This picture shows a stake from the survey that generated bunches of action. I was just setting here fat, dumb, and happy when my neighbor sold the back of her property. The survey stake was the buyer's attempt to know what he was buying. What a concept. About half of our shared fence line had to be moved from six inches to six feet in my direction. However, because I got lost in the woods I gained as much as 30-40 feet of property towards the back of the property. It just hadn't been important before money began to change hands.
Once in motion I tend to stay in motion so once I finished with that line of fence I decided to do something I should have done years ago. Clean up the other property line and separate lengthwise into two roughly equal pastures. How can you do that cheaply?
You need to use all the good stuff that you have and time cannot be as important as money. Nothing that I moved or removed was thrown away. My mom used to say that she was Scottish (a McClure) and wasted nothing. I'm not that hardcore but I am her son.
Besides the rolls of fence, other items included a couple T post and some post still usable from my 10-year-old Salvation Army fence. As you can see, some of them are bent. If you have the right equipment you can straighten them. You will see that shortly.
One of my neighbors offered to donate some T posts to the cause. That made the straighteners even more important. The pink pipe with two handles (originally red -also getting old) makes these metal pipes important. It is a driver for metal fence posts. Except for gates I just about always choose this over post hole diggers and wooden posts. 15-20 blows is about all it takes even in the hardest of soil and you need not wait for the soil to set.
One of my neighbors offered to donate some T posts to the cause. That made the straighteners even more important. The pink pipe with two handles (originally red -also getting old) makes these metal pipes important. It is a driver for metal fence posts. Except for gates I just about always choose this over post hole diggers and wooden posts. 15-20 blows is about all it takes even in the hardest of soil and you need not wait for the soil to set.
There is a tool that I have seen at Northern Tool and Supply that lets you take these out of the ground. It is a bumper type jack (I know, only geezers have seen old style bumper jacks). These jacks pull them straight up and they do not bend. If you don’t have a puller they bend and you need to straighten them some in order to drive them.
Every neighborhood has a redneck like this who loves to have his picture taken. He is shown here displaying a bent (barely) T post. Next he will show you how to straighten metal poles.
Every neighborhood has a redneck like this who loves to have his picture taken. He is shown here displaying a bent (barely) T post. Next he will show you how to straighten metal poles.
This is a straightener being used. However, you must remember that not all trailers are created equal.
Put 200 lbs plus on the pole and it straightens. I have two trailers that let me use this system. A third has such soft suspension that it is useless for this operation. It just rolls with the punch and laughs at me.
Google images Now the easiest way to install fence is without poles but you do need trees to do that.
I know some people think that if one attaches something to a tree he can return in 10 years and find it 10 feet in the air. That is not how it works. It will be roughly (or exactly) the same height but it will be grown into the tree. What actually happens is that the tree, at that spot will continue to grow thicker. As it grows it absorbs what is attached to it or adjacent to it. This pipe is a pretty extreme example but google images has images featuring tombstones to cars being consumed by trees.
I know some people think that if one attaches something to a tree he can return in 10 years and find it 10 feet in the air. That is not how it works. It will be roughly (or exactly) the same height but it will be grown into the tree. What actually happens is that the tree, at that spot will continue to grow thicker. As it grows it absorbs what is attached to it or adjacent to it. This pipe is a pretty extreme example but google images has images featuring tombstones to cars being consumed by trees.
This absorbed staple and wire is an example that I have to offer. No bicycles growing out of a tree. It took about two years for this staple and wire to absorb. If I had left it another year I probably could not have freed the wire. An obvious benefit is that unless the tree dies nothing is going to get loose. I have seen no evidence of any trees dying from this use in over 10 years. This is an example of a heavier gauge wire. All the cheap stuff stayed shiny.
You can barely see the head of the staple on this one. Obviously I didn't try very hard to get it out. If the staple is not sunken too deeply into the tree you can cut the head, twist, and pull the fence free. If it’s embedded like the one above just cut the wire as closely as possible and remove it. This removal is not complete. I normally beat the wire till it’s very close to the tree and let it absorb some more. I used to hear tales about old timers nailing into a tree because it needed iron. I have no idea if that’s a valid need but this tree now has iron with zinc and aluminum coatings. When this job is done I think I will take a wire cutter and a hammer to all of them. You can get cut by just this much sticking from a tree.
I am sure you don’t have to have this type because I have also used staples without barbs. This type, however, seems to hold the best with wooden fence posts. With trees it makes no difference that I can see. If you have donkeys in the field, however, I recommend these be placed in the tool box when you stop work.
Donkeys are sloppy with their toys. These staples on the ground are an example
It is obviously not a temporary fix when you staple to a tree. This simple bolt cutter is the answer if you need to move a fence or cut heavier wire.
You will see another tool that is quite capable of cutting wire but this one is faster. It sliced sections out of this chain link fence. I then attached them to the barbed wire on the property line in an attempt to make the fence goat proof. This tool easily cuts padlocks.
To divide the pasture lengthwise I measured from the side and marked a tree when I reached 100 feet. I did this in three or four spots. Then I used this twine to stretch between the marks. When I was satisfied I ran, stretched, and stapled wire.
Today between storms I took T posts to the field and positioned them where I thought the trees were too far apart. I will need a couple days for the ground to dry before I get back to this.
Today between storms I took T posts to the field and positioned them where I thought the trees were too far apart. I will need a couple days for the ground to dry before I get back to this.
The tools and the truck holding this tailgate represent just about all you need to install barbed wire. The truck can be replaced with a "come-along" if you are a glutton for work. Your hammer needs to be fairly heavy. This one is a framing hammer. Your pliers can be lighter but it does help to have cushioned handles. The two fluorescent tools on the right were a barbed wire kit purchased at tractor supply. Both will cut through barbed wire and if I were using lighter staples I could do just about everything with the combination tool. It is built to cut, hammer, and twist.
I have found that using my hand to twist the loops works well but I keep wearing out the left glove. I have gone through three left gloves without losing a single right one. Probably will be different for anyone who has a standard issue right hand. By the way, the unpainted pliers fit into the standard pliers pocket on farmers' overalls. The pliers were probably in that pocket when I started the job. That is when I painted the other tools. I would have replaced (at least) the hammer, my limb loppers (not shown), and the bolt cutters had I not painted them. You can find them very easily when they are fluorescent. Probably if you aren’t working in a forest all that pretty paint would be unneeded.
I recommend wearing overalls as they save on shirts. Barbed wire just rips up the standard garden variety shirt. Tough overalls (Carhart may be the toughest) stand up well. In the summer you may cook but this time of year they are ideal.
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Simply putting two loops together fuses these sections of barbed wire better than you would think. I used safety wire at first to make sure that the sections did not unwind right up till something happened to make me understand the knots were as strong as the wire.
Simply putting two loops together fuses these sections of barbed wire better than you would think. I used safety wire at first to make sure that the sections did not unwind right up till something happened to make me understand the knots were as strong as the wire.
I decided to try this before I safety wired them. Sure enough when the wire got really tight it snapped. I went back to see which of the joints had parted. I was surprised. It was a clean snap in a place where no loops were joined. That was the point when I quit using safety wire. If you note in the picture of the loops, these wires may be dissimilar. They may not even be the same gauge but it does not matter. They are not twisted with each other so any gauges will mate. I expect to safety wire each joint anyway after the barbed wire is strung and I start draping range fence or chain link.
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These don't really belong here but they don't belong anywhere else either. It rained most of the day and I didn't work on fence very much. I took the goats out and let them be loose in a front pasture that's blocked off. While all were interested,the llama (Hershey) was really interested. The boys really didn't know what to think.
Sally suggested we secure that front pasture really well and leave the three together for a while (with a human chaperone till we are sure it's ok). I think I will quit putting off that secure gate installation and do that. It's taking a while to get done with the fence and these two are growing like bad weeds.
It will be at least a week before I expect to write again. Thanksgiving means family, not writing, and the fence will never be done if all I do is talk about it.
Sally suggested we secure that front pasture really well and leave the three together for a while (with a human chaperone till we are sure it's ok). I think I will quit putting off that secure gate installation and do that. It's taking a while to get done with the fence and these two are growing like bad weeds.
It will be at least a week before I expect to write again. Thanksgiving means family, not writing, and the fence will never be done if all I do is talk about it.
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