Auger question

[Bill Crowell]

When I first bought my 8N years ago and didn"t know anything about tractors or implements (some would argue I still don't), I picked up a Howse post hole auger that doesn't provide any hydraulic down pressure on the bit. I soon found out it was practically useless in the rocky soil and hard pan that we have around here.

I've noticed that the original Danuser post hole diggers that Dearborn Motors Corp. marketed didn't seem to have any hydraulic down pressure, either. Yet I don"t think independent hydraulics would be necessary in this application.

Would anybody have any words of wisdom about how I could modify my auger to provide down pressure? I"m a pretty good welder and I've got an independent hydraulic system plumbed in if necessary. Maybe I just need to look at some pictures of modern augers and see where and how they mount the hydraulic cylinder.

 

[gahorN]

Your Ford 8N doesn't have down-hyds and never will. Augers don't work well with them in hard soil. (But you know that, don't you?) :twisted:

 

[Stephen Atkins]

I never had down pressure on my auger. You need to keep the point clean. A little bit of grass or a root on the point will keep it from cutting in.

BE CAREFUL

stephen

 

[Bruce (VA)]

It's not the auger that provides the down pressure; it's the tractor. Best you can do is what until the soil is wet & make sure the auger teeth are sharp.
50 Tips

 

[Bill Crowell]

Mickey, are you saying that adding down pressure to the auger wouldn't help in my hard soil, or that it would be too dangerous, or both?

 

[Bill Crowell]

I've been digging my post holes with a digging bar and clam shell posthole digger for years now, so I guess it won't kill me to keep doing it that way.

 

[teddy52food]

Add some weight. Someone made a bracket to put a pole in & a man could hang on the pole for weight as needed. Takes 2 men though, one to stay on the tractor.

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 09:31:27 04/07/11) When I first bought my 8N years ago and didn"t know anything about tractors or implements (some would argue I still don't), I picked up a Howse post hole auger that doesn't provide any hydraulic down pressure on the bit. I soon found out it was practically useless in the rocky soil and hard pan that we have around here.

I've noticed that the original Danuser post hole diggers that Dearborn Motors Corp. marketed didn't seem to have any hydraulic down pressure, either. Yet I don"t think independent hydraulics would be necessary in this application.

Would anybody have any words of wisdom about how I could modify my auger to provide down pressure? I"m a pretty good welder and I've got an independent hydraulic system plumbed in if necessary. Maybe I just need to look at some pictures of modern augers and see where and how they mount the hydraulic cylinder.

Yer newer augers don't have the weight behind like the old ones. I've got an old MF one that about twice as heavy as the new ones and it seems to work well in most soil conditions.

Rick

 

[Dunk]

I could be wrong, but I think the bits on the bottom, are more important than the weight.

 

[dakota dave]

You need to put new teeth and starting screw on the auger. It will dig in even the rocky ground.putting down pressure on a post hole digger will only make a crocked hole with a auger stuck in it that you can"t get out. You ford doesn"t have a reversable PTO. I"ve have an auger so stuck we lifted the back tires of versitle bidrive trying to pull the rock oput had to give up and revers the PTO and reposition the hole.

 

[horsepoor]

(quoted from post at 17:31:27 04/07/11) When I first bought my 8N years ago and didn"t know anything about tractors or implements (some would argue I still don't), I picked up a Howse post hole auger that doesn't provide any hydraulic down pressure on the bit. I soon found out it was practically useless in the rocky soil and hard pan that we have around here.

Why reinvent the wheel? All you need are new points. They are a wearable part. The fix is simple and cheap. AA23 and AA25

http://www.howseimplement.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3624_3628_3615&sort=20a&page=2

I have 5 acres fenced, had the same problem. Changed the cutters.

 

[souNdguy]

likely cause mor eprobalems that it solves.. vs new sharp points and blades/teeth..

soundguy

 

[Eman]

Your soil must be like mine. I have a Linebach auger and the point was just a flat piece of pointed metal and 2 flutes as auger tips. I bought a real point from another brand auger that went inside the pipe. I cut the old point and bolted the starting edges to the auger and it works much better. Mine has a hole in the auger gearbox and a bar so you can align it where you want it, but it's not for down pressure. If you get it started you won't need downpressure. If you get it started and catch a root or a rock you'll have all you can trying to get it stopped. I've lifted the frt. of the tractor and also had to screw mine back out of the ground with a pipe wrench.

 

[lha]

I ran a bucket truck for a large electrical contractor in the 90's,and one thing that I did was set light poles.First,you need to dig some holes,24"x10-12' deep.Even though it had a V8 and some serious hyd pressure,it still got stuck.We didn't have rock,but we did have hardpan,lots of hardpan[deep south Texas].I sharpened the points,melted surface hardener on the cutters,no help.All it takes is power and time,and luck.---lha

 

[Anonymous-0]

When I lived in Colorado, the soil was very dry and hard. I was close enough to water that I ran a soaker hose where I wanted to dig the hole. As soon as I did that, was like drilling into wet sand. No problem