Front-Mount Post Driver Easy To See

2020 - Volume #44, Issue #6, Page #03

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Malcolm Casey flipped his post driver around from the rear of his tractor to the front, giving him better visibility and more versatility.
“I can see what I’m doing without turning around,” he says. “Plus, now I can drive an 11-ft. post.”
Casey made a bracket that bolts on where a front weight bracket would normally go on his 856 International. The original 3-pt. frame, with its platform for the valve assembly, is welded to a bracket within the mounting bracket. He designed the second bracket to slide inside the first with the aid of a hydraulic cylinder. This allows him to raise the driver for longer posts.
“If I ever wanted to return it to 3-pt. rear mount, all I would have to do is cut away the welds,” says Casey.
To dismount the driver, he drives in a post and fastens the driver to it. He sets the OEM stabilizer stands down, removes 4 bolts and drives away. This leaves the driver at the ideal height for hooking back into place.
He prefers 10-ft. long, 5 1/2-in. steel pipes with a 1/2-in. wall for fence posts. The posts weigh about 20 lbs. to the foot.
“I put the tractor with the driver into position where I want to drive the post,” says Casey. “I use a second tractor with a loader to lift the posts into position and set them against the driver.”
Casey added a bubble level to the driver platform and valve assembly. This makes it easier to tip the driver forward or back into vertical position on slopes. If he used it on a more regular basis, he would have added a left and right tilt as well.
When modifying the driver, Casey admits to getting a little carried away. “I added a 3-ft. long, 1/2-in. steel plate to either side of the driver,” he recalls. “I thought the added weight would help it drive posts faster, but it’s a light driver and was engineered for only so much weight.”
Casey notes that the added weight has caused metal fatigue in several places, requiring some repair. He also regrets not making the plate that attaches the assembly to the tractor heavier.
“I used 1/2-in. steel plate, but I should have used 3/4 or 1-in. steel,” says Casey. “A friend of mine gave me some 1 1/2-in. steel, and I plan to use it to replace the original plate.”
Aside from those problems, the driver has worked well. Casey farms in the Flint Hills of Kansas, where rock ledges at the surface are common. He notes that solid rock is the only thing that can stop his driver and is the only place he has to dig post holes the hard way.
“It will drive through almost anything else, but you need ear plugs,” he says. “My neighbor can hear me driving posts a mile away. It can drive a 10-ft. post 5 ft. into the ground.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Malcolm Casey, 117 Rd. 380, Council Grove, Kan. 66846 (ph 620 767-5642).

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Front-Mount Post Driver Easy To See FENCING Miscellaneous Malcolm Casey flipped his post driver around from the rear of his tractor to the front giving him better visibility and more versatility “I can see what I’m doing without turning around ” he says “Plus now I can drive an 11-ft post ” Casey made a bracket that bolts on where a front weight bracket would normally go on his 856 International The original 3-pt frame with its platform for the valve assembly is welded to a bracket within the mounting bracket He designed the second bracket to slide inside the first with the aid of a hydraulic cylinder This allows him to raise the driver for longer posts “If I ever wanted to return it to 3-pt rear mount all I would have to do is cut away the welds ” says Casey To dismount the driver he drives in a post and fastens the driver to it He sets the OEM stabilizer stands down removes 4 bolts and drives away This leaves the driver at the ideal height for hooking back into place He prefers 10-ft long 5 1/2-in steel pipes with a 1/2-in wall for fence posts The posts weigh about 20 lbs to the foot “I put the tractor with the driver into position where I want to drive the post ” says Casey “I use a second tractor with a loader to lift the posts into position and set them against the driver ” Casey added a bubble level to the driver platform and valve assembly This makes it easier to tip the driver forward or back into vertical position on slopes If he used it on a more regular basis he would have added a left and right tilt as well When modifying the driver Casey admits to getting a little carried away “I added a 3-ft long 1/2-in steel plate to either side of the driver ” he recalls “I thought the added weight would help it drive posts faster but it’s a light driver and was engineered for only so much weight ” Casey notes that the added weight has caused metal fatigue in several places requiring some repair He also regrets not making the plate that attaches the assembly to the tractor heavier “I used 1/2-in steel plate but I should have used 3/4 or 1-in steel ” says Casey “A friend of mine gave me some 1 1/2-in steel and I plan to use it to replace the original plate ” Aside from those problems the driver has worked well Casey farms in the Flint Hills of Kansas where rock ledges at the surface are common He notes that solid rock is the only thing that can stop his driver and is the only place he has to dig post holes the hard way “It will drive through almost anything else but you need ear plugs ” he says “My neighbor can hear me driving posts a mile away It can drive a 10-ft post 5 ft into the ground ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Malcolm Casey 117 Rd 380 Council Grove Kan 66846 ph 620 767-5642

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