Setting posts for fence end brace These were the Hardest Post Holes I've ever drilled. 

One of few Channels whose videos I truly look forward to receiving. Thanks.

We have similar soil conditions. My usual strategy is to run a pilot hole down with a small auger first, then follow with the big auger. I apply pressure by sticking the chisel-end of a long tamping/pry bar under the wrist at the top of the gear box, and then sit or lean on it. With the small auger it generally goes full depth quickly. The bigger auger then has a smaller cutting surface to work on, and then follows in pretty quick too. I appreciate your honest and straight forward videos that show your experiences.

You are really lucky where you live. It has taken me a whole day to dig one posthole in the ozarks.

The exposed PTO and you pushing down on the post hole digger made me wince. My father’s oldest brother got tangled up in an unguarded shaft on his feed grinder. He was wrapped around it till the tractor ran out of fuel. He was long dead before that. Weld a hook on the post hole digger and add weight that way. I don’t want to be that guy, but my family’s loss was beat into my head.

Evan, you more than likely could just drill right after you put the water in the hole. We used to do that when we drilled post holes by hand, and it worked really good. Thanks for sharing.

We had a D17 on the farm. Bought it for a chore tractor. It spent more time at the fuel barrel then any of our larger tractors that were worked more. It also had loaded tires and weights but struggled for traction. I now have a Fordson Major, I strongly believe it uses 75-80% less fuel and does way better. Can actually pull a plow or a disc with the Major.

When I was a kid my grandfather would dig a few inches for each hole and us kids would dump a bucket of water in each hole the next day he would cruze through digging. We'd do the same when digging up bushes and trees dump water on them the night before and they would pull right out.

That’s some hard work Evan, but your persistence is paying off.

Just for future reference if you hand tamp to about 3/4 the way then pour a gallon of water in hole that dirt will set up like concrete! That's what we did for the state setting sign posts in! Great job God bless be safe! Tony n Lee Ann

Evan, you did a great job UNTIL the end of this video. Gotta be more careful especially when working alone, one slip and you are history with that post hole drill !!! Other than that you figured out what to do to sink those holes easier in the dried hard packed soil!! 👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Thanks for sharing with us and keep up the videos and good safe work.

Evan, I see the water worked by pouring it in the hole and letting it soak in, here in Alabama we have red clay and it is hard as a rock when it is dry, but with some water, you can drill holes and you have the same problem. It takes a little longer but it works and I am glad it worked for you.

wow i have never seen the ground drill that hard . the water was a great idea.

wish all the big guys supported the little guys

My son taught me a trick they use in highway construction. As you add each layer of dirt, sprinkle in 1-2 cups of water before tamping. Do this on each layer of additional dirt. It comes out rock solid.

Evan, you are living the dream! Nice wife, house, very nicely set up farm, etc. keep up the GREAT WORK !!!!

A while week off!! Wow, so happy for you. Looking forward to videos on your fencing job ❤️

Looks like a fun and easy project.

...comin' along nicely. keep safe and have a great week...

I love watching you do all this stuff. 👍👍

At the conclusion of your video you were risking your life. If you had slipped you could have fallen into the auger or on to the PTO. Take your time and let the machine work for you. I'd hate to see you lose an arm or your life.

Your subscriber to views ratio is unmatched to many other channels. I’ve no doubt a tractor company will soon sponsor you. Well deserved I would say when that happens. Started watching your channel when you bought the property and I can say I look forward to every video.

the end of auger is cutting bits. very fun videos

Wow. that water trick sure was surprising!!! Good job!!! Thanks...Peace!!! Bill

Hi.... Evan nice to see you, thank you for sharing your video homestead chicken farmer garden 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 👕🐔🐓🐥🐕🐖🐈🌱🐐🎥👍👍👍

Can you do a video review of your 3 pt hitch conversion? What you like, don’t like. Maybe how the geometry works with different attachments. Thanks

SSSSOOOO envious. Would be happy as a clam to be able to set posts with just an auger, water, and my Kubota! We rented a 65lb jack hammer and a clay spade to dig holes in Northern Virginia, at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and its rock shelf....

Love all of your vids, but it adds special touches when you show some cooking. Love cooking on anybody's channel.

Thanks for sharing.

Well the water does work I have to do that from time to time! You need some of the rain that we been getting here in Florida! Great job Evan! Injoyed watching your videos! THANKS!

Don't cut your top rail in your H brace, cut notches 1" in posts to receive rail. So glad you discovered the magic of water in clay! Pretty "dirt" Patience is a virtue.

Something you might consider,first and third posts weren't plumb.Nailing a 2x1 on top of a post and tying off plumbbob to it,allows top mount to turn 90 degrees.As far as the ramming bar is concerned,piece of 1.5 inch galv pipe 5' foot long with a 6"x 3" solid bar,alt sq. tube welded to the end of it.Weight of that foot works wonders compared to lighter timber style rammer.

Doing a great job

I know you will think this crazy. But my dad used to use an old baseball bat to tamp post holes. He never drill a hole more than 30 inches deep. The bat worked really good. He used both ends. I noticed too that you might want to paint your barn roof soon.

Growing up dad and I would drill out end posts than run string between the 2 post to get a straight line

Helped a guy a few days same situation. Used a 16’ 2x8 as a lever attached it to top of the drill BUT man on tractor ready to kill it. You will succeed!!!

We chained a twelve foot post to the top beam of the post hole digger and then hung tractor wheel weights on the end of it to give the auger enough pressure to dig.

A lot of those augers have a hole in the top of them that you can put a long bar in, so you can use leverage and make your own down pressure, while being at a safe distance from the auger.

FYI New Tractors will not have any down pressure on the 3 pt.

We have a bar to jam into the pivot point above the gear box and it becomes a two man job... one on the tractor and one hanging on the bar...like someone else stated there aren’t really any new tractors with down pressure

Like the video exsept the end you play with your life .

G day from Australia evan on your post hole digger can you put the linkage pins on the digger on the inside of linkage part of digger it might work ??.. great videos as always ..

Amazing what a sharp edge can do! Maybe if you hung a 5 gallon plastic bucket full of sand or soil and attached it to the top of the drill you would get more bite??

if that would be my pole dril i would weld a basket on top of it so you can add weight to it since you have no down pressure

Evan, I have the same problem with my clay. It just gets so dry that when you try to drill it just turns to dust and there isn't anything for the auger to grab ahold of. I bought a 12" 3" diameter auger to drill holes to plant tulips this fall an have the same problem. Of course I am using a 3/8 cordless drill. Am going to go buy a cheap corded drill to see if that helps. Otherwise like you will have to resort to water.

Thanks

You make me nervous with the pto! I never mess around with any attachment while the tractor is running! I do very much enjoy your channel!

You can build most anything, build you a Post hole digger cross brace bracket with the outside pins that will fit the width of the case lower hitch pins Then your post hole digger will work faster for you as you can use the case tractor Worth a shot,

Another possible reason for your difficulties may be soil compaction. You can get a measuring device called a penetrometer to test for compaction. Or you could contact your local county extension office for help with testing. You may need to hire someone with a subsoiler to break up the soil. This helps with drainage if it is done in the right directions (i.e. working with the contours of the land) and will help with soil oxygenation.

PTO auger Best invention of all time!

I’m fighting the same thing right now. I worked for probably 4 hours and got 2 holes drilled. They’re still a few inches shy of where I want them

Two things I learned about fence posts......do it in the spring or winter for softer ground or, best solution, buy a digger with a down pressure set up......

with really dry soil or dry sand you can just shake the post and the dirt will just sift down the hole . like david white said start your holes pour in water and leave for tomorrow

Last frame not good. Need someone near tractor to kill it if something goes wrong. I’ve had digger to break through ground and before I could stop it , it went too deep and snapped auger shaft in half. Biggest danger however is getting body parts into moving parts. Better safe than sorry !

You could mount a rack on the top of the pothole digger that can hold rocks. You could just keep adding rock for the tough stuff.

I would put weights on the 3 point or right on the boom of the auger would help. On another note lots of tractors do not have down pressure.

Weld a steel pole to the auger arm so you can push down on it (I lay on mine sometimes) to get some down force. I ratchet strapped my first one to it

Hang some weights on your post hole auger frame. We have similar issues in Australia and that is how we get past that although it does present other problems. Bit of a balancing act though to get it right. Soft ground or wet ground means you have to control the hydraulics a bit more. Cheers

We lived in the Mojave desert. Installed 400 feet of fence. We used a pipe with a hose on it (water auger) pushed it down 6 feet then used a 2 person auger to remove the slurry from the hole. You said you had no down pressure on the 3 point. What if you welded a weight bracket on it and added some tractor weights. 3 point should have no problem lifting it, but a couple hundred lbs might help a bunch.

How about some orange paint....measure and mark where the hole is to be, go back with auger and drill as much as is easy on each orange spot then go back and add the water Or if you have someone could pour in the water after you pull out the auger. Assembly line style. The next day of drilling should be a breeze. Also lay the post at each position too so that it will be ready to drop into the hole when its finished. Just a thought. Have a Blessed day.

Good video

Evan shouldn't use a level to get the post straight up and down or did I miss something ??? You could tie some pails of water to the top arm and fill them up. Evan you have a welder so make an adapter for the case. I think it would be easy once you think about it

Dig many holes !st, allow all to soak in water, also, drop in post, line up and measure before back filling. Enforce digging holes, place a 50lb sandbag on top of drill to give it more weight, hope it helps 👍

Where did you get your post and what was the cost of each. Thank you.

When we used to have hard ground we set the loader bucket on the top arm and used some down pressure. Need two people tho

Please provide some drone video of the new barn yard and pasture area. it's hard for me to build a picture in my mind of the layout.

I find it pretty strange that you can drill a hole, put a big post in it, and barely have enough dirt to fill the hole. I put up a wood privacy fence several years back and was putting a bag of concrete in each hole and still had barely enough dirt to refill the holes. Interesting video, but was hoping to see the braces going in. I'll have to find the next video. Have a good day.

try raising and lowering auger quickly in the hole . they make down pressure kits that should help . J S

I asked my wife, isn't that post leaning. Can you change the eagle hitch on the Case?

Hey mate, if you have a welder and some available pipe weld up a metal handle with a wider and heavier front. it'll make better tamping

Try adding some weight to the top of the auger where it curves and see if that helps with downward pressure

Be careful trying to push down on that auger while it's turning. That rascal can grab a pant leg and have you in a world of trouble in a heartbeat. If you need to add down pressure, add yourself a lever arm you can pull downwards but keeping yourself away from the auger.

We placed a 50 kg bag of dirt or fert on it, or got one of the farm hands to sit on it .We had a seat type bar on top of it though, unlike you digger Worked a treat

Yehhh 50 k subscribers, congrats.

Your place looks like the Ponderosa Ranch: Bonanza TV Location

Most tractors do not have down pressure on 3pt. I own few from 55hp to 200 hp. All newer. Augers on skid steers work best, had one once but lost in fire. You will get done with what you have and do not have 30k invested.

I'd use a level Evan makes getting them straight easier

You might want to try replace the bits on the auger. Especially the bent one.

With the issues you had on drilling the holes and the time you have to get the work done it might be worth it to rent a skid steer with a post hole drill on it so you have a more modern option to see if it is the lack of down pressure

greetings evan; if you refill the hole with pea gravel instead of dirt or concrete you will not have to brace them for your wire pull. i have never guyed nor braced any of my posts. respond if you want an explanation..................g

I enjoyed the video we have older tractors to I don’t think the new tractors are not as good as the older tractors 🚜 other people told me the same thing they think the new tractors are not as good as the older tractors

You need to get a post level. They're about $12 from the big box store.

You might try changing the auger tip to a fishtail instead of the spiral. I have had better luck drilling in harder ground/areas with the fishtail tip.

Use some u-bolts (or weld) to attach a platform to the high point of the drill frame. Then you can lay metal, concrete or rock to add weight.

Good for yard art!

If the Case does have positive Down Pressure on the 3 point, find away to make the post digger fit it . Maybe flip the pins over to the Inside of the digger frame/

No concrete? How long will those posts last before having to be replaced? And how are those boots holding up

The only way to get a fence straight is use a string line!! You should use pipe between the corner and brace post, pipe doesn't rot like wood does. New tractors dont have down pressure on the 3pt just so you know.

Forget about tamping the posts in...... fill the hole with dirt......come back with a few bucks of water and allow the water to settle the dirt ! Much quicker and much more sturdy ! Always plan a year in advance of fixing fence. Allow the corner post to settle . Better yet.....if you live where if freezes..... put the wires on when the ground is frozen. This way each post in the fence line shares the load.

How about a bucket or 2 hanging on the side of the curved lift arm on the post hole digger back by the gear box ..... so you can add weight to the downward force to drill the post holes ? adding a few hundred pounds would make all the difference in the hard ground ! ... a box or buckets or even just heavy steel chunks because there is no downward force to the hydraulics and it is all gravity so add weight ! the lift hydrologic will have no trouble with 200 more pounds and the post holes would go much faster and easier !

I knew the water would work!!! You're welcome!!! LOL

I'm with everyone else...STAY AWAY FROM THE AUGER AND PTO !!!!!!! Glad your back is well.

No way you could do that on my soil. Lots of white rock. Had my auger get locked into the rock so much I couldn’t get it to come back up. After I got it out I had to dig a little and lift. My tractor is new and most tractors don’t come with down pressure. The auger itself forces it down into the dirt.

Ground is dry, add water.... Ran outta gas sounds like something I'd do. I get so busy workin I forget to check gas, I take care of all the other maintenance as needed but forget the simple thing, gas........

I am by no means an expert, so take my opinion for what it is. I believe that most augers have a replaceable tip. That may help some with drilling the post holes. As far as I know, tractor 3 point hitches generally don't have any down force, even the newer ones. Think about drilling a hole in a piece of wood. You don't want to push on it too hard, rather let the drill bit do it's job. That brings me back to my first comment. Perhaps replacing the tip on your auger will give you better results.

Guess I should have watched whole video you ended up doing what my grandfather used to do with water.

Water water water, i said that in the last video.. hard headed Evan.

Use your fathers John Deere and put the bucket on top of the auger and have him push down.. I have had the same problem with my allis chalmers wd not having down pressure we have a backhoe and use the bucket on that to help push the auger through the hard clay..

I don’t think most tractors have down pressure on their 3pt hitches. The only one I’ve had was I think a Belarus 400 had down pressure. Otherwise none have had down Pressure. From Allis 185, 7020, Leland 384, Agripower 7000( built by Fiat who also made for Allis and Oliver).

Oh yeah and if you sell that Allis you let me know. I'm a collector :). Ps. I don't think there's many tractors with down pressure most, 3pts are free floating. But they do make post hole diggers with down pressure and it's operated by a hydraulic remotes. Incase that matters to ya. :)

I have a 3 pt hitch post hole digger, if you let it be know in the community that you own a pto post hole digger, all of a sudden you have many new friends, however, the new ones want to borrow your post hole digger, I am very careful when using it, but not always sure others understand just how dangerous this machine can be,