A group of voluteers I work with have a post bashing hammer/maul (a sledgehammer with a big wide face) for banging in posts (usually 3"*3").
To use this well, and safely, takes quite a lot of strength and skill. We're wondering about getting a post rammer (a weighted closed end tube with handles) as a safer alternative.
Just curious as to how effective they are compared to a maul.
Tim
They work well with star steel pickets like these
Hmm, the one I was looking at weighs 13kg. I appreciate though that it?s KE that?s important when it comes to driving stakes. Any idea how big/heavy the one you?ve used is/was?
Tim
There's a youtube video of a short, fat bloke using one on a 5" round post.
I wouldn't use anything other than a post rammer.
Yes, that?s the problem, the sledge hammer is much better in that respect because you get much more of a swing up if you use it properly.
Any idea how big/heavy
About that 15kg.
Agreed. Or if you have a digger handy, start the post by hand then bash it down with the bucket.
Bill
Having used both Id use the rammer. Easier to get straight
Absolutely, I have 9 acres with round post and electric tape fencing it off into three or four fields. Hence I have a fairly steady (one a month or so) need to replace posts. Knocking them in with a sledge hammer just doesn't 'cut the mustard', even if you can get them straight you quite quickly destroy the end of the post.
I'm considering getting an attacment for my tractor to help when the ground is hard though, sometimes it simply isn't possible to knock a post into the ground.
Rammer is generically known as a driveall after the popular manufacturer.
Far better than a maul for a few reasons
1 Maul at 5'6" is not an ideal height, the striking angle is wron2 A driveall can be operated by two people
3 no miss hits knackering the stake topThing to be careful about is lifting it cleanly onto the post and then not raising it too high for the strike lest you catch the top of the stake and the rammer then falls on you or partner.
AJH
If it is a big digger you don't even need to bash, just try to lift the digger by pushing down on the post. You can also do this with a tractor with a front end loader.
I had a novel approach when I had to drive eight posts in to make two tree guards. I got some 2" thick wall aerial masts and cut them into two foot lengths, one end being cut at a steep angle to make a point. I drove these into the ground very easily, leaving about 8" protruding. I clamped the wooden posts to these. Because the structures are square and rigid there's no need for the posts to have any strength against being pushed over.
Bill
Just checked in my garage. It?s a bit cluttered but I?m pretty sure there?s no digger or tractor in it. ;-)
Tim
Worth checking though just in case. One of Mr Mawson's might have slipped out through a wormhole in space-time.
:-)
I wonder if he wouldn?t mind looking in his sheds for my pickaxe. It?s gone AWOL. :-(
Tim
The mall is the tool if you can use it. I can't so I welded up a plate that sits on top of the post so that it doesn't split.
I like to think I have some experience of this job:-)
All hand driven posts on this farm follow a hole prepared with a steel bar. (locally, crow bar) Mine has a square tip and WD 1944 marking. Hertfordshire flints generally occur near the soil surface so preparing a socket is beneficial for several reasons. The post is immediately self supporting... the point is less likely to be diverted by something impenetrable... the post top is then within reasonable reach for sledging home. A post rammer has drawbacks apart from really needing two operators. The most obvious being the difficulty of replacing a post in an existing barbed wire or netting fence.
We have something similar and it?s what we use to start off our posts.
Not a problem we have thankfully. I can see that we?ll probably still need the mall for some situations. It?ll be good to have an alternative though.
Tim
Remind me how tall are you Tim ;-)
Yes I wouldn't discount using a maul completely.
We actually had a Widborn Whacker, just like a heavy driveall but lifted itself using compressed air.
AJH
They all work better if you have an iron bar to make a "pilot hole" for the post. Also moves any stones out of the way.
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