I want to thank all of you who took the time to offer suggestions for my post tamper. Based on your feedback and a discussion with the local rental shop , we came up with this idea. We cut the chisel end off an old bit that fits a Hilti hammer drill. Then welded it into a 1 inch pipe and finally welded a small plate on the bottom of the pipe. The bit is now about 3 feet long.
For power, we will just use the Hilti drill which is quite compact and just enough weight so I won’t need to bear down to hard. The weight of the tool should do it. I tested it and all seems fine, but I will report (with Photos) after I use it on a few dozen posts.
Sedna
Replies
sedna,
Where's those photos? :o)
half of good living is staying out of bad situations
Sorry about no photos yet. Will get them soon though.
Sedna
Post tamping follow up. Sorry still no photo of the tamper. however it is so simple that no photo is really needed. It is a regular chisel for a hilti hammer drill with the chisel end cut off and a 3 foot pipe welded in its place. A small plate 1.5 by 2.5 inches was welded to the bottom of the pipe. Thats it! Rent a Hilti hammer drill insert tool and tamp. The hammering action sets the fill like concrete.Here are some pictures of the fence. Western red cedar boards, western red cedar frame treated on the bottom of the posts with preservative. The laterals are 6 inch cedar with drip grooves cut in the underside and 2x4 screwed to the bottom, all held by galvanized fence clips. The post tops were beveled and treated with linseed oil, it soaked up plenty. All joinery was done with cedar outdoor screws. The customer has yet to select a finish.
Our big regret is that we treated the posts before setting them and in some cases we hit bedrock before getting the holes as deep as planned, thus the bottoms of some of the posts are stained green with preservative. Next time we will dig the holes first and measure them before treating the posts.
Sedna
Edited 6/5/2006 9:59 pm ET by sedna