Using Hole Digger In Hard Red Clay

[TN8Man]

First time using my tractor to dig fence post holes. I need to dig 2 feet down using 9" auger and the soil is red clay and possibly rocks tree roots.

Any advice on being successful and not damaging my equipment?

Thanks in advance.

 

[big bubba]

i like to keep auger rpm slightly above engine idle rpm. start the hole center with an iron bar, & maybe an assistant to help initially guide into the hole. like to take shallow cuts & withdraw frequently. for safety's sake, no loose clothing or gloves, etc for you & assistant. be ready to quickly withdraw the auger if hung on rocks, etc. my advice is to take your time. good luck w/project

 

[skipmarcy]

I always put a little "dent" where I want the hole with my hand operated hole diggers so the auger doesn't walk as bad starting the hole. I always have the hand diggers to do the final cleaning of the hole with me anyway.

Since it's usually at least several years since my previous use of the equip. I will place the auger and then get off the tractor to see if I'm aligned vertically the first couple of holes until I can visualize it from the seat.

I run my tractor maybe 1200 - 1500 rpm and keep my finger on my PTO button (electro/hydro pto) to stop it immediately when needed. If you have a clutch operated PTO of course your foot ought to be ready on or near the clutch pedal at all times.

My other hand stays on the 3 point lever to work it up & down. I will let it dig a little then raise the 3 pt quickly to sling the dirt off the flights and immediately lower it again but staying ready to pull it up if it starts digging too fast or hangs. If it hangs, I'll kill the pto switch and see what's happening/pull the auger up. Mine is mostly red clay with a lot of chert rocks but usually digs pretty well. On rare occassion I've had to hand dig a larger rock out to continue on but of the dozens & dozens of holes I've done I've never hung the auger hard in the ground.

Once you get the hang of it, it will go quickly for you. Of course you have to stop about mid-way and move your tractor usually back a little to keep the hole straight.

I think you're going to find that boring holes for fence posts is going to be more work than you figure - you'll need to go deeper than 2' if you think it's going to hold up. I did a couple dozen right at 4' deep and used a rock/tamping bar and the posts will always be a little loose - just this year I had to pound stakes around them to tighten them back up again. Driven posts for fences is the ticket !!

 

[Bill Guenthner]

First time using my tractor to dig fence post holes. I need to dig 2 feet down using 9" auger and the soil is red clay and possibly rocks tree roots.

Any advice on being successful and not damaging my equipment?

Thanks in advance.

Yes. Wait until it rains for several days, then wait one more day so you don’t make a muddy mess. When the ground is wet in spring I can easily dig a post hole 3 feet deep, when the ground is dry in late summer, it would be impossible.

 

[Jerry/MT]

First time using my tractor to dig fence post holes. I need to dig 2 feet down using 9" auger and the soil is red clay and possibly rocks tree roots.

Any advice on being successful and not damaging my equipment?

Thanks in advance.

If you have to did into dry ground you are in for a tough go. Best time to ager holes is when the ground is wet in the spring. If you have to do it in dry ground start the hole, pour a couple of gallons of water in the hole and come back the next day. If you get stuck, pour more water and come back the next day.
Having rocky ground means you'll go through lots of shear pins so have them available. When I was using a 12 inch auger and setting RR ties for my corral at three feet, I averaged 5 shear bolts per hole! Sure was glad when that was done.

 

[TN8Man]

If you have to did into dry ground you are in for a tough go. Best time to ager holes is when the ground is wet in the spring. If you have to do it in dry ground start the hole, pour a couple of gallons of water in the hole and come back the next day. If you get stuck, pour more water and come back the next day.
Having rocky ground means you'll go through lots of shear pins so have them available. When I was using a 12 inch auger and setting RR ties for my corral at three feet, I averaged 5 shear bolts per hole! Sure was glad when that was done.

I didn't think about shear pins. Thanks!

We have gotten lots of rain and we will continue to get lots of rain through spring.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I didn't think about shear pins. Thanks!

We have gotten lots of rain and we will continue to get lots of rain through spring.

If you have a lot of rock, you might want to do some tests with a t-post and adjust your fence line before you start digging. There are places in my fence line where you couldn't put a post without a rock drill.

 

[jyoutz]

If the clay is hard, go down as far as you can, fill holes with water and then come back to drill them deeper tomorrow.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

We just take bolt cutters to a livestock panel and make shear pins. Put new one in and hit each end sideways a little so it won't come out. Been doing that for over 30 years. I take a big crescent and bend the leading edge of bit down so it cuts better. On clay, that little tip in center of bit must be good. Makes all the difference. You can buy a new one if you can't weld your old one.

 

[stuckmotor]

The screw tipped auger that came with my County Line auger goes into red clay well. Getting it back out is often a problem. When I notice it beginning to stick I pull it to within a few inches of the top of the hole as often as every six inches to let it get the dirt out and deposit it up top.

Here's a plea for the animals. Small ones sometimes fall into holes and can't get out. I've found a skunk and a rabbit, neither survived. Large animals can step in and break a leg. Now I usually plant a post right after digging a hole.

One last word of advice is to stay away from that spinning auger.

Good luck,
Stuck

 

[jmc]

My hard red clay wouldn't even let the pilot point penetrate. Its tip was just a smooth bullet point with no cutting edges to center. Next time, I'll try grooving the tip with an angle grinder or try to find a more aggressive tip that fits the auger pipe ID.

 

[stuckmotor]

My hard red clay wouldn't even let the pilot point penetrate. Its tip was just a smooth bullet point with no cutting edges to center. Next time, I'll try grooving the tip with an angle grinder or try to find a more aggressive tip that fits the auger pipe ID.

Tractor supply used to sell a screw tip.separate from the auger. If you take that route, you should probably figure how to attach it to your auger before taking one home. This wasn't apparent to me.

 

[Farmer495]

Ensure your auger is sharp, good edges make difference.

You can hang some weight on the auger frame,

I've drilled 4 foot deep in dry clay by running auger on one tractor at idle and using front end loader on another to apply down pressure.

I really want a hyd drive auger that fits my loader. Make life real easy then.

 

[Semper Paratus]

In North MS clay we had an 8' oak real live 2"x4" that would fit in between the gear box and yoke. 6'4" 250# of me became the down force on the PHD. As a rule it worked pretty well. A few needed some added water though.

 

[jyoutz]

In North MS clay we had an 8' oak real live 2"x4" that would fit in between the gear box and yoke. 6'4" 250# of me became the down force on the PHD. As a rule it worked pretty well. A few needed some added water though.

My neighbor does the same thing with a 6’ digging bar to apply down force. And we start hokes one day and fill with water. The next day it’s easy to finish the holes.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Your auger should be able to dig up small rocks, but roots are a different mess. If they are thick, you will need to dig them out. You can do it by hand with a shovel, post hole digger, tree saw and sawzall, but a backhoe can make easier work of it. Last summer we build a 30x30 lean to off our barn. We dug 8 holes 42" deep. We did the first 6 in an hour or so. The last two were where a huge oak tree had been, and the roots were a nightmare. Took us about an hour each using the backhoe and finally finishing with the auger.

 

[RjCorazza]

Lots of good information presented.
When I was drilling holes with my 3 point auger, after maybe 50 holes the auger stopped digging down. I replaced the tip and bits and all was well. I recently sharpened the tip and bits on my hydraulic auger, which definitely improves the digging ability.

As others have recommended, I would run the tractor a little above idle, drop the auger, and frequently raise it to clear the dirt. It's possible to drill a hole in one continuous movement, but there is a real possibility of screwing the auger into the ground... You will only do that once!

 

[TN8Man]

Lots of good information presented.
When I was drilling holes with my 3 point auger, after maybe 50 holes the auger stopped digging down. I replaced the tip and bits and all was well. I recently sharpened the tip and bits on my hydraulic auger, which definitely improves the digging ability.

As others have recommended, I would run the tractor a little above idle, drop the auger, and frequently raise it to clear the dirt. It's possible to drill a hole in one continuous movement, but there is a real possibility of screwing the auger into the ground... You will only do that once!

I agree, all good information here and I want to thank everyone for their advice!

 

[Acethe3rd]

First time using my tractor to dig fence post holes. I need to dig 2 feet down using 9" auger and the soil is red clay and possibly rocks tree roots.

Any advice on being successful and not damaging my equipment?

Thanks in advance.

Put the auger down slowly and make contact, lower it while PTO is on, pull it up, get clay out, next time go deeper and keep doing that. Dig and repeat.

 

[meackerman]

the ground around here gets really hard during the summer. My PHD will usually dig it but its slow going and if I'm not careful the hydraulic downforce on the PHD will pick up the back of the tractor...which is a bit unnerving.


pull the auger out frequently. The first time I used my PHD, I got it stuck down in the hole, and it took me a while to get it back out.