swinging foot

[hampsvalleyboundaries]

Hello there everyone I was just wondering what others use in the way of footing straining posts? My uncle is kiwi so he taught me to use a swinging foot. But a lot of other fencers i know use the foot and breast plate method. Just thought id see what you guy use. I know not many people are digging strainers in anymore now everyone has the tracked machines. But alot of the work i do is down brooks and ditches so unfortunately I'm still digging.

[Robbell]

iv never seen the sawinging foot method, any chance of some stage by stage pics. I use foot and breast plates on the rare occasion we dig

[hampsvalleyboundaries]

Yeh no worries I'll up load some . I've just finished a job where every strainer was dug in so i have plenty of pics. Its basically an off cut of wood just like a normal foot but instead of notching out and fixing it to the strainer. You staple a piece of plain wire to the foot (about 1.5 meters long)and just chuck it into the hole with the strainer making sure its flat across the bottom of the hole. Tamp up as normal but make sure the wire is sticking out the ground. I usually wrap it a half twist the direction your pulling your netting then give it a little tension with my plain wire puller(chain around the top of the post) then staple of just above ground level. Its much quicker than a conventional foot and if your ever on really shite ground you can knock one in down the side of your strainer using a rock spike if your worried about it lifting.

[premnayloon]

Hi there I still dig in some but have started us postcrete, at around a fiver a bag then I think it's good value, still attach a foot, then chap in wedge between plate and ground, then tamper in big stones and fill the gaps with postcrete,

[Robbell]

premnayloon.

 

we had to replace all the timber on a FC job last spring and they had used postcrete, it was a ****** to get out the old strainers

[MikeW]

£5/a bag for postcrete! that's a bit steep I pay £3.35 for it and that's even if I buy only a dozen or so, get down to wickes and price match it and you can get for £3/bag

[tepapa]

 

Hmmmm; Strange how straining posts always need to go in the same place as the last one!

Luckily they never seem to be dug in that deep. But if you've got no soil theres much you can do I suppose.

[hampsvalleyboundaries]

Sorry it took so long Robbell but its taken me a while to figure out how to get photos on here.

Dig the hole as normal then instead of notching out for a foot just chuck the strainer into the hole the wrap some wire around a foot a throw that into the hole at the back of the post.

 

 

 

Then leave the length of the wire sticking out of the ground with a half twist the same direction your pulling the netting off. Tamp up as usual

 

 

 

I usually give it a slight bit on tension with my wire strainer.

Then staple off.

 

 

 

I think this method is alot quicker and it stops lift and creates a opposite twist to wire or barb.

[NMFENCING]

Awesome stuff! I've been looking for a clear explanation of this for ages. Definitely going to use it.

[Robbell]

thanks for the pics mate, clears a couple of thing up

[D A MacDougall Fencing]

Good effort getting step by step photos I been playing with that method for a while . But I am using 5 mm wire my thinking was it would last longer in contact with the ground.think in nz they have a wire that use in contact with the ground.

[Post Driver]

They use stainless steel wire for in ground

[Charliehub]

Nice clear pics ..if we are driving the strainer in wet ground we drive a swinging foot in down the side using the rock spike if you tye the wire off round the rock spike ram you can slowly pull it up to set the foot and the staple it off..

[hampsvalleyboundaries]

Yeh your right there they use heavily galvanised stainless steel wire. But unfortunately that's all I had should hold pretty well anyway I hope.

[hampsvalleyboundaries]

I also knock them down the side on wet ground to it works a treat.

[D A MacDougall Fencing]

Yep that's the stuff they no how to do the job right in nz

[hampsvalleyboundaries]

Yeh my uncle is a kiwi he is from iinvercargill. They are the boys when it comes to fencing

[D A MacDougall Fencing]

A was shearing for a contractor in winton close to invercargill had some good nights out there braw part off the world

[digga]

when installing a swinging  foot  on a driven post in a wet  spot  to stop it lifting  do  you  drive it  straight down the side of the post or at a angle  ? and do  you also  have to  wrap the wire around  the post  before stapling . like you do when putting them in the bottom of a straining post  hole you  have dug and back filling and tamping ?

[tepapa]

digga, yes to driving a foot at and angle if you can, but depends how you make a hole or what type of foot your using. If your putting down boat floats put some big stones down the whole after it to help anchor the foot.

 

And yes to wrapping the wire around the post. If it is on a termination post (an end strainer) It wants to be wrapped so it stops the post turning when the netting is tightened. So the wire coming out of the ground wants to come around the netting side first so it will tighten the footing wire not slacken if the post turns.

 

4mm plain mild steel wire is good for footing wire as we cant get stainless steel over here.

[digga]

thank you for taking the time to reply tepapa was gong to try use  it on some  inters that where lifting in a wet spot