Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Homemade fence-puller

The following photos illustrate a homemade fence-puller Don made last spring to stretch fencing single-handedly (I wasn't able to assist) with the aid of a fence puller/splicer. These photos accompany an article I'm submitting to Backwoods Home Magazine and are numbered so the editor can choose which photos she wants to use.

Photo 1: Two 2x4s, with screws half-way inserted into one of the boards.

Photo 2

Photo 3: The boards are hinged at one end

Photo 4

Photo 5: The other end of the boards are secured by a 4 1/2 inch lag bolt and wingnut.

Photo 6

Photo 7: At the top and bottom, a lag bolt secures a six-foot chain.

Photo 8

Photo 9: The screws down the length of the board serve to hold the fence wire in place so it won't pull out during the stretching process.

Photo 10: To begin, the fence is loosely stretched in place.

Photo 11: To keep the fencing upright temporarily, tack it loosely with a nail (or wire, if using T-posts).

Photo 12: To use the fence-puller, remove the bolt/wingnut at the bottom and lift it over the portion of fence you want to tighten.

Photo 13

Photo 14: Secure the bottom by inserting the lag bolt and wingnut.

Photo 15: Using the fence puller/splicer, start ratcheting the fence taut.

Photo 16

Photo 17

Photo 18: Once the fence is stretched taut, it can be secured with U-nails (for wooden posts) or wire (for T-posts).

Photo 19: When stretching between T-posts, secure the fence puller/splicer to the next T-post for stretching the fencing.

Photo 20

23 comments:

  1. That's a neat idea. Certainly works better than my standard t-post threaded through the wire method :)

    I find an 8N tractor makes a better actual puller than the jack type thing though :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Patrice,
    That is not a 'lag screw', it's a bolt.
    And what you call a 'U-nail' is a fence staple.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so tired of pathetic perfectville people!

      Delete
    2. Please excuse me; I mistook you for a writer who might want to learn the correct nomenclature.

      Delete
    3. Note: I didn't make the above reply. However I didn't use the term "lag screw" anywhere in the post I can see.

      - Patrice

      Delete
    4. "U" nail is so cute! Better than "thingy"
      Photo 14 caption does say "lag bolt".

      Delete
    5. yah its say LAG BOLT, not LAG SCREW
      WHAT A BUNCH OF KIDS. THE PIC TELLS THE STORY.
      GROW UP
      Thanks Mate great info and Yes I will be using it in the very near future
      KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.
      Forget the KIDS-

      Delete
    6. No such thing as a lag bolt. Its quite childish not to care about being correct and perpetuating false information. ASME takes the time to make specifications for every time of hardware so you can always know what youre purchasing. SAE, UAE, JSS - all can have the same parts but different sizes that dont work together. THIS STUFF MATTERS. Not to mention you're not helping anyone by speaking incorrectly about items. I spent 10 years in retail hardware and was Hillman certified - but theres no way I can help you when you dont know what your talking about. Anytime you say the word "lag" (bolt or screw) anyone with a clue will only point to lag screws. Yes - I've had customers try to put wing nuts on lag screws. It doesnt work no matter how hard you try - i'm curious now if this was the article that led them to believe that. No matter how much I tried to explain that they spend 20 minutes trying to prove me wrong. I wasnt. Not everyone is good with deciphering pictures - they're here for a reason and they're reading because the pictures dont tell enough for them. When you say you need lag screws and lag bolts that impossible and confusing as they're technically the same thing. You need hex bolts and lag screws. Then the person has no way to get what they needed done because you couldnt be bothered to be correct when trying to assist someone.

      Delete
    7. NASA and Lockheed care. Farmers not so much. We usually find it expedient to work with what we have available, at least for the smaller jobs. (gvg650@hotmail.com)

      Delete
    8. Amen, farmers get it done, are self reliant, can figure out what needs to be done and in the end get it done . Safety third.

      Delete
    9. If any of you idiots can’t look at the dang pictures and figure out you need some like in the picture or something similar. I doesn’t matter what he calls them for you’ll understand one day that when it comes to hardware, it has many names besides what is technical. So get off your high horse and just be happy someone took the damn time to “give you an idea” of how he does it. Don’t like it…..I don’t care one bit! Obviously you are just looking for something to show off over, I hope you got off on it too!

      Delete
  3. Yep. We built one of those last year ourselves. We used bolts and nuts all the way down, instead of screws. I do like the use of the hinge at the end. A farmers gotta do what a farmers gotta do.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If Don could perfect the equivalent to a Vulcan mind meld for homesteaders he'd be the Spock of country living, and I be among those lining up for my husband to get one.

    He sure does a lot of amazing things for bein' a redundant feller, don't he? :~)

    Yay Don!

    A. McSp

    ReplyDelete
  5. We just moved to the country and the existing corral will not do for future goats, I told my husband he would first have to put up fencing and this fence puller idea is great for such a job You once stated that living out in the country was never ending fencing to fix or put up. You are so right.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pretty much the same thing I did for my fence, but used a rachet and strap for tightening. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Quick and functional. Got the job done no matter what you call the individual parts.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We've done that for years using a come-along for the fence puller.
    That way we can anchor to something other than a metal t-post.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Just FYI, goats get their heads stuck in this kind of fencing if they have horns. 4 strands of 12 gauge electric wire works much better for goats.
    Great fence stretching idea, btw!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it IS a good idea - I have horned goats - and yup they get stuck in this fencing - however... they usually get themselves OUT. It's Cattle Panels that are tough to break free from. But most goat-ers have the tools to help.

      Delete
  10. For those fortunate enough to have an ATV/UTV with a winch, fence stretching can be made much easier and faster by using the vehicle as an easily adjustable anchor point and stretching with the winch - quick, easy, nearly effortless and very tension precise.

    I like the web wire stretcher, btw. Much easier and faster to employ than the one my parents made without the hinge and used 60+ years ago to boundary and cross hog fence our 800 acre N central Arkansas Ozarks ranch.

    While posting here, I'll add my 2 cents worth on the hardware nomenclature. I'm not a stickler, but correct names make reading much easier to understand though best efforts by the well meaning will do just fine.

    Let's not forget that being able to use their heads and improvise, using limited resources at hand, was one of the things that made our "farm boy" WWII soldiers so effective.
    geraldvg (gvg650@hotmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm planning on homesteading on my own soon and I'm alone and 60 so this is a wonderful tool to have in my arsenal. Thank you so much for the great post!

    ReplyDelete
  12. excellent stuff. Have to start building a deer/game fence next year. Very informative. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete