The R.H. entity posted thusly:
All the post hole augers I have seen (I have one, but they are very common around here), have flutes that come up all the way, and for the same reason as an ice auger... to carry the waste out of the hole.
I'm changing my mind. The thing that bothered me was the length...
50". That just seems too long for an anchor. And the diameter of the bit just isn't big enough for much of a post hole digger. Plus it just seems too flimsy to be used to dig deep holes into earth or anchor anything that requires such a deep anchor.My final answer is one that was given by others... an ice auger for ice fishing. It's the right length, has a removable handle for easy carrying and drills a hole just big enough to set a line into (although if you catch a huge fish you might have a problem ;-)
Seems to me that the cutter should pretty easily carve a nice hole into ice without much torque required.
Is that your FINAL answer?
Yes... ice auger.
Joe Barta
I have a post hole digger of this type, not having any fluting to bring out the soil but a heavier shaft and fixed wooden handle. Since the shaft and eye seem so light, I wonder if it might be an anchor for use in some kind of loose material? I can't really imagine what material. Don Young
You sure?
Here's another shot. I think its a type of 'canopy anchor'.
Yeah, I'm sticking with ice auger. They are all similar, but you'll note that one of those someone else pointed to is 30"... closer to what I'd expect for an anchor. And as someone else pointed out, the eye is different... more for turning and less for anchoring.
The digger part is also different. In your picture the digger is more of a screw than a scraper. In the mystery auger the digger part is shallower... more for burrowing a hole than driving into the ground.
Some say burrowing a hole into the ground... but I don't think it's strong enough for that. Plus, if you were to bore a hole 30" into the ground, the handle would be about 20" off the ground. Doesn't seem like a good design.
Anyhow, to me, it seems too big to be an anchor and too flimsy to be an earth auger. I'm still left with ice auger. I don't think it actually "digs" the ice. More like scrapes a hole though it. Looking at pictures of modern ice augers you'll see a shallower angle for the cutter head... just like our mystery auger.
Joe Barta
Yeah, but there's that problem with the tip. Modern ice augers don't have a little guiding drill tip, they start augering right at the start. I can't imagine that getting through ice that will 2-inches later be scraped. Somehow there must be a guiding hole to steer the auger. However, it could more easily push thorough sand or loose soil.
I also wondered if it was for reaming out pipes...
--humunculus
Well I have lived in ice fishing country for almost 80 years and have never seen a device like this for drilling holes in ice.
I perceive a problem when this tool breaks through something like 2 feet of ice and doesn't clean the bottom of the hole. How in hell are you going to get the damned thing back out of the hole? The old timers had the foresight to run the flutes up far enough so one could keep it centered and remove the drill. You would spend more time removing the drill than you would spend fishing. Of course with the wooden cross handle one could let it sit on the ice while planning the next move.
My guess is post hole digger or anchor. If it was used for a canopy anchor one could drill down a foot or so and then place a pipe over it with a rope or cable coming up to tie down the canopy.
Ice augers have a sharp shaver. This device does not.
Try googling "champion flat auger" under images. Closest thing I can find.
--humunculus
RH: I suggest you run a 'Best of What Is It' with all the unidentified items from the past. Very cool...
But I've seen earth anchors that were 4 feet long at the local farm supply store. The length is a function of what kind of load you're going to fasten down, and what kind of soil you're going to be driving it into. Around here, we've got very loose, sandy soil or soft, loamy soil that goes down at least 6 feet.
This company has them up to
66" long.So if it's the length that's giving you pause, anchors do come that long.
But that spike at the end would cause problems in trying to start it through ice.
'Tis a puzzlement.
I agree that the way the small spike has been made, it doesn't look like it would be effective for drilling through ice. Also, I got replies from eight different ice fishermen on an ice fishing forum, and all of them say it's not an ice auger.
Though one of them did recognize it and posted:
"It's a swamp anchor for power poles. My dad was a lineman for 27 years so I've seen a few. It's screwed in the ground in soft boggy or wet areas that power lines go through. The loop on the top is for the guy wires to stabilize the pole."
This makes sense and I was ready to declare my vote for earth anchor, especially since I've seen quite a few similar ones on the web, including this 48" model:
This site confirms that the tool on ebay is indeed a post hole auger:
I'm now favoring the post hole digger answer, mostly because I haven't seen an earth anchor with the same type blades, and also based on the auger from
1869.Rob
That's a good idea, I'll probably do that fairly soon and maybe post a separate page of all the close-ups, and possibly other categories if I find the time.
"Jeff R" wrote
I wouldn't think an ice anchor auger would be able to screw itself into ice. They would just use an ice auger to drill out the hole, put in the anchor, fill the hole with water and let it refreeze.
To these kids, that's a _very_ long time ago. Some of them weren't even born yet then!
[Uh-oh - was that the sound of my bones creaking? ;-) ]Cheers! Rich
Definitely. To provide an anchor in the ice, you lay a chain on the ice, and pour a few gallons of boiling water over it, and wait for the ice to refreeze.
I'ts a _sand_ anchor - they use them a dozen at a time to tie down mobile homes on sandy dirt in tornado alley. :-)
I guess it could be used for guy wires, but they're usually poured concrete - this unit is either for a temporary installation or used on mobile homes because they're cheap. (i.e., you can afford to buy a dozen of them. ;-) )
Cheers! Rich
Yes, the wooden handle is used to screw it into the ground, and then a clevis bolt goes through the hole and secures a large (say, 3" or 8 cm wide) steel strap that goes over the top of the mobile home and attaches to the anchor on the other side with a similar clevis bolt. I'll email my brother, who still lives in a trailer, and see if he can get a pic of one.
Cheers! Rich
Sand.
Cheers! Rich
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