Post Hole Digger stand

[michael.white]

I've seen a few other PHD stands here and most fall into the category of either "hang it up" or "drill a hole in the ground". I threw together one that combines both. The auger fits into a 2 1/2" hole I cut through a couple of 4x6s. The hitch pins rest on a 4x4 with a couple of decking screws to keep them from sliding forward or backward. The wheels are 4" casters with external brakes and rubber tires that do a great job of holding the setup in place.

Most of the stand was constructed from lumber left behind by the house's previous owner. I spent about $85 on the casters (castercity.com) and probably another $15 or so in bolts.

To attach the PHD to the tractor I support the front of the PHD with a couple of 4x4s under the hitch pins. I'd like to integrate that into the stand; I'm thinking some sort of flip out legs, but haven't given it a lot of thought yet. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[Todd727]

I don't trust the deck screws. Looks like you could drill a hole down through where the hitch pins go in the second picture. Then drop a bolt through those to hold it.

 

[SanDucerro]

I like. I'd add a small piece of 2x4 on either side of the wood were the hitch pins rest so it couldn't slide off. Other than that - looks great!

 

[michael.white]

Thanks for the input. I've got a few lag screws hanging around - I could probably use those rather than the deck screws. Admittedly the deck screws were a last minute addition I could then use the deck screws to hold down the 2x4 pieces on each end (owner left some of those too).

 

[duroc]

Looks good! :thumbsup:

Without hi-jacking this thread, I'm interested in the PHD. I noticed the long hydraulic hoses, are they hooked to your tower, or rear remotes? What size is the auger? You can PM me if you prefer. Thanks!

 

[michael.white]

Thanks! I'm too cheap to dish out the cash for a rear remote for just the PHD downforce, so the long hydraulic hose runs to the FEL remote. I know it eliminates simultaneous use, but that's the exception rather than the rule for me.

The shorter hose runs to the hydraulic reservoir. There's a hydraulic quick connect on the cap as well as the hose.

It's a 24" auger. I bought it for planting trees.

 

[duroc]

Thanks! I'm too cheap to dish out the cash for a rear remote for just the PHD downforce, so the long hydraulic hose runs to the FEL remote. I know it eliminates simultaneous use, but that's the exception rather than the rule for me.

That would be me too! Do you think the down force is really needed? I plan on putting put up a fence this year, so I'm trying to figure out if it's better for me (in the long run) to rent or buy. I just hate renting tools when I could own them - that is if the cost isn't too much.

The shorter hose runs to the hydraulic reservoir. There's a hydraulic quick connect on the cap as well as the hose.

That's what I thought!

It's a 24" auger. I bought it for planting trees.

That's a little larger than what I'll actually need.
Thanks for the reply!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Do you think the down force is really needed? !

Depends on the ground. Before I bought my down force unit for my PHD, I had holes that would take days to dig. Ground was so hard that water would be in the hole for days. I am usually a weekender. When I need things done, it needs to be now, not tomorrow or days later. Bought the down pressure kit for my PHD, I have not had ANY hole take longer than 2 minutes to drill since that purchase. One of THE BEST investments that I have ever made. Makes no difference in hole dia either, and I have bits from 6"-24".

 

[6011Artist]

Your PHD is bigger/heavier than mine and you store yours in 1 piece, if that works for you, it is a nice set up.

My PHD came off of an older unit, gearbox is factory but as big as a rear end out of a 50's chevy, looks close, resembles it a lot, might have car components in it, who knows, it's heavy duty though. I took all my bolts out and replaced them with pins with lynch pins to secure them in their places. (I see yours has pins too). When I want to drop mine off of my tractor I remove the auger, stand it in the corner with the others, then I sit the shaft of the gearbox down in a rig I built to swing off/from the wall.

I took a piece of 4x4x1/4 angle iron and drilled it to fit onto a corner post in my tractor barn, basically running vertical, lag bolted it into the post from 2 directions, both sides. I then welded a spring clip bracket to the angle bolted to the wall. I then took a piece of 2"x2" tubing 2'long and welded the other size bracket to the tubing that mated to the first bracket, bolt inserted to form my hinge. On the other end of the 2' long piece of tubing I welded a piece of pipe that my shaft on my gearbox matched up to so I could sit my gearbox down in it. Just think of a 2' long arm swinging from a post with the correct size pipe to accept my gearbox shaft.

So when i want to drop my PHD I remove the auger, set the gearbox shaft in the hole by driving the tractor, lowering the hydraulics, remove all pressure on the connections. I then get off the tractor and pull the pin disconnecting my gearbox from the arm holding it up in the air, remove the driveshaft, and then swing my whole gearbox/pto shaft back around up against the wall, bracket made to lay the pto shaft into. I then pull the pin holding the yoke to the long arm and the other pin where to top link would normally go and hang that piece on the wall. I then remove the yoke, hang it on the wall. It takes about 5 minutes to install it on the tractor or remove it and is never a strain or struggle or any heavy lifting.

It stores easily, is out of the weather and not taking up any floor space. Some of you guys have the newer unit with the smaller gearbox. It is a lot lighter unit than mine and would be even easier to break it down into pieces and hang them on the wall than mine is.

 

[duroc]

Originally Posted by duroc

Do you think the down force is really needed?

Depends on the ground. Before I bought my down force unit for my PHD, I had holes that would take days to dig. Ground was so hard that water would be in the hole for days. I am usually a weekender. When I need things done, it needs to be now, not tomorrow or days later. Bought the down pressure kit for my PHD, I have not had ANY hole take longer than 2 minutes to drill since that purchase. One of THE BEST investments that I have ever made. Makes no difference in hole dia either, and I have bits from 6"-24".

Most of my ground is sand, but I do have a number of trees where the fence will be. I'm not sure if this is the way to go or if I should rent a PHD, or maybe even have the job contracted out. How well do these go through roots?

 

[6011Artist]

duroc, My PHD is an older unit that does not have down force on it and in my normal sandy land it works great. I've have loamy sandy land the first 12 inches or so and then it gets into sand clay. No problem.

I too have lots of trees and so far tree roots have never presented a problem. I guess if you got real close to the tree the auger could possibly not cut the root but let the auger go by it, the root getting caught between the blades of the auger and it acting like a woodscrew, using the roots to hold it in the ground but in 20 yrs and 50 holes that has never happened.

My older Ferguson doesn't have the strength in the hydraulics that a newer tractors would have so I let my auger go down a foot or so and raise it slightly to make sure it is still free spinning and not just screwing itself into the ground like a big woodscrew. I can dig 5' deep and if I try to go all 5' without slinging the dirt off a time or two it has screwed itself in the clay and I have to use a big farm jack to jack it back out enough to break it free. But after doing that a time or two you learn to keep check on it several times as you dig down deeper.

 

[michael.white]

Your PHD is bigger/heavier than mine and you store yours in 1 piece, if that works for you, it is a nice set up.

My PHD came off of an older unit, gearbox is factory but as big as a rear end out of a 50's chevy, looks close, resembles it a lot, might have car components in it, who knows, it's heavy duty though. I took all my bolts out and replaced them with pins with lynch pins to secure them in their places. (I see yours has pins too). When I want to drop mine off of my tractor I remove the auger, stand it in the corner with the others, then I sit the shaft of the gearbox down in a rig I built to swing off/from the wall.

I took a piece of 4x4x1/4 angle iron and drilled it to fit onto a corner post in my tractor barn, basically running vertical, lag bolted it into the post from 2 directions, both sides. I then welded a spring clip bracket to the angle bolted to the wall. I then took a piece of 2"x2" tubing 2'long and welded the other size bracket to the tubing that mated to the first bracket, bolt inserted to form my hinge. On the other end of the 2' long piece of tubing I welded a piece of pipe that my shaft on my gearbox matched up to so I could sit my gearbox down in it. Just think of a 2' long arm swinging from a post with the correct size pipe to accept my gearbox shaft.

So when i want to drop my PHD I remove the auger, set the gearbox shaft in the hole by driving the tractor, lowering the hydraulics, remove all pressure on the connections. I then get off the tractor and pull the pin disconnecting my gearbox from the arm holding it up in the air, remove the driveshaft, and then swing my whole gearbox/pto shaft back around up against the wall, bracket made to lay the pto shaft into. I then pull the pin holding the yoke to the long arm and the other pin where to top link would normally go and hang that piece on the wall. I then remove the yoke, hang it on the wall. It takes about 5 minutes to install it on the tractor or remove it and is never a strain or struggle or any heavy lifting.

It stores easily, is out of the weather and not taking up any floor space. Some of you guys have the newer unit with the smaller gearbox. It is a lot lighter unit than mine and would be even easier to break it down into pieces and hang them on the wall than mine is.

Sounds like a good solution. Unfortunately, my tractor barn is likely several years off and the tractor shares space with a lot of other stuff (and vice-versa). I needed something mobile.

 

[michael.white]

Most of my ground is sand, but I do have a number of trees where the fence will be. I'm not sure if this is the way to go or if I should rent a PHD, or maybe even have the job contracted out. How well do these go through roots?

As others have stated, you probably won't need a downforce kit. The ground here is heavy clay gets pretty hard, especially with the drought we're having. There's also a lot of rock in the area.

 

[duroc]

I too have lots of trees and so far tree roots have never presented a problem. I guess if you got real close to the tree the auger could possibly not cut the root but let the auger go by it, the root getting caught between the blades of the auger and it acting like a woodscrew, using the roots to hold it in the ground but in 20 yrs and 50 holes that has never happened.

I've heard about the "wood screw" effect before, but not in detail. After reading your post, I think I should be okay with the trees as long as I keep an eye on the PHD and not get too carried away.

As others have stated, you probably won't need a downforce kit. The ground here is heavy clay gets pretty hard, especially with the drought we're having. There's also a lot of rock in the area.

That's good, as it will save me some money!

Thanks guys, for your replies, I really appreciate it! :thumbsup:

 

[michael.white]

I tweaked the stand a bit by adding an upright support. This makes it easier to hook up. A tie-down hooks to the lag bolts at the top of the upright to keep the PHD from sliding forward.

 

[300UGUY]

I tweaked the stand a bit by adding an upright support. This makes it easier to hook up. A tie-down hooks to the lag bolts at the top of the upright to keep the PHD from sliding forward.

I did things a bit different, I put the support next to the auger, I have a chain that I hook around the gearbox. This keeps the auger from moving, left, right, or down, because it's pinned against the vertical. I have 2 more verticals that support the 3 point pin arms. I can hook this thing up in a couple of minutes. I'll try to post a pic.

When I put it on, I roll it up to the tractor.
1) I put the pin thru the mast into the bracket on the tractor.
2) I hook up the lift arm pins, secure them.
3) I connect the power shaft. ( with the engine off )
4) I release the chain from the gearbox.
Now it is mounted, and can't go anywhere, then I start the tractor and lift the auger out of the cradle.
To put it away. I reverse this procedure.

As I recall from my toolmaker days - Primary, secondary, terterairy. (sp?)