Author Topic: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?  (Read 15122 times)

Kea

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Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« on: November 11, 2009, 18:58:01 »
I thought it would be a good idea to build a screen to hide my 3 wheelie bins behind because in my wide but shallow garden it's impossible to hide them. So I did a bit of landscaping so they have somewhere to sit so they can be accessed and hammered metapost spikes into the ground and put posts in them. i had tried to check the location was OK first but no one in the household could be bothered to look so I'd done my best on my own. However i had forgotten to check the view from inside the house which it turns out is not good so back to the drawing board BUT those spikes are in the ground and i would like to get them out because a) they're going to be very unsightly and b) i need to re-use them.
Anyone got any bright ideas on how to remove them without digging a big hole in the lawn?

When i lived on the farm we had this long metal pole with a pointed end used for digging post holes but might be a bit expensive for just this small job!

saddad

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2009, 19:00:42 »
The big hole is the only solution on our heavy clay... you might be able to widen the hole on lighter soils by using a post as leverage... but you might just sheer off the post holding bit..  :-[

realfood

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2009, 19:13:48 »
Yes, I have done this and it is fairly simple engineering problem. You need something like a long metal bar, perhaps a scaffold tube to make a lever. Position a fulcrum, perhaps a brick on the ground about 30 cm from the post. Position one end of your metal bar under the head of the meta post and over the fulcrum, and lean on the other end of the lever. I will not bother you with the maths, but the upward pressure on the metal post is colossal and will soon overcome the friction effects of the ground.
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davyw1

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2009, 19:48:10 »
I use a scaffold coupling  clamp combined with a fulcrum easy peezy

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2009, 21:43:14 »
I find a great big hammer good for most jobs, but the leaver idea's good too.
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petengade

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2009, 20:46:58 »
Try putting a pick axe head up the end of a short piece of scaffold tube, that will get most things out, the longer the tube the greater the leverage

Kea

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2009, 16:22:22 »
Good idea but I don't have any scaffold tube..or know anyone who has. I do have my mattock though and might be able to use that as a lever.

Kea

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2009, 20:24:27 »
Both spikes are out, one took about 30 secs just pulling it and one need a bit of help from my mattock thanks to all the rain just used the post to loosen them first. 8)

Kea

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2009, 17:03:08 »
I should just add how I did it in case someone searches on this topic in the future!

Get the ground around the spike...heavy rain did this for me conveniently. Then using the post in the spike wriggle it back and forwards a few times to loosen off the suction. Then I managed to just pull one spike out with my hands took about 30 secs! The other was more difficult and i used my mattock to lever it out hooking the blade under the base of the post holder that was almost as quick.

Vinlander

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Re: Metapost spike removal...any ideas?
« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2020, 12:42:56 »
The only thing wrong with levers is that (if you don't have lots of experience) they can really damage you -  if they slip off the target or the fulcrum unexpectedly.

Also the key to extracting stuff from soil without tears is to water the soil and then maintain a steady force over a period of several minutes - and not to increase the force to more dangerous levels until you're sure that nothing is happening.

Nobody mentioned using a car jack... Obviously it needs to be on more solid ground than the target is -  a railway sleeper or several flagstones. The great thing about them is that you can apply reasonable force (that would lift a car) then walk away and have a cup while the base gives slightly with the load and hopefully your target starts to move up.

The old fashioned tripod type were best for pulling up bushes in cramped spaces where you can't dig enough to expose all the main roots (in one case an ivy trunk more than 10cm in diameter). With a bush or small tree you need to dig an access hole either side of the trunk & get a strong rope under the main roots and attach it to the lifting point. It's easier if you use a giant needle (a 30cm piece of 10mm metal tubing - you just put the rope in one end and flatten other to grip the rope and act as the point - then bend the tube to look like an upholstery needle).

Unfortunately the modern ones rely on the car to be the 3rd leg of the tripod, so they only have 2 legs and a stub that fits into a hole on the "chassis" - but if you can clamp it securely to the metapost then that will become the 3rd leg. A U bolt through the holes on the post socket would be a good start.

Or you could borrow a second modern jack and use a strong bit of pipe to join the 2 stubs into a 4 legged jack.

Cheers.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2020, 12:47:28 by Vinlander »
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

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