Switched from digging post holes by hand to using a powered auger last summer

I used to dig every post hole with a manual clamshell digger and a bar. It took me about 45 minutes per hole in the rocky soil we have here outside of Nashville. My back would be killing me by the end of the day and I could only get maybe 6 holes done before noon. Then my buddy Lenny let me borrow his one-man auger with a 12-inch bit. I finished a 200-foot fence line in one afternoon with half the sweat. The trick was keeping the bit sharp and not forcing it when you hit a rock, just let the weight do the work. Now I own my own auger and I charge less per hole since I can move faster. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big jump in how many jobs you can take on in a week?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark_mitchell24d ago

Man I feel this so hard. I was the guy who thought a manual post hole digger was fine until I hit a patch of caliche that took me an hour and a half for one hole. Now I just look at my old clamshell digger sitting in the corner of the shed and it gives me the stink eye. 🤣 My auger paid for itself in just three weekends of fence jobs around here. The only downside is now my neighbors keep asking to borrow it and I have to pretend I don't hear them.

averymartin24d ago

Man, I used to be the same way. I remember telling my buddy that augers were just for lazy people and you could get the job done with a manual digger if you weren't a wimp. Then I had to put in a mailbox post in this rocky clay soil and I swear I was out there for two hours just to get down 18 inches. Now I'm the one telling everyone to just rent the damn auger from Home Depot for a day. It's like a whole different world once you actually try it.

finleym4324d ago

Whoa, hold up. Caliche? That stuff is no joke. I've heard stories about it from guys out in the desert but I've never had to deal with it myself. An hour and a half for one hole sounds like an absolute nightmare, I'd probably have just given up and poured concrete on top of the dirt. I bet that clamshell digger is just a paperweight now, giving you the stink eye for good reason.