Equipment

[Oldmanofthewoods]

Hello All

I am looking for a manual earth augur so that I can make holes for a fruit cage.  The only earth augur I can find is from the BTCV website and costs £60!  Does anyone know of a outlet/site which is more reasonable please?

Jack

[Oldmanofthewoods]

[Barnowl]

There's a post hole auger  for £12.97 here...

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/HandTools/ContractorsTools/d10/sd2669

but at that price I wouldn't think it's particularly heavy duty!

If it's for a one off job, how about trying a local hire shop. I hired a post rammer (usually cost around £80) for the poles for my fruit cage from one for about £7.

[Oldmanofthewoods]

That is exactly what I'm after Barn Owl - thank you so much, it is to drill the guide hole for the post and the soil is medium so it won't have to work too hard. 

Yes it would be a one off for me but we tend to share specialist tools on our allotment site so I am sure that it will be in use regularly.

Thanks again

Jack

[Robert_Brenchley]

It would be worth having a post rammer for the site in that case. I'm thinking of the big cup-like thing with two big handles that you ram a post in with; it's a two-person job, but they're very effective and don't damage posts like a sledgehammer does.

[Oldmanofthewoods]

I prefer a Maul for wooden posts but like everything else, if you get the line wrong the post ends up slanted.

[telboy]

Agree with RB, but for longevity why not use 'Metposts'?
They don't rot & your 3*3's last for many years.

[Barnowl]

Apologies for off thread moment, but I've used some 2x2 Metposts (as well as 3x3); they don't have bolts to tighten them up and a lot of the posts are rather loose fitting. Any suggestions?

[Curryandchips]

wedges?

[Barnowl]

The problem is that the gaps are really small - can't get a wooden wedge thin enough/strong enough....

[Oldmanofthewoods]

Could you use a metal wedge?

[Barnowl]

I expect so - where would I get them from?

[allaboutliverpool]

B&Q sell a fantastic hole digger. It has two handles and is heavily constructed. You ram the thing into the ground, pull the handles apart and up comes the spoil.
I highly recommend it and it costs £19.99. It will even bash its way through sunken bricks!

I have put in about 30 posts as you can see on :-

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments1_homepage.html

[Oldmanofthewoods]

I expect so - where would I get them from?

Should get them from any decent ironmonger or hardware shop or internet Northern Tool et al!

Jack