Tractor mounted fence post driver ideas

[mickeyw]

Here in the UK, we typically use split chestnut stakes (approx. 4-5 diameter and halved) and barbed wire or for fencing suitable for cattle and sheep. The posts are normally 5? or 6? and go 8-12 into the ground. Over the years I have put a lot of posts in the ground, just using a manual post rammer. Itç—´ hard work for sure, and the older you get, the harder the job gets. My former youthful energy seems to have got up and left me.

I have been thinking about easier ways to push fence posts into the ground. Our needs and certainly our budget don't permit some of the fancy manufactured tractor mounted post ramming gear, as nice as it is.
I don稚 have access to a 360 digger or a tractor that can push down with the bucket. Our Ford 3000 uses gravity to drop the FEL, it doesn't get much cheaper than free

So I've been researching and thinking how I could make a tractor mounted device as cheaply as possible. I've seen some pretty ingenious ideas, but these have mostly been applied to larger, heavier machines with power down available on the FEL.

Instead I wondered about have a 3 point mounted hydraulic cylinder that would use the tractor's own weight to push the post in, so working like a hydraulic jack really.
Having recently been building a hydraulic splitter with a 10 tonne cylinder on it, I considered the cylinder could be put to a secondary use to save money. The stroke at 500mm (19? would be ideal.

Has anyone tried something like this? Do you think it would have enough downward force? I am thinking of using such a tool fitted to our JD1640. I don't know how much it weighs? Must be at least 2-3 tonnes? Are the link arms man enough to lift the tractor?
The ground round our way is predominantly clay, so pretty soft in the wetter seasons (that's all year round right now ) but goes pretty solid in the summer (if we ever get any).

Your thoughts please gentlemen...

 

[bcp]

Maybe this:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/198188-homemade-post-driver-pounder.html

Bruce

 

[mickeyw]

Cheers Bruce, I came across this one before. Not quite what I had in mind though, as this one still pounds the post. It certainly shakes the tractor around a good deal too. The FEL mounting provides good flexibility of positioning, but I only have single acting hydraulics on the Ford 3000's lift arms.
I was considering a hydraulic downward push.

 

[CliffordK]

I haven't built wood fences for a while.
If you're only doing a few hundred posts, just drill them, drop them in and tamp them by hand.

The one-man handheld augers are very effective. Basically a lawnmower & flexible shaft, with a pole between the auger and cart to reduce torque.

What we ended up doing was predrilling the post holes, perhaps 4" or so for a 5" or larger post.

I remember Dad used to pound quite a few in with the front bucket & some weight (dual acting hydraulics).

Eventually they got a rear mounted post pounder, but by that time I had already graduated HS, and I don't remember it much. I assume it uses a mix of weight and hydraulics. I'm not sure if it pounded or pushed, or both.

Nonetheless, predrilling the holes helps reduce the power requirements, and keeps everything straight.

Steel pile (sheet pile, posts, etc) is normally driven using a vibratory driver which is extremely effective. However, I'm not sure if a wood post would withstand the vibration stresses.

 

[ruffdog]

My neighbor has a old narrow front farmall that has a hydraulic post pounder on the front. One day he wanted me to help putting in a fence with wood posts. Some of the posts were about 8" dia, flat bottomed, and it was mid summer, hot and dry. I was thinking there was NO way that old thing was going to drive them posts. I was wrong, to heck with all that digging, tamping, ect......that thing amazed me!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Around here we can usually find used post pounders for around $150. Nothing wrong with them, just old. We mount them in the middle of the tractor as it is easier in the vineyards to have attachments mounted there. The hardest part is adapting the mount to each tractor. Here is mine mounted on a Farmall 45A. Originally this pounder was mounted on a Ford 3910. I also had another pounder that was off a Ford 640 that came to me when I bought all the equipment from another farm. Sold it for $300. So if this style will work for you it may be an option to start looking at some vineyard areas in Europe and see what is available there used. If nothing else an auger would be a good option.

As for your idea, if you have very soft ground you can push a thin post into the ground but around here you won't be able to do anything more then a steel t-post. A 4" round wood post wouldn't even sink very much at all and definitely not enough to hold itself up on its own.

 

[NS Gearhead]

If your 3pt will lift, but not push down, why not make a pivot point so that when you do lift the arms the other end is powering down?

 

[BrandonR]

You may not have down pressure hydraulics but why not load something heavy into the bucket and use the weight from that for down pressure?

 

[bob2299]

Hello

Can you help me, I have never seen a post pounder, could it pound steel pipes, around here we have diamond driller, they sell there use rods cheap,

would something like that attach to a 3 PT hitch?

I would make my life easier if I could just pound the pipe in the ground to make a fence,
what would something like that weight? I would like to know so I can calculate shipping

thnx

 

[204saskman]

Just look on kijiji in ontario. Type in post pounder. They will hammer in steel posts just fine. They are worth a bit more up here in cqnada but are very common.