Shaver Post Driver

cletus99 · Mar 30, 2014

Anyone have any experience with a
Shaver HD-8 Post Driver or other brand post driver? We have red clay down here and South Georgia and I'm wondering how well it would work. I've put up a lot of fence around here and I'd love to get one if they work good.

ishiboo · Mar 30, 2014

I have a Shaver HD-10 and have been very impressed with it. I bought it used for $1500 IIRC, with both skid loader and 3-point mounts.

I have clay here which turns quite hard. It will drive pointed posts into anything, when the clay gets like concrete the larger posts that are not pointed do take some time to drive. I've heard that with clay though, augering and packing in posts is a very bad idea... though the first acre I fenced was done this route.

Shaver's customer service department was quite helpful despite the fact I told them I was looking at buying a used model. The same design has been used for decades AFAIK, all parts are available for my unit despite it being quite old, and they even have retrofit parts for the older units to bring them up to the newest safety standards. Plus all of the parts are really easily repairable.

I think you'd be very happy with one. I love having mine, but it's easily an implement that can be shared between multiple people... something to consider!

nc redneck · Mar 30, 2014

I have one. HD-8 . Bought on craigslist after a long time looking. Modified mine with railroad track added on top for more weight. I highly recommend as the best way to put in post. Kind of a art to get them straight. Main reason I added weight was not driving force. Sometimes when post starts going crooked you need to jam driver against it to get it straight extra weight helps. Dry or wet soil makes a huge difference. In damp conditions I can put a 6 inch post 2 to 3 foot in the ground with 6 or 10 hits. Dry soil will double that. Get one learn how to use it and you will never look at a 3 point auger again.
Scott

DJ54 · Mar 30, 2014

I have an HD-8 too. Took 35-40 licks to drive unsharpend 5" post, 36" deep into shaley glacial till here. Damp ground definitely helps. Unsharpened 6" posts when the ground is really dry just bounce off the ground here, and started shattering the top of the post. But then, they were 9' posts, and not much of a drive stroke. Best I did in one day was 28 posts, but that was all by myself, and am pretty particular as to them being straight & inline. A torpedo level with a magnetic side to it can be your best helper. Place it on the side of the driver for plumb, then on the post itself, and adjust as needed. I'd check every 10-12 hits, depending on how it was driving, to keep things inline/plumb.

Sharpening the posts will cause you more grief than not. If you happen to hit a, guessing 4" - 6" rock, it will take off, and you won't bring it back. I tried regular 6" posts in the same area, and they drove straight down.

I would advise getting the hydraulic tilt model. Glad I did, because you do a LOT of adjusting. At least I did using it on my Ford 2000. Nice for nudging a post to straighten it too.

JimRB · Mar 30, 2014

I used a Shaver to drive about 500 posts. I pointed them. I had to wait until it rained because the posts would just bounce on the hard dry clay. I think I was taking 3 minutes a post to drive 3 feet. It has been 15+ years since I did my fence so I forget how fast they went in. As the other fellow mention, hitting rocks can cause the post to deflect.

It has been a while since I have been in Doerun. Isn't the first foot sandy before it gets hard?

The post driver works better with good springs. I got some from McMaster Carr that made a world of difference over no springs. If you get a new driver then that is not an issue.

Rustyiron · Mar 30, 2014

I had one and found that in my shale

soil that a 4" pilot hole with 6"+ locust posts helped a lot. A nice tool but a pita on steeper hills. If you have an mid size excavator handy, they'll just push a post in the ground and you can "steer" it real easy. (found that out on the steep hills)

DT86 · Mar 30, 2014

JimRB said:
The post driver works better with good springs.

Yes!
I knew a guy that had a driver (can't remember if it was a shaver or work saver) and he was complaining about how poorly it drove posts. He was talking about adding weights, ect. Turns out the springs were gone, as in missing. I never did convince him that he needed new ones.

On our HD-10 the springs were getting a little tired and the the cylinder leaked a little. I replaced both springs and the top seal on the hydraulic cylinder. It was like new again. It's about 12 years old and has driven literally miles of posts from 4" to 8".

One time a weld separated from the surrounding metal where you adjust the angle via the crank. 15 minutes with a stick welder and we were back in business.

cletus99 · Mar 31, 2014

I'd love to find a used one, but I've never seen one for sale around here. It would be nice to find a place that has one to rent. I might have to call around and check. The HD-8 is $2625 without and $5465 with hydraulic base from EA. Not sure if anyone else sells it cheaper.

JimRB · Mar 31, 2014

I see them occasionally in the Georgia Market Bulletin. If it is flat where your fence is going the manual base may be OK. My property is less than 4% grade and I did fine with the manual base even if the driver was old and had some slop. Ads - Ga Dept of Agriculture

Timm250 · Mar 31, 2014

I bought a new HD10 from Kencove with the hydraulic tilt for about $3700 about 3-4 years ago. You may want to check out their prices.

cletus99 said:
I'd love to find a used one, but I've never seen one for sale around here. It would be nice to find a place that has one to rent. I might have to call around and check. The HD-8 is $2625 without and $5465 with hydraulic base from EA. Not sure if anyone else sells it cheaper.