3 Point Post Augers

[MarblemountLane]

I have a place near Rocky Creek - so named for good reason. A few years ago, I started looking for a PTO auger that could handle very rocky ground (pounding a T post or piece of rebar into the ground here usually requires at least three tries, moving a bit each time). I found they existed, but started at 5 or 6 thousand dollars. I can稚 help wondering if anyone has come up with a hard rock tip for the average auger, maybe a tapered hard point that acts as a pilot. I am not about to buy a $6,000 auger for my $2,500 Massey Ferguson, just to fence 1.5 acres.

Our other place is rocky but not as rocky as here, so a standard auger might work OK on that 19 acres.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

You toughen up the auger too much on a cheapo pto post hole digger, and soon you will need a gear box for it too!

They are less expensive for a reason...

SR

 

[MarblemountLane]

Good point. You know, waaay back, I dimly recall an auger that appeared to me made from a junkyard differential. A car diff would be plenty strong. You wouldn’t need working spider & side gears, just ring and pinion. I seem to recall it was small, like maybe Ford Falcon sized.

A post auger would be nice, but I can’t see spending big bucks unless I can be pretty sure it will work.

 

[tree grower]

I have a 9" auger from TSC, and my soil isn't hard clay, but very, very stony. The outer edge of the teeth which do the cutting became rounded to the extent that there was no bite at all. I ordered new teeth, but they took a month to arrive. In the meantime, I did some Googling and discovered that heavier augers mount their teeth at 40 and 50 degree angles, compared to TSC teeth which are only about 20 degrees--OK for beach sand. I cut some 2" wide sections with square hole in the center from an old grader blade, welded on some stops and risers to achieve the desired angle, bent a 1/2" bolt to fit through the tooth and flight holes, and started digging. I had a couple 3 ft deep post holes pretty quickly, stones and all. My new TSC teeth may never get used.

 

[YardBikeBob]

I also have clay and rocks. A heavy spear point and a 1/2 gallon of water works wonders.