You have reached your limit of 3 free stories. A story preview is shown instead.
To view more stories
(If your subscription is current,
click here to Login or Register.)
Front-End Loader Posthold Digger
"I made my own hydraulic posthole digger. I bought a hydraulic motor and an auger from a farm supply store and mounted them on a swinging bracket that lets me drill holes at any angle on any terrain," says Roger Sobotta, Arcadia, Wis.
The motor mounts on one side of a short piece of 3/8-in. sidewall 4 by 4-in. sq
..........![](/img/download-story.png)
You must sign in, subscribe or renew to see the page.
![](/img/entire-issue.png)
You must sign in, subscribe or renew to see the flip-book
Front-End Loader Posthold Digger MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Earth Movers 15-5-9 "I made my own hydraulic posthole digger. I bought a hydraulic motor and an auger from a farm supply store and mounted them on a swinging bracket that lets me drill holes at any angle on any terrain," says Roger Sobotta, Arcadia, Wis.
The motor mounts on one side of a short piece of 3/8-in. sidewall 4 by 4-in. sq. tubing. A bearing that connects to the auger mounts on the opposite side of the piece of tubing. A short shaft connects the motor to the bearing.
"With the shaft locked into the bearing, there's no direct pressure put on the orbit motor itself," notes Sobotta.
A piece of 3/8-in. strap iron attaches to either side of the 4 by 4 tubingan druns up over the orbit motor. A 1-in. dia. shaft is welded horizontally inside the top of the strap. This shaft slides into a short length of pipe that's welded permanently to the bottom of the bucket on his Deere 2440's front-end loader. "The pipe is the only thing that stays on the bucket at all times. This mounting system lets the auger swing back and forth. Makes it easy to drill straight up and down holes on rough terrain or you can angle it to set posts at an angle," says Sobotta.
To power the auger, he runs two 8-ft. hoses over to the lines that normally control the loader bucket. When the auger is hooked up to these hoses, it makes the bucket inoperative but the loader itself can still be raised and lowered. The auger is operated by simply moving the bucket remote lever in either direction, causing it to go in forward or reverse.
Total cost of the auger was approximately $225, including $130 for the orbit motor and $65 for the auger. "The auger is 8 in. in dia. but any size would work because there's plenty of power. We've used it for 3 years - works super," Sobotta says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Roger Sobotta, W238 Cty Rd C, Arcadia, Wis. 54612 (ph 608 323-7948).
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.