He Makes His Own Drivable Posts

He Makes His Own Drivable Posts FENCING Miscellaneous Pierre Ménard Vispieux makes his own drivable support posts for decks fences and sheds “There were round 1-in diameter drivable support posts on the market ” says Ménard “They worked beautifully but they weren’t as strong as I needed ” Ménard knew that a square tube has more strength than a round one and flat surfaces are more difficult to bend He decided to build his own posts using 1 1/2 and 2-in square tubing To drive them into the ground he added a flat plate or blade to each post welding them at an angle to ‘screw’ into the ground “I cut the posts at a 30-degree angle and added a blade at an angle that is 4 degrees from perpendicular to the post ” says Ménard “If it is too sharp an angle the machine driving the post can be hard to hold If too shallow an angle a rock or other object can get caught between the cutting edge and the trailing edge ” After initial trials Ménard kept the shallow angle but used 2 slightly separated 1/4-in thick 6 by 3-in half blades This made the post easier to fabricate as well as to drive He also bent the toe and heel edges of the half blades slightly to penetrate the ground more easily He advises making jigs for placing and welding the blades The square posts can be driven into the ground by hand with a 2 by 4 or 4 by 4 attached simply walking around the post However Ménard also devised 2-man power drivers using a drill sprocket and chains followed by one with 2 drills “I am in the process of designing a third machine with two 3/4-in Milwaukee drills ” says Ménard Support plates for a building to rest on or attaching a post can be purchased or fabricated Ménard welds 8-in lengths of 1-in threaded rod to plates or U-channel iron After threading a nut on the rod he inserts it through a 2-in dia washer and into the square tube in the ground “Simply turn the nut on the rod to adjust the height ” says Ménard Ménard says he has used the support posts for a wide variety of jobs including replacing failing supports A video at FARMSHOW com shows how he drives the posts A detailed explanation of how to make the posts is on his website Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Pierre Ménard 4440 Chemin Robinson Cookshire-Eaton Quebec Canada J0B 1M0 ph 819 829-2501; vispieux@gmail com; www vispieux com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.