"I was fencing in my property and wanted to do it by myself. I talked to people who sell wire in the area and they said I couldn't. That I would need a come-along and several people to help," says Ted Kingery, Forest City, N.C.

"Since I have a metal fabricating shop in my backyard, I decided to design a piece of equipment that would enable me to get the job done alone. My idea turned into what I call a Fence Caddy, which enables one person to install fencing using a tractor. It picks up the roll, unrolls the wire, and stretches it. You only have to touch the wire when you roll it off the truck.

"The Fence Caddy tips down to the ground to pick up the fencing, raises it up, and then the fencing is fed out through a locking device that pulls it taut while you fasten it to your posts.

"The locking device consists of a freely-rotating vertical steel pipe with a flat bar welded to it that in turn has six pegs welded onto it, and a length of sq. tubing with six slots milled into it. The pipe and sq. tubing are spaced 1/16 in. apart. As the tractor goes forward the pipe rotates and the pegs fit into the slots, catching the fence wire and holding it tight. Once the fence is tight enough the driver can set the emergency brake on the tractor, then get off it and nail the fence to the post. He then relieves the pressure on the tractor and unrolls another stretch of wire so he can repeat the process.

"You can also use spools of barbed wire with the Fence Caddy."