Great stuff mate. I’m gonna buy one of these monkey strainers now as the draper tensioner bar doesn’t quite work for longer bits of wire. It works really well for top wires tho
Thanks. Ye the strainer bar is great for repair jobs. But ye the monkey strainers are best for longer sections of fence, just can be a bit fiddly to use.
Hmm, sorry I don't agree with you, I was always taught NEVER use the staples as tensioners they are purely to guide the wires through. There should always be a gap on the staple, hammering the staples right in will weaken the wire. Strip the last foot off the horizontal tram wires and do a proper straining knot. I also made my own fencing boards out of 1m length of steel about 8mm thick with 5 large bolts clamping the wire, found wooden ones I made first didn't last as wire slowly cut through the wood.
Should have done a straining not, it’s not too hard. Just undo hinge joints and then strip off vertical wires. Wrap around post then under over under loose know and then 2-3 tight knots. Then if it’s high-tensile you can snap off excess but if not you’ll have to trim with cutters
And way too much tension on the mesh. I only use enough to take the slack out and so it's firm but not overly strained. As for the staples, absolutely don't hard staple against the wire, on the end posts or the upright along the fence, this allows the fence to move when animals push on it, and reduces the chance of wire snapping. I also only ring the top and bottom tension wires so the mesh stands. One ring on the tension direction side, then 1/3 and 2/3 between the posts for 4 metres, for wider I use halfway and 1/4 positions top and bottom, this stops Goats pushing the mesh opening a gap between the mesh and tension wire where they can slip through. Then I might use a Warratah clip 1/3, 2/3 or halfway on star pickets (or droppers as some people call them) just to keep the mesh from bowing at the picket, but it's not always necessary, also depending on the direction animals are likely to push n the mesh.
I was only looking for a review on those cheap linewire strainers. To give you some tips mate you should either use a clamp to pull all the lines together or at least pull top and bottom together. That strut on your last post isn't on the right angle. Anything less than 45° is useless. And you should have a proper strainer post in..
I agree the angle of strut is not ideal, I have it a lot lower (40% of the height of the post out of the ground) i also dig the strut a foot into the ground and then use a stake or rock to hold it in place rammed home into the ground. But he doesn’t need a proper straining post for a cheap dog fence like he said. My fence is for the same purpose - to keep my dog in and other people out. I used 3.5” 180cm posts for the whole thing
I know you mean well, but this is a pretty poor job. There are really good videos of sheep fencing being installed professionally. The processes are easy enough for DIY people (like you and me) to follow, and the costs are really only in the wire itself. And it takes very little extra time to do it almost as well as a professional fencer. For sheep fencing I made a straining board from hardwood and bolts, and it will last for years, That makes the job quick and easy. Watch Tim Thompson's videos.
Thanks for the comment, my video was mainly intended to show the tensioner tool being used not a professional fence job I know but it will work. I’ll have a look at Tim’s videos next time I need a fence 👍
