How Long to Cut Fence Posts?

[Gale Hawkins]

In clearing a couple old home places I have ran into a lot of locust. While some would have to be split or used as corner post some of it is nice skinny 30+ foot trees.

While it would be easier to pile and burn I am driven towards cutting and stacking these as post even though I have no fencing plans.

I totally forget how long we made post when I was a kid or how deep we set them even. Seems like the corner posts may have been a bit longer.

What are some common lengths and hole depths?

 

[tallyho8]

I use 8' line posts set 3' deep. I use 10' corner posts set 5' deep.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I like six footers myself. four foot high fence with two feet in the ground. If your going to sharpen them an extra six inches wouldn't hurt. I cant get them three feet in the ground without blasting bed rock first.

 

[pacerron]

I use 8' line posts set 3' deep. I use 10' corner posts set 5' deep.

I agree. The 4' out of ground mentioned is too short unless all you have is sheep. Split the locust soon after cutting or it will be too hard later. The corner posts need to be deep as they tend to pull up in time if you are using high tensile wire.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I agree. The 4' out of ground mentioned is too short unless all you have is sheep. Split the locust soon after cutting or it will be too hard later. The corner posts need to be deep as they tend to pull up in time if you are using high tensile wire.

I suppose if you have a pasture full of English fox hunting horses you need high fences but in my experience if you have a cow that can clear a four foot fence the best remedy is to send her round to the butchers.

 

[pacerron]

I suppose if you have a pasture full of English fox hunting horses you need high fences but in my experience if you have a cow that can clear a four foot fence the best remedy is to send her round to the butchers.

Yep! So now all he has to do is decide if he wants to limit his post market to cows or cut them a little longer and have a market for all domesticated animals as well as other uses.
Sure would be a shame to just burn them. Have you priced good posts lately..

 

[vtsnowedin]

Yep! So now all he has to do is decide if he wants to limit his post market to cows or cut them a little longer and have a market for all domesticated animals as well as other uses.
Sure would be a shame to just burn them. Have you priced good posts lately..

Yup saw some in the local flyer today. 5s 6s 7s and 8s sharp or square. They aint cheap!! What have you got that can jump higher then a yearling cow with a dog at her heels?

 

[pacerron]

Yup saw some in the local flyer today. 5s 6s 7s and 8s sharp or square. They aint cheap!! What have you got that can jump higher then a yearling cow with a dog at her heels?

Horses and white tail deer
The ground around here is mostly clay and the freeze line is 3 feet deep.
Posts 3 feet deep will rise even with no wire on them over winter holding nothing more than a Blue Bird box.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Yup saw some in the local flyer today. 5s 6s 7s and 8s sharp or square. They aint cheap!! What have you got that can jump higher then a yearling cow with a dog at her heels?

We used 12' locust for most of our deer pens. 3' in the ground. The deer haven't jumped out. With deer you need to make it high enough to discourage them from trying. If they do get pannicked and decide to jump they usually pick a spot and try to leap through it like they would thick brush. Just folds them up and tosses them back in.

As for the OP, I don't like splitting the posts but if your market is for split posts have fun. I cut my locust at 8' for use in the vineyard. I don't split them because I want them thick. I use up to 10" for end posts and down to 3" for in the rows. Anything bigger or smaller I cut up for firewood for friends. Its not worth my time to mess around splitting them. What I do though is cut down around 20 at a time and lay them on the ground so that they suck up moisture. I don't want them to dry out too much as I want the bark to release. When they sit wet for a while you can peel most of the bark off by hand easily as it gets a nice slimly layer between the wood and the bark. The posts will last longer without the bark on then with it plus I like the look of the smooth posts better then the rough bark.

I limit myself to 20 at a time because it is still a lot of work handling these posts and with my back 20 is all I really want to mess with. So I cut and pile 20 or so then do some more some other time usually around the time I strip the 20. I only need posts early in the spring so I have all year to cut and peel posts as I feel like it. I still buy pressure treated posts so I don't rely on my locust as then it becomes a job and isn't fun anymore. I just look at every lucust post I make as saving me $6 or more.

Oh yeah, for got to mention this. We have been darting cows lately for people who have had them get out of the pastures. The one last week was running loose all winter long before we darted her. Today we caught two of them for a guy. The one jumped the guys fence. Even after it was tranqulized and in the trailer the guy who called us didn't listen to me. He wanted to remove the lead rope from her and she was fighting the drug as hard as possible. I know from experience to just leave the animal alone till you get it back into a pen or proper fence but this guy knew more then I did. He decided to open the door on the side of the horse trailer and when the guys brought the second cow to the trailer to put her in this one woke up and jumped up through the door. Luckily the guy didn't untie both ropes like he wanted but if he would have kept that stupid door shut like I told him to we wouldn't have had to fight her into the trailer twice. The reason that cow was running was because she jumped mulitple fences. I don't know how the other one got loose but it wasn't in the same pasture as the first one.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

As both were drugged. The black one was fighting the chemical and kept getting up trying to get away. The brown one was snoring.