DIY Post Hole Auger
Kurt Madsen, of Theodore, Saskatchewan, built a post-hole auger for his skid steer. “Whenever I rented one, there was always such a hurry to get it back, and the job just never got done right,” he says. “I had plans of building a foundation for a shop, for which I needed a bunch of piles drilled. So, I decided to make my own.”
He made the auger from scrap materials he had lying around the farm. The auger itself was cut in half because it was used for a different project. “I found a sleeve to fit it and welded it back together. I had a chunk of I-beam left over from when I built my house, which made the main frame,” he explains. “The hydraulic motor and hoses came off an old bin sweep that hadn’t been used for years, while the gears are off an old swing-away auger that rusted. I dismantled it for the steel and a few parts.”
The steel for the frame, which attaches to the skid steer, also came off a dismantled auger. “The extender was made from an old round bar that was mushroomed from both sides from pounding on it.”
Madsen found the project to be a success. “Overall, it worked just as well as the Bobcat one I rented. I thought the wheel hub would be its weakness, but it stood right on top of the auger with the wheels off the ground.”
He successfully used it to drill through a layer of stones. “I drilled 26 piles, 9 ft. deep. The speed of the auger was excellent when digging and somewhat fast when reversing, which I found helpful for clearing the dirt off the auger. The frame for the skid steer worked great; I could drill straight from any angle and get right on top of it to get down the whole 9 ft. The 26 piles I drilled probably took me 4 hrs., but only because of all the stones I had to work through.
Still, the project took some fine-tuning. “When I came up with the idea of building the auger, I was going to leave the shut-off valve from the bin sweep on so I could set the pressure. But there was no need for it because the auger worked fine without it. Though, I did break the 1/2-in. grade-8 bolt that holds the auger on the hub once. I also badly bent the 2-in.-thick extension from abusing it through the stones. Thankfully, it was easy to straighten on the press. I did plan on building it to fit on one of the pallet forks, but I’m glad I took the extra time to build the frame to fit the skid steer. It gave me much better control of the auger, and it was much safer knowing it couldn’t fall off. I could’ve built the extension out of a better-quality metal so it wouldn’t bend.”
Though Madsen has only used the auger for one project, he appreciates that he put in the effort to build it. “I’m glad I have it lying around the yard now because you never know when you need to dig a hole for some reason.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kurt Madsen, Box 41, Theodore, Sask., Canada S0A 4C0 (ph 306-521-0097; kurtmdsn2@gmail.com).
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DIY Post Hole Auger FENCING Tools Kurt Madsen of Theodore Saskatchewan built a post-hole auger for his skid steer “Whenever I rented one there was always such a hurry to get it back and the job just never got done right ” he says “I had plans of building a foundation for a shop for which I needed a bunch of piles drilled So I decided to make my own ” He made the auger from scrap materials he had lying around the farm The auger itself was cut in half because it was used for a different project “I found a sleeve to fit it and welded it back together I had a chunk of I-beam left over from when I built my house which made the main frame ” he explains “The hydraulic motor and hoses came off an old bin sweep that hadn’t been used for years while the gears are off an old swing-away auger that rusted I dismantled it for the steel and a few parts ” The steel for the frame which attaches to the skid steer also came off a dismantled auger “The extender was made from an old round bar that was mushroomed from both sides from pounding on it ” Madsen found the project to be a success “Overall it worked just as well as the Bobcat one I rented I thought the wheel hub would be its weakness but it stood right on top of the auger with the wheels off the ground ” He successfully used it to drill through a layer of stones “I drilled 26 piles 9 ft deep The speed of the auger was excellent when digging and somewhat fast when reversing which I found helpful for clearing the dirt off the auger The frame for the skid steer worked great; I could drill straight from any angle and get right on top of it to get down the whole 9 ft The 26 piles I drilled probably took me 4 hrs but only because of all the stones I had to work through Still the project took some fine-tuning “When I came up with the idea of building the auger I was going to leave the shut-off valve from the bin sweep on so I could set the pressure But there was no need for it because the auger worked fine without it Though I did break the 1/2-in grade-8 bolt that holds the auger on the hub once I also badly bent the 2-in -thick extension from abusing it through the stones Thankfully it was easy to straighten on the press I did plan on building it to fit on one of the pallet forks but I’m glad I took the extra time to build the frame to fit the skid steer It gave me much better control of the auger and it was much safer knowing it couldn’t fall off I could’ve built the extension out of a better-quality metal so it wouldn’t bend ” Though Madsen has only used the auger for one project he appreciates that he put in the effort to build it “I’m glad I have it lying around the yard now because you never know when you need to dig a hole for some reason ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Kurt Madsen Box 41 Theodore Sask Canada S0A 4C0 ph 306-521-0097; kurtmdsn2@gmail com
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