West Fork Fence

Hi folks, this is a bit of a cheeky request but am not after your personal trade secrets just general tips regarding stock fencing. 
As many of you know the late member goaty was my brother and he did the fencing work on the estate where I work, my manager has bought my brothers byrce post knocker with the aim of taking fencing back in hand! My problem is even though I spent time with my brother fencing I never paid any attention to how he set the job up,  I just went along with the flow. Any advice how to start fencing would be much appreciated or point me in the right direction that would be great ta. 
Thanks 
Mark

There is more to it than that.  Shoot me a text, and I'll tell you what I know.  Eight One Two 798 forty six 0 four.  Not an appropriate conversation for the entire interwebs to find.  
 
Also, this is way cheaper than you think.  ?
http://protechmachinery.co.uk/html/products/P30-contractor.html

It depends.  Cheaper than creosote for us, but that’s just the front end. 100 years divided by 25 years equals a whole lot cheaper than anything you can buy. Nailing down efficient availability was the toughest part for us, but we figured it out.  I’ll ask my guys about the left coast, and where you should look.  Just loaded another pic for you. Took over a year to square that deal. You can’t judge book by the cover. Test results are a must these days. 

SS40 Class III.  Problems are over, and easier to install. 

Thanks that's interesting. They are supposed to be 25 year posts. CCA lodgepole pine, ACQ Doug fir, and Penta Doug Fir are the only posts readily available here. All 3 that are sold locally here in our experience are poorly treated. Virtually zero penetration of the treat! The pines would last 5 years give or take a few. Not good for business to say the least. 
We import these from Canada, they are not AWPA certified, but do meet Canadian ministry of agriculture and BC highway construction standards. There are several that were installed around here in the mid to late 90s as part of VSP trellis systems, still standing strong. In recent years trellis installation has gravitated towards all steel. 
We've experimented a lot with posts. We had one customer specifically request ACQ Doug Fir, within two years the fence had experienced approximately 50% post failure. 
And of course all our steel posts are still standing.
 

I added some pictures for you. At first glance, I would have thought that to be a pretty bad post. All wood is not created equal, and it appears that you have a well treated post, assuming the retention rate is up to snuff, and there really is that much heartwood in there. If that were southern yellow pine, it’d be a five year post at best. 
The pic with the last paragraph outlined in red should be of particular interest. You are entitled to test results. 

Bit of an update on this........... bit the bullet about 6 weeks ago and bought a P22 contractor RG30 and within an hour of fencing with it decided the tractor was going to be sold! the benefits far outweigh the few small cons and im definitely not missing jumping in and out of the tractor all day when working on my own.

It took you an hour to realise!, what where you doing drinking tea? They are a big leap forward in fencing efficiency and productivity aren't they. Your hips and knees will thank you.

Having made the switch, I wouldn't go back.
Biggest saver is Labour, no longer Paying someone £10ph to sit on there **** in a tractor. Instead someone is following around strutting and wiring up.
 
Also mess, I will be able to fence 365 days of the year if I wanted, if we get a wet winter I don't have to worry about ruining a farmers field or rutting tracks.
 
It can be seen as a one trick pony, but at the end of the day, I am there to fence, so a machine that specialises in just fencing is what I'm after.

Good points raised here.  The majority of our workload is too far from home to consider driving a tractor, and most of the jobs we take are big enough to justify moving equipment.  We take the tracked knocker and a tracked skid steer to most every job.  It takes two trips now, but I'm hoping to get a smaller driver set up to eliminate one trip.  We usually are able to schedule our fence jobs on a route so as not to waste miles.  Also, I usually have a crew, so they can be clearing, scattering stakes, or stringing net while I'm driving posts, where a tractor mounted knocker would take away that capability.   What works for us, wouldn't always be the best fit for someone else.  We also can't legally exceed 25MPH in a tractor.....

I have no doubts that once setup in the field there is little to beat speed and ease of operation of a tracked machine.
 
But that's not everything, a tractor has some advantages, no unloading for one, tractor can tow a trailer of materials and knocker too so only one setup to take to the job- plus if you have a loader tractor you have something to clear fencelines and load fencing stakes.
A track machine is a one trick pony and knocking stakes in may only account for 30% -50% of a jobs time. So you have a huge investment tied up just for that. Having operated both I'd also say that a tractor can be better in some terrains, it's large wheels can adjust better to undulating terrain.
 
Similarly a digger with the RIGHT knocker, a clearing grab, buckets, auger, wire unrolling capabilities is going to be far more versatile- and you will get a lot of ancillary work ditching, groundworks etc which personally I welcombe as I can sit in a heated can with the radio on on a pouring wet day! I also agree with other- the best digger knockers are homemade by those who know what they want from the machine. The P10 is fairly dreadful- the geometry is all set up wrong for a small digger and it's unstable and makes for untidy fencing.
 
If however you do mega stretches of stock fencing- plan on towing with the tractor and fence pretty much 100% of the time a tracked knocker may be the best option for you.

Biggest pro with my machine compared to a tractor.... It could rain for 6 months and you barely leave a mark. Huge huge pro

After starting this topic and lots of thought went for evo 2.
Arrived this week. Just used it for 4 days but seems great so far. Glad I went for it

I'm sure that it's tough to justify a tracked knocker for some.  It is a big expense, and I suppose they can be a bit of a one trick pony, but so am I.  We don't build anything but farm fence, so my driver gets a workout.  Friday, I drove 1,300 meters of posts.....5-6"x8' intermediates and about 30 8'x10' strainers, and still had time to build braces and stretch some net.  I can load nearly 60 5-6" posts on my machine, and that's pretty handy.  Yesterday, for example, I loaded the posts I needed for a 150 meter post and rail job.  I drove all the posts so the guys can hang boards first thing Monday, and then moved the driver on up the road to the next job.  (Next to a church, so I can't start until noon today)   Tepappa has a pretty good system for working alone and keeping all the equipment (loader tractor, knocker, trailer)  he needs on the job. 
I'm not a post knocker salesman, so it makes me no difference, but I've never heard anyone with a tracked knocker wish to go back to using a tractor mounted knocker. Ever.  It'd be like wishing for Tornado to stop making 500 meter rolls, and only make 50 meter rolls. lol
​And Matt, in a few years, climbing in and out of a tractor 200 times a day won't be as much fun! 

That's exactly why I have a Vector.

Fantastic this forum has been very dull of late you can see how wars start!!!

That's exactly why I have a Vector.

Perfectly put Mike, my sentiments exactly. We started with an international 956xl with a well used king hitter, sold both for the first tracked machine in 08 (first in the county) and now on our third and every other contractor has followed suit. Worst aspect is moving it for smaller jobs but all is forgiven as soon as I've got it off and started driving the first post!

and fixed rigid to the machine with no sloppy link arm stabilisers and tyre movement, and no paying someone else to sit in the warm on facebook, listening to the radio and not managing to position the tractor in the right place whilst your getting wet and cold. Get them out wiring up!

Just buy one and you will wonder how you coped without it.
My biggest cons:
Tractor and low loader sometimes a bit big to get in places
Not so handy when you have to nip and do the odd gate.
Apart from that, quicker, cheaper to run, less mess, less labour, no compromise on knocker options/size, carry materials and tools on board, no cab to smash on trees, no clutch, gears, handbrake on off, in/out all day and your not putting hours on your tractor on tickover which doesn't do them any favours. Fed up or packing up? put it on ebay....gone within a week