stock fencing

[hedgesparrow]

A tip if its dry at the side of the hedge. Mark out post holes day before and dig a little hole at each one, enough to hold a litre or 2 of water. Fill hole with water. Refill if you think it needs it. I have made holes inpenetratable easy going the next day with this.

 

i was given a tip like yours use a bar to make hole fill with water soak posts in water and knock in watching for the water as it shoots out and hits you in the face:biggrin: have to say makes putting posts in a doddle just slip in nice and tight do not move

[Matthew Storrs]

If your digging in strainers you'll be wanting a foot at the base of the strainer (at the bottom of the hole). A 4x2 foot long piece of wood nailed to a recess slot cut into the strainer post. It stops the post twisting or pulling out of the ground when you try and pull up the wires. I used to do all my fencing by hand and there is definiatly an art to setting strainers and struts in firm and being able to pull up the netting tight with out anything moving.

Good luck!

[easylife]

The welcome advise is all sound. water in the hole is noted . I presume cutting a slot in the post and nailing a 4x2 is acting like a key way. With all the info so far for a novice the job could run into 2days if not straight forward.

[digga]

as well as putting the foot on the bottom of the straining posts which is allways a good idea as mathew said, on some strainers you may allso want to add a breast plate at the top of the straining post hole epecially where there turning posts and cant strutt them for the direction force of the wire pushing on the post. as over the course of time the wire will push the top of the post over and cause the wire to go slack .

for the breast plate i normally use a offcut of a large half round and dig a slot at the top of the hole trying to keep the whole tight so when u knock down the breast plate the flat face is away from the strainer and will be pushing up against un disturbed soil doesnt need to go in deep and doesnt allways need notching in so can put it in before you finish ramming the hole up basicly your making a a larger surface area by putting a tee piece at the top so has to move more soil to push the strainer over when you add the preasure of the wire hope this makes sense ? straining posts are the backbone of a good stock fence definate art to getting them right when putting them in by hand but get it right and amazing where you can get them to hold with a bit of work and thinking

[countrryboy]

Some good advice in the posts so far, not as easy as u think when u first look at it, and the fact it's only 30m actually make sit harder.

 

By the time u buy the tools (pullers etc) doubt there would be much profit in the job for u, could definately take far longer than u think (apart from the lad that could do it all in 2 hrs??) so could easy cost u money, been on many a wee morning job and took a lot longer than expected. Esp digging strainers in near trees hedges due to roots, might need a chopping pinch

 

Water only works in clay holes and usually only in very hot weather, only had to use it once in years of fencing but it did work but that was the middle of a heat wave summer years ago, doubt u'll need it the now. I usually have a bigger problem with water filling up the holes as ur trying to backfill and turning everything to soup.

[spikeymikey]

If I was doing it, I would dig your strainer holes tight (6" diameter) with small shuv holers and go down a couple of foot, fill it with water and leave for a while. Then get your big drivall and knock in an 8 foot strainer the rest of the way. I always use box strainers and this makes the job easier, do this for your secondary strainers too. Then chisel out for your struts, put your diagonal wires in and strain tight, I use gripple g pacs or a couple of strands of 3.15ht and a jumbo gripple, this way shes going no where. Then pull out your line wire cut in the middle, put in a gripple, tie off both ends then tighten up with gripple tool. Do the same with the netting and your laughing, this way you can keep tweeking the wires and will get it much tighter and it will stay tight. Short stretches are by far the hardest to keep tight but I did 8 metres today like this, I knocked in the posts mind and it was all strainers bar one post but you could play a tune on every wire, that's the beauty with gripples keep tweeking until they all stay tight and its all good as your strainers will move a little bit. Theres an art to wire fencing and its very easy to do it badly!

[Goaty]

Water only works in clay holes and usually only in very hot weather, only had to use it once in years of fencing but it did work but that was the middle of a heat wave summer years ago, doubt u'll need it the now. I usually have a bigger problem with water filling up the holes as ur trying to backfill and turning everything to soup.

 

Just curious, not after a But you have only done this once and yet say it only works in clay, My experience is it has worked in various soils from clay to hard core laden ground. Sometimes it sits for hours and needs to be hammered in next day, others it disappears as quick as its poured. I am talking about using a tractor knocker. Parmieter type. Where it wouldn't drive em in then it did after water.

[countrryboy]

We were digging holes and packing strainers by hand, never ever dug clay in a drought before (don't have many droughts in scotland) i would not of believed how hard it was, even the pinches were hardly making an impact. Poured in water and left over lunch did soften the ground a bit

Dug holes in all sort of other soils and never needed to pour water into any off them, althou never usually a shortage of water in soil up here usually bailing the bloody stuff out of holes so u can pack them

 

Never heard of anyone pouring water down a hole when using a chapper, (mainly used the older kinghitter or now Suma) so really never have a problem with strainers not going in, lot of weight in those chappers, sometimes too much for travelling.

The big problem would be going round a day early to prep all ur strainer holes with water, usually u just turn up do the job