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Forged Post Hole digging bar


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Following on from a digression on another thread (enormous tongs) I thought some may be interested in a beautifully balanced blacksmith made Post Hole digging bar I inherited from my father.

It is 1016mm (40") overall length and fire-welded up from three pieces. You can see one of the scarf traces on the transition between head and shaft.

Ø28mm (1.125") for the shaft, which was upset over a few inches, and 38mm (1.5") square for the head, both wrought iron, and it is tipped with a bit of (blister?) steel.

Alan

post hole digger 1.jpg

post hole digger.jpg

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I still use one my Dad had made from a large truck axle - its about 2 inches in diameter, 5 feet long, with a flat point like a giant screwdriver and heavy.  Yet, if you need to work through hard ground, or pry something, it's always worked.

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2 hours ago, Mberghorn said:

So that's what that is. I grabbed a couple of these from my grandfather's garage when he passed but since he lived on the coast of Lake Ontario fairly close to Canada, I just figured they were ice breakers.

Could well be an ice breaker. We even have some relatives dotted around Canadia from both my parents families...but I doubt they would have bothered to ship that back!

Good for whatever digging was required in hard ground. All the weight at the pointed end makes it easier to hit the same point of impact with the subsequent stabs. Well for me at least!

Alan

 

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Thinking about it you probably would not need the hard steel tip for an ice breaker...but I dare say no one would have two such things, one soft specifically for ice when the hard ground one would do both jobs!

Bit like that song from Fiddlers Roof...one staircase for going up, one for going down, and one of them going nowhere just for show!

Alan

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one of the most useful tools on a farm large or small, plus machine shops, auto truck service on & on, never pass one up at a yard barn sale if cheap.  I have pointed, small flat, large flat and about any other design ever seen, 4' to 6'in length even one that went through a barn fire that bends like wet noddle, love watching people when they go to use it. 

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My dad has one he got from his father.  who had it made from a old truck axel.

It has a square point on one end  and a flat blade on the other. We have used it digging on many a hole.

I will have to keep my eye open for a axle to make one.

Mel

Edited by Melw45
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  • 2 weeks later...

For what it's worth .....

 

"Pinch" Bars, were originally used to move railroad cars on sidings, ... by prying in the "pinch" between the wheel and the rail, ... to position them alongside loading docks.

As many a 4 men with Pinch Bars could work simultaneously, ... though 1 or 2 were usually sufficient for "spotting" empty cars.

 

.

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The ones we use here (mainly for making holes in the ground but for any kind of prying really) look very much like Alan's but the handle is octogonal and the business end is wedge shaped not pointed. You turn it every time you lift it so the edge has a new direction. This helps in avoiding that it sticks in the ground. The edge is also stronger than a point when you use it the way SmoothBore describes and not only for RR cars.

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  • 5 months later...
On 6/16/2017 at 1:19 PM, Alan Evans said:

Thinking about it you probably would not need the hard steel tip for an ice breaker...but I dare say no one would have two such things, one soft specifically for ice when the hard ground one would do both jobs!

Bit like that song from Fiddlers Roof...one staircase for going up, one for going down, and one of them going nowhere just for show!

Alan

obviously it could break ice but the many that I have made and seen for breaking ice are about 4 inchs wide at the edge.

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  • 5 years later...

Welcome, a bit of an unusual first post on here since it's not really blacksmithing related but I got mine from my grandfather when he downsized his yard work tools while moving. Can probably be found at pawn shops that carry tools, or yard sales/estate sales etc. Assuming a new one from your favorite hardware store wouldn't work?

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Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

This is the sort of thing that you would probably need to have made by a blacksmith in your area, whereever that may be.  You could have either a pick pont like the one illustrated or a chisel point.  I have seen both and both have advantages.

Commercially, they are also known as "spud" bars.  I would try someplace that sells stuff to the agricultural community like, here in the US, Tractor Supply, Murdoch's, Big R, or the various big box stores like Home Depot, Menard's, or Lowes or even your local hardware store.  They are used to place fence posts here in the western US in rocky ground.  Also, you might try someplace that sells ice fishing supplies because this is how you make a hole in the ice if you don't have an auger.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

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Welcome from the Ozark Mountains. We really need to know where in the world you are located to advise where to obtain one. If you google pinch bar there are a lot of places that list them including Amazon.

Just about any blacksmith would have no trouble forging one and customize it for you, as far as weight and length.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

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I see them occasionally in the places you find really old tools, like a farm auction or the kind of flea market or place that sells antique stuff from estate sales cheap without too much pretense. Got one in my garage I got at an auction in Cartersville, GA with a bunch of long yard tools; I've used it to move stuck cars, lift septic tank lids, and bust rocks in post holes. Surprisingly, the usual chain knock-off tool places sell them too, for relatively cheap.

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My grandad had a  spud bar, good 6' long and weighed at least 50#. Me and my cousins used to get it out from the barn and see who could throw it the furthest. 

To find an old one i would look at barn sales, estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, etc. 

If you are looking for a tool to use, you can buy them new as well. 

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