most of the time he takes off the bucket and shoves down just with the headstock.

I've worked with a fencing contractor for a few months a few years ago and picked up alot of tips. I found it a slow and tedious job using a post driver on a tractor. You've all that driving forward and reversing and trying to line up, especially with the basic models, which the majority of farmer/co-op machines are. Post drivers are also, IMO, a more dangerous machine to use compared to using a track machine to just shove them down. You don't want to take the thumb or finger off your brother! :eek:

A hayes strainer or two and you'I have the wire up handy

Jollyone

First off all proper post drivers have a way of holding the stake. If you can push in stake with a six tonne machine you are in soft ground. Digger is more dangerous because you can't stop stake going left or right. I know a guy with a 20 tonner who uses a post driver. Also guys with post driver on mini digger say they are best suited to post and rail . Too slow for electric fence work. I did see a post driver on the jib of a track machine one time actually mounted on the bucket . Great job fir forestry work , bog today mountain tomorrow and also the bucket could Stratch the ground. Some post drivers are to light anyway.

Muckit

6 tonne track machine exerts a force of:

6000 X 9.8 = 58800N


Post driver (Malone) with a typical 350kg hammer raised and dropped from the recommended 2 foot (.6m) exerts a force of 58800N if the stake moves 35mm (~1.5") into the ground.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/flobi.html

So equal force wise. The only extra advantage a post driver would have is the vibration caused by the force.

I think a rock breaker (without the bit!) left on top of a stake, and using the weight of the machine alone to exert force down, would drive any post in any ground. Wouldn't mind trying it out...

TUBBY

How much are contractors for fencing anyway amd do they normally supply the materials.

I would reckon if a lad is doing any great distances to get someone in. I did paddocks myself earlier in the year. Hired a lad to drive the posts and did the rest myself. Balls of a job. Would get someone for the whole lot next time:D

whelan1

TUBBY wrote: »

How much are contractors for fencing anyway amd do they normally supply the materials.

I would reckon if a lad is doing any great distances to get someone in. I did paddocks myself earlier in the year. Hired a lad to drive the posts and did the rest myself. Balls of a job. Would get someone for the whole lot next time:D

at least you're honest:D

poor farmer

DO all our own fencing used to hire /sometimes borrow a post driver.
I found i was going to often for one so i bought one.I think its well worth while.Used to get a digger man with 13ton machine but there is always parts of fields that you would struggle to get posts down enough.
Its hard to beat the right machine for the job.

Jollyone

Rock breaker idea is a super job and you can get post driver caps for them.
Now the six tonner will not exert a force of six tinned unless u picked it up and left it down on the stake. Malone post driver is only light duty . Try the Kentec one. It has a minimum of 400 kg hammer and the weight will lift up to 12 feet of the ground. I would challenge a 15 ton track machine to match that driving a 10 foot twelve inch round strainer. Bryce post drivers in Scotland has an independently done test claiming a force of up to 80 tons with a 500kg hammer. Dont take my word for it look up the Brycesuma website. Undoubtedly the best Postdriver on the Market. Vector is a copy of their design. They used to make them under contract for Bryce.

irishh_bob

most farmers dont know how to fence properly , its money well spent getting a professional to do it , IMO, good fencing is every bit as important as good sheds , cattle are out in the fields longer than in the sheds , one piece of advice when it comes to electric fences , dont place the fence too close to the hedge , otherwise a hedgecutter wont be able to breast in behind it and you will end up with an overgrown hedge , killing the shock , cattle can reach a couple of foot in under wire

whelan1

we have one neighbour who still thinks a pallet is the answer to every gap:mad:

pakalasa

Muckit wrote: »

..... I found it a slow and tedious job using a post driver on a tractor. You've all that driving forward and reversing and trying to line up, especially with the basic models, which the majority of farmer/co-op machines are.....

I've never used a hydraulic one, but was half thinking of making up my own. I have a few discarded hydraulic rams which would do the job, but I need to weld up a frame. Don't think I'll bother now. It's a lot of work, making one, and I was thinking they were akward enough to use. Might just stick to the hand held one instead. So thanks for that.

blue5000

whelan1 wrote: »

we have one neighbour who still thinks a pallet is the answer to every gap:mad:

Have one here too, known locally as 'the pallet farmer'

moy83

Fella beside us too and his pallets are wrapped in the net from the silage its almost professional looking at this stage

Jollyone

There is a bit of making in post driver I would say . Like everything the bulk of it u would make fast enough but the finishing bits like pulley brackets and slides and post cap etc would be laborious and tedious .
But the way as regards fencing your right about keeping out from hedge as animals will easily graze under it. This pallet fencing is just so lazy and horribly untidy. Good fences make good neighbours. Pallets are for putting stuff on not for fencing. They should be returned immediately as they fair dirty when they go rotten. Hate them around the place even for dividing calves.

Muckit

Jollyone wrote: »

Rock breaker idea is a super job and you can get post driver caps for them.

Very good Jollyone. I wasn't aware of that. Seems some lad thought of it before me

Now the six tonner will not exert a force of six tinned unless u picked it up and left it down on the stake.

Your dead right :rolleyes: Probably only half that if up on one track

Malone post driver is only light duty . Try the Kentec one. It has a minimum of 400 kg hammer and the weight will lift up to 12 feet

Yes malone is light duty, butmy point was that it would be typical of the type of machine available for self hire by a farmer, or typical of a machine a farmer would buy.

Dont take my word for it look up the Brycesuma website.

God you've me down as a right 'doubting Thomas' !!

Jollyone

Muckit wrote: »

Jollyone wrote: »

Rock breaker idea is a super job and you can get post driver caps for them.

Very good Jollyone. I wasn't aware of that. Seems some lad thought of it before me

Now the six tonner will not exert a force of six tinned unless u picked it up and left it down on the stake.

Your dead right :rolleyes: Probably only half that if up on one track

Malone post driver is only light duty . Try the Kentec one. It has a minimum of 400 kg hammer and the weight will lift up to 12 feet

Yes malone is light duty, butmy point was that it would be typical of the type of machine available for self hire by a farmer, or typical of a machine a farmer would buy.

Dont take my word for it look up the Brycesuma website.

God you've me down as a right 'doubting Thomas' !!

Sorry I don't me to be smart but I was making the point that a machine built for driving post is far better than a track digger. Plenty of other heavier machines out there heavier than Malone that are popular With farmers eg synnott, Kentec ,vector, cross .also most Hav outside controls now. Malone major bridgeway bellmac are all the same.

9935452

The contractor I work for has a malone post driver, , the one with the side tilt.
I think some of ye are underestimating it. We can drive ESB/telephone poles into the ground 4 feet. It can take 10 minutes to do so. The hammer can raise up to about 10 feet. The trick with the malone is to keep it well greased.

We were brought in on a job fencing with the postdriver where 30 tonne track machines couldn't drive posts due to rocks. All they were doing was snapping good 6 inch posts in half.
Guess what the malone post driver drove the posts. All we did was make a small hole with the crowbar and the point of the post followed the hole down moving the rocks to the side.
Crowbar didn't work with the track machine though

Wigster

Was in the same situation about seven years ago. Bought a basic post driver. (i.e. no tilt) Its a bit awkward on sloping ground but can be managed. I now get strong stakes and hand stand them into the ground around the field. On with my driver to finish the job which takes about 30 minutes for 40 stakes.