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Post Hole Auger? Homemade Ideas?

Flat Thunder Channel

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
378
Location
Ohio
I am contemplating if it is feasible to build a post hole auger attachment for the skid loader. Ideas? I am sure this had been accomplished / attempted by others.
 

Tones

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
3,059
Location
Ubique
Occupation
Ex land clearing contractor, part-time retired
In Australia they are an off the shelf item including different size angers. The way the currency is you could almost buy one here, ship it over and still have $$$ in your pocket as against building one
 

Flat Thunder Channel

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
378
Location
Ohio
Looks like I can buy one for around $2000 -$2500 USD. I am super cheap and would only be using it for personal use. Planning on fencing my entire lot, but even that doesn't justify the large initial expense. Hello Australia! My wife was just talking about how she wanted to visit someday.
 

Ct Farmer

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Messages
322
Location
Connecticut
You might find a used auger and then get an appropriate motor and hoses along with a quick attach plate.

I looked at this and found there was no way I could buy screw flights and make my own auger. Making flights is a pain. I did a few when I modified our 24” auger, no way I’d want to make more.

I found the following costs:

QA plate - $150
Motor - 800 - 1000
Hoses - $30 but I make them here , probably $100 if you buy them
12” auger - $200 - 400 depending on what duty you buy.
Then you need a valve if your machine doesn’t have one. And more. Then you need to cobble it together .

Look for a rental for a few hundred and do all your holes and be done with it maybe..
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
My dad made one 40 or 50 years ago, ugly thing with a Char-Lynn motor, double chain drive, gear box which was I don't know what, made the spiral flutes himself. They were hand cut and hammered, ugly, but worked. That part and several others have since been replaced by commercially available parts but times are not as tough now as they were back then and if he needed one now he would probably just buy it.
 

Flat Thunder Channel

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
378
Location
Ohio
I agree a rental unit would be the best approach. Rent it use it and return the unit. I think I come up with home grown ideas to entertain my boredom.

The only major issue with the rental is the pace at which I need it. I might put up the fence in sections, not necessarily all at once. I also am building a new front porch it could be handy to have it for. Not that it's a necessity for the front porch. It should only require a couple holes.

I watched the first couple episodes of the winch to auger conversion a while ago, but never saw the finish product in action. It looked like he was doing a nice job in the sections I saw.

I found this online just randomly searching. Any idea on the power required to twist an auger? See ether link below.

Thank you everyone for your comments. I enjoy discussing ideas with others. Cheers,

https://www.agrisupply.com/hp-std-g...MI16rL4Mv66gIVUPDACh0TdAQhEAQYAiABEgLjbfD_BwE
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,257
Location
Canada
What kind of property and fence do you want? Making a post pounder and pounding fence posts in may be an easier/better option. Cementing wood posts in will make them rot at the surface.
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I agree with Dave that the idea of steel posts vs wood needs to be considered. Wood need to be tamped in with dirt and rocks to be done correctly. Concrete is for city slickers. Works good now but rots away later.
 

Willie B

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2016
Messages
4,039
Location
Mount Tabor VT
Occupation
Electrician
My dad made one 40 or 50 years ago, ugly thing with a Char-Lynn motor, double chain drive, gear box which was I don't know what, made the spiral flutes himself. They were hand cut and hammered, ugly, but worked. That part and several others have since been replaced by commercially available parts but times are not as tough now as they were back then and if he needed one now he would probably just buy it.
World War II my neighbor wanted a bandsaw. It was in the day of Popular Mechanics magazine offering hundreds of build your own projects. His homemade machine looked very cool, but didn't quite ever function.

I've seen a few homemade three point hitch augers, including one my former brother in law built for a jeep. Most PTO driven ones use rear axles from autos.
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
You are right, now I remember he originally made it for a 3 point hitch PTO drive. The gear box is not a normal car axle on this one though. He fenced and cross fenced the entire ranch with it and has made and moved many different fence lines since then. He later converted it to a Bobcat attachment hence the Char-Lynn motor. It was used on jobs for hire for years afterwards with the homemade ugly auger. With something like a couple bucket teeth with shanks attached on the bottom. Somewhere more recently they bought a factory made auger though and the hand hammered thing is gone.

I am sure he spent many a day in the shop cutting/welding/improving the thing at first. Things with this much torque and force seldom hold up very long for the first 10 iterations until the kinks get worked out.
 

Flat Thunder Channel

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
378
Location
Ohio
I helped an old family member install a fence around his pasture. He built a homemade fence post ram. It used a fork lift mast with a large weight on the top. They mounted it to the front of a skid steer. It worked great, but scared me. It was violent and sometimes would shatter the post into multiple pieces. Those posts were rock solid!

I am a city slicker :/. I plan on installing 4x4's backfilled with gravel. I did think about pouring a concrete perimeter with metal attachment plates formed in for the posts, but that might get a little too pricey.

The homemade auger did look like it performed well. The speed was a little slow, but sure beats a manual tool. I don't know if I agree about good fence construction technique.

I too contemplated buying a cheap 3 point unit and converting it to a hydro powered unit for the skid steer. Sounded like a solid plan, but they are asking gold prices for those old units. Not for sure why..... Gotta go I might have just bought a broken tractor by accident. Uh oh
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,427
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Danuser Machine works Fulton MO makes one vicious post pounder, the renters on our place are driving Oil Field pipe sections in for corner post and welding cross bracing to them, afterword's they hand brush rustoleum on the weld points seems to have held up on their farms. The post pounder drove one into essentially solid rock, it will rust off before can drag it out.
 

Mark13

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
272
Location
IL
Look into a post pounder for your fence project, you can likely rent one for a couple hundred for the weekend.
I picked up a Danuser SM40 post driver a couple months back for my skid for a variety of projects I have coming up. Yesterday 2 of us put in 151, 5"&6" round wood posts in about 10hrs including laying the posts out, getting the pasture fence lines laid out (some was open field), etc. The hardest anyone worked was while laying the posts out as the skid steer drove along with the bundle of posts on the forks.
 

Flat Thunder Channel

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
378
Location
Ohio
I am not overly knowledgeable on the different grades of stone. I commonly get 411 birm mix delivered. How does CA-6 grade limestone compare?

I did end up completing the tractor purchase. My wife wasn't too thrilled seeing a big broken tractor thru the kitchen window. I on the other hand am super excited. I will have to waylay the post hole project for a awhile. The trenching project has been moved to the front of the line. I hope to repair this tractor, use it for my trenching then send it on down the road. I like it, but just don't have the space for extra big toys.

Check out the video of it's first day home. If you scroll to the end you see me tinkering with the fuel system and ultimately making her pergulate!!!

 
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