Need to redo a fence of about 800’ soon and it’s going to involve a lot of driving T-post into the ground. I’ve always done the odd post here or there with a manual driver which is this tube with handles that basically acts as a hammer (modified version shown in first picture - the red tube thing) … it’s loud (even with earplugs) and hot work.
Decided to use the tractor… Welded a rod end thingy (not sure what it’s called but it has a convenient ball at the end that lets it rotate easily) to the driver, and used a clevis (with hook cut off and bolt welded instead) to attach to the tractor bucket via a convenient pre-existing hole.
Because of the ball rod, the driver hangs vertically quite nicely.
Results of the test run were inconclusive though - the T-post I used was ancient and already bent, and trying to shove it into the summer-baked ground… nope, it folded right in half.
I’m going to soak the test spot with some water overnight and try again with a new post. If that doesn’t work… I’ll put this chore off till winter when the ground gets softened by the rain soak. No way am I paying $8k for this job.
Pics: Top - driver hanging from tractor bucket Upper left - pieces before work (hook clevis with its pin which I had had plans for, another pin, cat 1 top link which I stole the ball rod end from, manual T-post driver, and my boot) Upper right - stuff cut up Lower left - mock-up before welding Lower right - finished product before mounting
The ½" bolt welded to the clevis may be a weak point but in most uses it’s mostly there just to hold the driver up while positioning as most of the force will be clevis top vs bucket (bolt & nut are mostly to keep the driver attached to the bucket when pulling up - very little force). If the bucket is at highest extension and is almost vertical for really tall posts, the bolt may be almost horizonal in which case… yeah it may break off, we’ll see. If so, I’ll weld the ¾" pin to the clevis and use that instead.