Boar Fencing?

[waipahe ry]

Like Oink, I'm very interested to know how to set the posts when on pahoehoe? By the way, this has been a very helpful discussion thus far and I really appreciate the insight.

[Rob Tucker]

The setting of steel t-posts in lava is accomplished by hiring a large trailer mounted compressor and air hammer and blasting a hole in the lava. The post is then set with cement.

Not a fun process and one of the reasons fencing is expensive. Price of steel too.

[waipahe ry]

Thanks Rob, for the explanation. For setting large wooden fence posts, would it be the same process (air hammer), just bigger holes?

[Rob Tucker]

yep.

[oink]

What would happen with a half inch hammer drill and 3/4" carbide masonry bit? If you could drill it that way you could possibly cut the ends off the posts, weld on a section of 3/4" rebar and epoxy them in. Just brain storming. I imagine it's been tried.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[Rob Tucker]

Hard to say what would happen.

The compressor is mentioned because most fencing takes place out of electric range. lava is not stone... very fragile. Breaks rather easy.

I'm confident you could successfully epoxy rebar but rebar is the about lowest grade of metal available. I don't see any advantage and do see opportunity for your t-post to be bending or rusting at the weld.

[oink]

I was suggesting the rebar for the sake of a smaller hole. A cordless with a couple of spare batteries should out last the operator on a daily basis. A dip after the weld should slow down the rust. As I said, just brainstorming as my HPP lots are pâhoehoe.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[JWFITZ]

The cordless drill won't cut it. I've tried. The rock is prone to hang and grab and you'll break a lot of bits and waste a lot of time doing something that isn't going to work very well. Actually, the big rotohammer as Rob describes is miserable to use, but a strong guy can put in 500 feet of posts in a day, so it's not an insurmountable project. He'll earn his beer, though. Ironically, the flatter and more pahoehoe you've got the easier the job. Setting posts in rugget a'a and up and down broken ground is a lot worse. The big hammers cut fast. About 4 minutes to a hole.

You can, however, nail to lava. You use a 1/8 inch masonry bit, and duplex nails. Drill a hole, stick a piece of rebar wire in the hole, and pound in the nail. Don't bother trying to pull it if you've done it right. It's an interesting trick that may well be of use to someone.

[oink]

Interesting! I set plenty of wood posts in my past but my experience is mostly S. Fl. The biggest problem I had was floating posts when fencing through swamps. I would think that in a'a that in some cases you could drive the metal posts in if you removed the t.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[Rob Tucker]

There are places where you can drive a post in and there are mostly places where you can't. In a field of pahoehoe you can assume you can't drive it in. In ripped areas it can be just as tough.