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Ed,
I've built many fences in my day and worked for a fence company once that liked to use a two-man auger. The problem with it was, as others have mentioned, it would beat you to death. Also, the bit would invariably move a little and the hole would have to be widened with the clamshell diggers anyway. It always seemed like more work than just digging by hand so I have since never used one and just use the clamshell diggers and the tamping bar. I also rarely use concrete and instead just tamp the dirt back in.
I've built many fences in my day and worked for a fence company once that liked to use a two-man auger. The problem with it was, as others have mentioned, it would beat you to death. Also, the bit would invariably move a little and the hole would have to be widened with the clamshell diggers anyway. It always seemed like more work than just digging by hand so I have since never used one and just use the clamshell diggers and the tamping bar. I also rarely use concrete and instead just tamp the dirt back in.
Setting line pole a few decades back was with spoon & spade and tamp bars.
Having used clamshell diggers, tamping bars, hand augers, shovels, picks, and just about anything else to dig a fence post hole, I can unequivocally state that the hydraulic auger that attaches to the front of my skid steer beats them all, no questions asked.
It takes me less than a minute (usually about 30 seconds) to punch a 9" hole 30" deep in our good old Carolina clay. Earlier this year I augered a 36" diameter hole 30" into the ground for a sign foundation - took about 10 minutes into some extremely hard clay using a tractor with a low hydraulic flow (before I bought my skid steer).
Like Charles and others, I use a tamping bar to compact the soil back into the hole - works very well.
Nelsone - too bad that you're not closer - I'd run the skid steer over and help!
Scott
It takes me less than a minute (usually about 30 seconds) to punch a 9" hole 30" deep in our good old Carolina clay. Earlier this year I augered a 36" diameter hole 30" into the ground for a sign foundation - took about 10 minutes into some extremely hard clay using a tractor with a low hydraulic flow (before I bought my skid steer).
Like Charles and others, I use a tamping bar to compact the soil back into the hole - works very well.
Nelsone - too bad that you're not closer - I'd run the skid steer over and help!
Scott
I wish you were closer too! It would be nice to have a toy, er... I mean tool, like that! It's going pretty good so far. I have all of the posts set along the back of the fence line. The worst one so far is fairly close to a large tree and I had to work around the roots! Doubt I'll get much more done until after the holiday!
Did the cutting tip get sheared off? That happened to me and it took me an hour to figure it out. The other thing I learned was to have two men on that one man auger. The two of you pushing helps get it to bite into the clay.
Re: Fence Post Hole Question - and pressure-treated posts.
Oh boy! I can understand your frustration! I installed a fence this summer, and digging the post holes was a royal pain. My tools consisted of a two handled posthole digger, a heavy steel digging bar, garden hose with high-pressure nozzle, and last, but not least, a pneumatic air chisel. We live in a very rocky area, with some hard-pan about 12" deep.
I start with the two-handed post hole digger and the steel bar. When I encounter a rock that I can not move, I revert to what I call Water Boring. I use a garden hose with a high-pressure hose attachment; similar to a small fire hole nozzle. Use the nozzle to wash the dirt away from all sides of the rock. This is a messy job, the hole fills up with water, so you will need to use the Braille method. The good part is, nearly all the dirt will float out of the hole. You can actually dig the entire hole with the hose and nozzle! And I used a shop vacuum to remove the water from the hole on small jobs.
The exception is hard-pan! Even the water boring grinds to a halt. The hard-pan was about 12 inches down, and looks like packed sand. Water boring works, but a garden hose does not have enough pressure. I gave up, and began to think jack-hammer and dynamite. Scrounging through my tool box, I found a 30 year old pneumatic air chisel, and this did the job. Not real fast, but it does work!
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT PRESSURE TREATED POSTS: I used 4x4 pressure treated post that I purchased from the local Borg; over a three week period. Over 30% (6 our of 15) of the posts twisted at the top, within 30 days! The worst case was about 30 degrees. I kick myself for not stopping to think when I noticed a few of the posts were very heavy. The post should have been stickered and cured.
Norm Abram identifies this problem: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,392864,00.html
Here's a link to my Cedar Fence photo album: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=979
-Don
Oh boy! I can understand your frustration! I installed a fence this summer, and digging the post holes was a royal pain. My tools consisted of a two handled posthole digger, a heavy steel digging bar, garden hose with high-pressure nozzle, and last, but not least, a pneumatic air chisel. We live in a very rocky area, with some hard-pan about 12" deep.
I start with the two-handed post hole digger and the steel bar. When I encounter a rock that I can not move, I revert to what I call Water Boring. I use a garden hose with a high-pressure hose attachment; similar to a small fire hole nozzle. Use the nozzle to wash the dirt away from all sides of the rock. This is a messy job, the hole fills up with water, so you will need to use the Braille method. The good part is, nearly all the dirt will float out of the hole. You can actually dig the entire hole with the hose and nozzle! And I used a shop vacuum to remove the water from the hole on small jobs.
The exception is hard-pan! Even the water boring grinds to a halt. The hard-pan was about 12 inches down, and looks like packed sand. Water boring works, but a garden hose does not have enough pressure. I gave up, and began to think jack-hammer and dynamite. Scrounging through my tool box, I found a 30 year old pneumatic air chisel, and this did the job. Not real fast, but it does work!
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT PRESSURE TREATED POSTS: I used 4x4 pressure treated post that I purchased from the local Borg; over a three week period. Over 30% (6 our of 15) of the posts twisted at the top, within 30 days! The worst case was about 30 degrees. I kick myself for not stopping to think when I noticed a few of the posts were very heavy. The post should have been stickered and cured.
Norm Abram identifies this problem: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,392864,00.html
Here's a link to my Cedar Fence photo album: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=979
-Don
the twisting problem can be helped (not eliminated but helped) by running the top 2x4 flat. if kept down from the top of the fence slats as pictured it will also make a hndy place to set down your beer.
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