As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
As things will melt down, I thought I would share some million dollar knowledge in how to set a corner post or a gate post. Knowledge of this will help in setting posts for a pole shed, your fences to keep people out or animals in.
The first thing you will need is a tile spade. You will use this to dig the sod out which will clog up your post hole digger.
Next you may need a pick axe. Why? Because numbers of posts are set by roads or in yards which have fill in them. Fill is gravel or stones, and you are going not be able to dig through them, nor auger through them. You will wear your ass out with a tile spade and dull it and not get anything done with a post hole digger.
Like all things, use the pointed end.
Now you come to dirt with rocks in it, about 6 to 12 inches down. Some of you have watched PBS and will think, "Now I can get me a gas powered post hole digger and dig to China". Here is the warning, unless they are on a tractor, you will soon discover that the auger is moving fast, and when you hit a rock it is going to try and break your wrist or arm or whack the hell out of you with the handles.
Enjoy your bruises and breaks.
Me I was stuck with a hand powered one and that will be something just as hard but no bruises.
As you dig this hole you may be blessed in finding rocks in your hole or the side of the hole, which you will have to use the tile spade like an auger to try and get them lose, and if it is a boulder, then you can frown in if you want to dig the damn thing out or just move the post if you can.
What really helps in this is gloves. Leather if you can afford to go through them, as they suck in dirt gets into them and under your nails, or farmer chore gloves which are cloth which is what I use for stopping blisters or finding some nail bent on tearing holes in my hand.
Lastly on this project which you will swear you will never want to work this hard again, you need a crow bar, some blunt object, in which you will carefully fill the sand clay you just dug out of your hole, back into the hole with the post in it.........and someone holding it as you tamp the earth down, about 2 inches at a fill, which will make your post solid in the ground, and not tip over when you hang things on it, which makes you look like a fool.
One more thing, if you have an 8 inch post and only a 6 inch digger as we had, then you get to use the tile spade and shave off dirt to make the post fit. Do not get the post stuck in the hole or you get to jack it out with a chain. I was using JYG's sawed in two posts which were like for electric wire so the bases were big and they got skinny on the way up. At 5 bucks compared to 35 I can do a little trimming.
OK that wraps this up, along with your finding how long your arms are as you reach down in the hole. It helps to have a tape measure for depth too if you want to make things look sort of similar. By the time you have done this in 100 degree heat like we did, are burned and thinking you are dying, you will not really care about how uniform things are, until later when some bastard mentions about your posts.
Yes our's are uniform as I dislike bastards making commentary about driving posts from the back seat.
Nuff Said
agtG
