fencepost pounders

[Fla._Deadheader]

Red, the driver belonged to a neighbor. He had a post set to hang the driver on when not in use. I would guess the weight at about 250 pounds. We had red clay and flint rock to drive posts into.

 I saw one where the ram would push the pounding apparatus up and then the ram would "unlatch" and the weight would freefall, it worked a lot like the one I drawed, drew, sketched, scratched??

 ANGLED corner posts??  Splain please?

 We always used the "H" style, so the frost wouldn't push 'em out?

[shopteacher]

Thanks FDH, I got the picture now. Time to start rounding up parts for that thing now.

[redpowerd]

whith them,you need to start a hole, its gotta be deeper than the frost (4-5 foot) by a couple feet. those dont move, and they save on constructin corners.

if i use the weight "and" the spring, i  wont need to sharpen em!

[Fla._Deadheader]

 Teech, the rubber roller could be made with 2 pipe flanges with Tire donuts sandwiched between 'em. Then fasten the flanges to a shaft.

 I once made a lay-down belt sander, by cutting "plugs" out of a semi-truck tire sidewall, with a holesaw. Don'T use steel belted tires  Squeeze them between the flages with 4 bolts and then turn them down square and even. That would last for years.

 The plate the roller is fastened to was hinged, I believe, and the handle would "tilt" the roller out, until the weight fell. Release the handle and the springs push the roller in and the weight raises. Pretty fool-proof.

[Corley5]

http://www.danuser.com/products/hydraulic_postdriver/bmdh.htm

This is the model we've got.  We paid $300.00 at an auction a few years back and it paid for itself in no time.  They also make a PTO powered one

[redpowerd]

thanks for the link.

i like them rubber rollers, nice thinkin
it is pretty simple, cept for the motor/gearbox, thats where ill need to spend. guess you could use a 10 speed bike
'spose 250#s wouldnt take long to drive'm
make the head into a deadblow.

[redpowerd]

how much longer is the inside channel than the outside?

[Duane_Moore]

mite try - Kencove Farm Fence  - Blairsville, PA.            Duh---Duane

[Corley5]

I'd have to shovel snow to find ours as of yet.  It's at the end of the barn with a blue tarp over it.  We use ours in gravel glacial till without a problem.

[Ianab]

Best thing we found for driving fence posts was a 20 ton excavator. Not that I ever had one, but any time we hired one to do track maintainance etc we would lay out another fence line before hand and pay another hours rental to get the digger to just push em in with the bucket.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Red, not exactly sure. Here's a ballpark on how to figure what ya need.

 Use Corley's link to see what the thing looks like. They are pretty simple.

 If the post is to be left at 5 feet above ground, the bottom of the channel that slides should just about hit the ground when the post is at the set height.  You don't want the driver channel to get so low, that the roller won't lift it back up OR get below the guide bearings so it tilts out and might break the lower bearing guides. I'm guessing that the 3 point lift arms are about knee high when operating the driver on level ground.

 That would allow raising the driver for longer posts with the 3 point arms.

 If my memory isn't completely gone, the top of the guide channel would be about seven feet off the ground at the same working level. That would make the guide channel about 6 feet long, maybe.

 The pounding channel would be a little longer, to allow for the big weight. It was about 10" thick, I believe??? Getting the rubber friction drive roller in the right place will take a little figuring. It will be about 1/3rd way up, I would guess??? Remember the height of the post on level ground I mentioned . That would get the roller in about the right place.

 I can't remember how the driven channel is held in place while moving from post to post. Probably need a worm drive gearbox. That would become a brake for the roller when you disengage the PTO. I'm pretty sure there is a pin that goes through the two channels to hold them together in storage???

 There HAS to be a drawing on the "net", if ya just knew how to do a good search. THAT, I ain't good at

[redpowerd]

wonderin what keeps the weight from foldin over when at full lenghth and poundin me into the ground!

[Fla._Deadheader]

Those channels are about 10" or 12" wide and ¼" thick.

[Furby]

This is a little bit different then what you all are working out right now, but I saw a really nice homemade well/post driver at an auction the other day. It sold for $450.
It was a single axle utility trailer with jacks on the front, out riggers with jacks on the back. They had a mast that you swung up into the upright position and then pin a couple of braces in place. There was a ladder built into the mast, in case you needed to get to the top. On the trailer was a small engine with gear box attached to a homemade capstan. At the top of the mast was a wheel hub and rim that a rope ran over and down to the weight.
It was a really well made and thought out rig, kind of just a copy of the big boys.  

[wiam]

I can explain the truck mounted drivers(like DOT).  I run one like it for a living in the summer for a private contractor.  The hammer(1500lbs) is lifted up inside of a frame that it slides in by a hydraulic cylinder(single acting) and a series of pulleys.  The hammer is dropped by pushing the lever and the weight of the hammer and gravity is what drives the post. How hard you hit the post depends on how high you lift the hammer.  There is a steel head that goes over the post that slides in the same frame.  This has a poly cap to deaden sound.  The head keeps the top of the post from getting beat up.  

William