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Spikedriver said:
I am more familiar with those than I like to admit. But for barb wire and electric fences, linesman's pliers or plain old 8" slip joint do the trick and their easier to carry. Fence pliers are handiest when your fence has lots of staples. In my area we generally only use wood posts on the corners where it has to be super strong, because steel lasts a lot longer in our soil. So we don't have too many staples...
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Oh you're a lucky one. We have rock jacks. (Do you know what those are? - not trying to insult your intelligence, but folks from other areas don't always know.)
 
I HAD TO LOOK THAT ONE UP. It is a counter weight to keep the fence post up right, when pulling the wire tight.
We brace out post with 45 angle post at corners, here in the sandy soil, with no rocks.

FARM SHOW Magazine » Easy To Set Up Rock Jack Fencing
1995 - Volume #19, Issue #5, Page #18
[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue | Print this story | Read this issue]
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Easy To Set Up Rock Jack Fencing
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If you have fence to put up on rocky ground, you may want to take a close look at using a steel "rock jack" that sets up quick with no digging or drilling.
Rock jacks are triangle-shaped frames with three legs - one upright post with steel posts and two other posts mounted at an angle. You pile rocks on a wire "platform" that stretches between the three legs to weight the unit down. Most rock jacks in the past have been made from wood, but a new unit made by Ken Fleming, Mt. Vernon, Ore., is made with steel posts, and is designed to fold up flat for transport.
"It takes only about 2 minutes to set up, weighs less than 45 lbs., and requires no hammers or nails," says Fleming. "An extra ring can be mounted above the base to store more rocks. I got the idea while helping a friend repair his fences. All the rock jacks had rotted out and it was a lot of work to rebuild them."
Fleming also makes a three-piece steel "Figure 4" that's used to keep fence wire off the ground on rocky ridges. The triangle-shaped base bolts together and rests on top of the ground. Its shape can be adjusted to conform to the angle of the hill-side by changing the position of the bolts.
 
joel said:
I HAD TO LOOK THAT ONE UP.

FARM SHOW Magazine » Easy To Set Up Rock Jack Fencing
1995 - Volume #19, Issue #5, Page #18
[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue | Print this story | Read this issue]
«Previous Next»
Easy To Set Up Rock Jack Fencing
resize.php
If you have fence to put up on rocky ground, you may want to take a close look at using a steel "rock jack" that sets up quick with no digging or drilling.
Rock jacks are triangle-shaped frames with three legs - one upright post with steel posts and two other posts mounted at an angle. You pile rocks on a wire "platform" that stretches between the three legs to weight the unit down. Most rock jacks in the past have been made from wood, but a new unit made by Ken Fleming, Mt. Vernon, Ore., is made with steel posts, and is designed to fold up flat for transport.
"It takes only about 2 minutes to set up, weighs less than 45 lbs., and requires no hammers or nails," says Fleming. "An extra ring can be mounted above the base to store more rocks. I got the idea while helping a friend repair his fences. All the rock jacks had rotted out and it was a lot of work to rebuild them."
Fleming also makes a three-piece steel "Figure 4" that's used to keep fence wire off the ground on rocky ridges. The triangle-shaped base bolts together and rests on top of the ground. Its shape can be adjusted to conform to the angle of the hill-side by changing the position of the bolts.
Click to expand...
That's a fancy metal one. This is the kind we had/made. No purchase necessary. And could hammer a staple right into it. Aaand as a bonus, we got to pack rocks - lucky ducks.
1638590834313.png

Not sure why it loaded sideways, but you'll get the idea. We also had this second kind and this actually looks like it could be around where I grew up.
1638591006091.png
 
Lol yeah, rocky soil isn't an issue in Iowa. We build our corners out of treated wood posts driven deep. It takes 5 for a corner, usually built in the shape of an "H", or sometimes with an angled crossmember. If you really want to build it strong, you find some used railroad ties or you bring some hedge wood up from Missouri...
 
My dad tells a story, he was in his teens. He and another kid got a job helping an old farmer build a fence. Digging posts holes… the first 10 inches of soil were normal then there was a 2 inch seam of shale rock. It’s a hot summer day in Bama, they’re having to bust out shale with every post hole, working their butts off. No wonder the old guy hired teenagers to do it.

But the ole man kept yelling at them.. “Need them deeper, dig those holes deeper!" as he'd drop posts in. They happened to get to a stretch of ground that lower, dipped down beside a steam. The first hole the other kid dug was almost 4ft deep. He was tired of that old man yelling at him!!! Dad said he just minded his own post hole and kept working.

But he saw the old man bring another post and drop it in the deep hole. Said the old man barely caught the top of the post with his knees! Dad thought it was funny.
 
We do h braces on corners, pull posts for long stretch of wire or gates and with wooden post. Put a creosote wooden post; 5 T posts, creosote post…. All H braces have saccrete in holes. Lots of sand. 5 strand barb wire on interior fences and 6 strand on perimeter fences. Some fences got added hog wire at a later date with intention of entire property. Ran out of money half way around. Lots of staples and wire clips. Use wire pliers mostly but some times just a nail to put clips on T posts and pliers to tighten clips. Plan is to do it right first time. Deer sometimes knock wire loose, Angus bull goes through and so on. Break a wire and have to splice. Stretch out the wire and have to rest ret hours to adjust. Have my own wire pliers, post hole digger and wire stretcher. Can’t find his when I need to repair. I can’t wear barb wire gloves but do well with good leather gloves. Hate gaucho wire!
 
I've got my dads old set of fence pliers, still work as good as when I was a kid. I've picked up another set for a spare. Not nearly as good as the old ones.

Never saw a rock jack around here. Here is a few pics of fences in this area over the years. The rock fences were built by clearing the fields of rocks so they could grow corn. This is in the mountains and corn was far and away the prime crop. Fields were no more than 5 acres in many cases.

We would build our fences using locust post spaced about 10' apart, holes dug 3' deep. Corners were 4' deep and a much larger post. Cross braces were angles up to the corner post from the adjacent post. Gate post were butt end of the largest trees and sunk 4' deep. And you better not get caught climbing over a gate. We used 5 strand barb wire. Never really had much issue with cattle getting out. Some years we would run a single electric stand inside the post about 30" off the ground.

I worked for an uncle one summer building a new fence for him after taking out the old one. Hard work, but he paid well for a good fence.
 
I went to Aldi today and the TP isle is better off than the last time I was there. The club sized packages are back in stock but I passed b/c I'm good on that. The coolers were filled back up with hams where the turkeys had been. Canned veges were available, but not stacked to the rafters.

I also went to WM and the shelves are overflowing with funyons! LOL! Now, I don't want them. Ha ha. The canned meat isle was a bit bare but they did have Keystone Chicken. The pasta isle had been hit, but there was still plenty there if you wanted it. All in all, things looked pretty good.

ETA: We also went to Lowes and the 1/2" and other sized of USB board were pretty scarce. Usually they have stacks and stacks of boards, but that wasn't the case. We only saw one pile on the end cap of the 1/2". The price now on 1/2" was $17 and change per board. It's still way higher than what we are willing to fork out for it.
 
WM tonight, same as last Friday, no bread. I got a loaf of plain white bread last time, only 2 loaves left. It tasted old the next day, no date stamp on it.

Tonight there was no white bread other than a few buns. The rest of the grocery shelves seemed well stocked.
 
All staples were in good supply at Fareway. Bread, meat, eggs, soups, cereal, pastas, were full. Milk wasn't full but there was plenty. Some Frozen goods were kind of picked over but there was still a lot to choose from. Walmart was way more picked over. Ground beef, sandwich meat, cheese, milk, all that was pretty short but still available...
 
Hubs has tried 3 different vendors that he normally uses to order tires for his equipment. None of the vendors has the brand he normally uses. He's going to have to settle for a different inferior brand. He'll save a few bucks up front, but not in the long run. :( Still, he wants to get them now to store in the barn for next summer. He's already stocked up on some parts, grease, oil, filters, etc. It's just really hard to know ahead of time what might need to be replaced if something goes wrong.

He also can't find a chip that affects his engine light. It's on all the time and he knows it's an electronic issue, but the part is on backorder everywhere with no estimated time of delivery available. That light is driving him nuts b/c he likes his stuff all in top working order.
 
snappy1 said:
Dollar Tree (only one in area) has a handwritten note on door. "Closed until further notice". I checked at a nearby store and was told they had been closed for a week. No one that I spoke to knows why.
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They were back open today and no one saying any reason for closing. However, the coolers are fixed-- have been down for a couple of months-- and prices have not gone up - still $1.
 
There is an Army firing center close by. They used to lease land to farmers for their cattle, don't know if they still do. The problem was they had to be able to move the fencing. They built fences with 55 gallon barrels full of rocks to hold the posts. They probably couldn't have dug hole anyhow because of the rocks. If the Army needed past a fence they just knocked over the barrels and kept going. Someone would let the farmer know so they could put the fence back.
My cousin lived in Bend Oregon. He had a fence installed around his house and the fencing company said they either had to drive steel posts or blast because it is all solid rock.
Around here fencing is constructed with anything they can get. Wood pallets are a favorite fencing material along with tree limbs. My neighbors 2 acres of fence are all made with pallets.
 
Ran into a friend at the store today. Ten or 15 minutes later I saw her again and she still had nothing in her basket. "They don't have anything on my list." Five minutes later she had found two items.
 
backlash said:
There is an Army firing center close by. They used to lease land to farmers for their cattle, don't know if they still do. The problem was they had to be able to move the fencing. They built fences with 55 gallon barrels full of rocks to hold the posts. They probably couldn't have dug hole anyhow because of the rocks. If the Army needed past a fence they just knocked over the barrels and kept going. Someone would let the farmer know so they could put the fence back.
My cousin lived in Bend Oregon. He had a fence installed around his house and the fencing company said they either had to drive steel posts or blast because it is all solid rock.
Around here fencing is constructed with anything they can get. Wood pallets are a favorite fencing material along with tree limbs. My neighbors 2 acres of fence are all made with pallets.
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There is a family near us that built a goat pen out of pallets. The goats can easily climb them and are always out in the road!
 
Have used pallets for chicken houses, but not for goats.
Walmart was reasonably stocked today except for produce. And prices were bad. First time I have seen oranges sold per piece. 79 cents each. Pointed that out to husband, he is now paying attention to prices and empty spots since he retired. Had to go to the $1.25 Tree store because I needed a stocking and some glitter. Son is bringing a new girlfriend to visit for Christmas, so I'll make her a stocking, too. She will go into culture shock. It'll be fun to watch.
 
Husband talked to a man yesterday that buys and sells land and is a surveyor. He told him that times were going to get bad and to get food, gold and silver. No matter what I have said he paid attention to him. I asked if he had told him about my pantry or silver. He said no. Talked to another surveyor who does work for us and he said same thing. He was impressed by them but never paid attention to me. Only thing I have seen shortage of is ammo. Haven’t been grocery shopping in a couple of months so don’t know
 
Amish Heart said:
First time I have seen oranges sold per piece. 79 cents each. Pointed that out to husband, he is now paying attention to prices and empty spots since he retired.
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I've been paying $1 each for navel oranges for years now
 
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