Digging Postholes With A Chainsaw

Digging Postholes With A Chainsaw WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Chain Saws 33-2-33 An old chainsaw has turned out to be a good posthole digger. Keith Diehl, 73, and his wife put in many 3 1/2-in. fence posts with his homebuilt digger. "And I can drill through ice very fast," the Chetwynd, British Columbia, inventor adds, speculating he could likely win a hole drilling contest among ice fishermen. He re-machined the clutch and installed a 1/2-in. V-belt pulley to replace the chain sprocket and mounted gear ratio reduction pulleys and chains on the chainsaw's bar. On the bottom, he welded a 3/4-in. extension from a socket set and telescoped a couple sizes of square tubing to attach the auger. He drilled a hole through the tubing and auger and uses a pin to hold it in place. He attached a 4-ft. pipe and T-handle perpendicular to the saw for a second person to hold. "With my wife holding the big handle and me holding the chainsaw we have good control over the torque factor," says Diehl. Bringing the drill up is a little more work, but he keeps it spinning. Diehl used a Stihl 041 saw, which provides plenty of power without being too heavy. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Keith Diehl, P. O. Box 3100, Chetwynd, B.C., Canada V0C 1J0 (ph 250 788-2000; mldiehl@hot mail.com).

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