Pulling posts

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I had to take down a fence damaged in the storm today for a customer. Needed to pull a few 6x6 fence posts and thought some might find this useful, It's probably old stuff for guys like me who are used to running equipment or fence guys, but some others might not be aware of this.Earlier this summer I had a few 6x6 posts to pull and replace in a barn for a customer and picked up one of the HF farm jacks. I'd have preferred a better one, but I couldn't find one local when I needed it. Best $45 I've spent on a labor saving tool in a long while.Anyways you wrap a chain around the post twice and hook up the jack and go to town.  As long as the chain grabs, you can pull most posts no problem even if concreted in. You either pull the post out of the crete, or pull the crete right out of the ground. These posts were in concrete 3' deep and the posts themselves were creted solid with 4 pieces of bar in each one. It took me less than 5 minutes to pull each post. There would have been no way to easily get the post out by the house without destroying the concrete walkway. This way all I have to do is fill the hole and crete it over. Even the one in the yard would have been a royal PITA even if you did dig it up. I'd guess each post weighed in excess of 400 pounds. Just getting it out of the hole would have been a nightmare. This way I just pulled it up and laid it over, then cut the 8' posts into 2' lengths with the demo saw and concrete blade.On wood posts some times I'll nail a block to the post if I can't get the chain to grab and on steel posts sometimes you have to weld on a block. You can do the same thing with a machine if you have access to one. We used to pull posts, shrubs and small trees all the time this way with the trackhoe..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:very good tip man!ThanxBuy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:Let me see...  400 lb post,  8 feet tall...  wrap a chain around it, jack it straight up, then Mother Earth's gravity takes over and says  "Come to Mama!"......  WHAM!   Post, jack, and chain!    I love it!  - MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:Cherry picker works pretty good too.We have a lot of redwood fences. When the posts rot out or break I use a large ship auger and a shop vac to clear out the hole in the concrete where the post was, then take a new post and plane the end down a bit and pound it in. No digging up and re-pouring concrete.Miller Challenger 172Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150Miller Maxstar 150 STLVictor 100CVictor JourneymanOxweld OAHarris O/ASmith O/A little torchNo, that's not my car.
Reply:Originally Posted by MondoLet me see...  400 lb post,  8 feet tall...  wrap a chain around it, jack it straight up, then Mother Earth's gravity takes over and says  "Come to Mama!"......  WHAM!   Post, jack, and chain!    I love it!  - Mondo
Reply:Bob, I've augured out a few in the past that rotted off at ground level. Usually I use my big Milwaukee Hole hog bits and the extension to remove as much as possible then try and split the rest into the center with a digging bar. Wet PT is probably a lot tougher than redwood though..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:dsw, if your having problems getting the chain to grab on teh wooden posts with a chain, use a piece of rope with eyes on both ends.  start with one eye close to teh ground and wrap up the post.  when you get close to running out of rope, put teh top eye threw the bottom eye (closest to the ground).insert your jack threw the top eye that was ran threw the bottom.  the more pressure you put on teh rope, the tighter it gets.  i know it may be hard to understand my instructions, but if you try it youcould figure it out pretty quick.  i like about 5' of 1/2" with one eye just a little bigger than the other for this.  it works real well.
Reply:Makes sense. It's pretty much the same way the chain works. The chain naturally wraps over itself when you you wrap a chain around the post twice. As you pull, the one part forces the second into the post and tightens up the more you pull. I've never used regular rope, but I've used wire rope/cable on occasion..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I can "Pull Posts" with the click of the mouse......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:DSW, just to make sure, I'm sure you had this checked by a qualified engineer before you used it. Right??? Wouldn't want you to get sued or anything. Is this safe? Are you sure that chain has a 2x safety factor? I know you wouldn't condone this if it wasn't safe. NOTE LARGE AMOUNTS OF SARCASM!
Reply:it always seemed to me that the rope gripped the wood better than chain.  less likely to slip.  just a thought.
Reply:Originally Posted by bigbCherry picker works pretty good too.We have a lot of redwood fences. When the posts rot out or break I use a large ship auger and a shop vac to clear out the hole in the concrete where the post was, then take a new post and plane the end down a bit and pound it in. No digging up and re-pouring concrete.
Reply:Where I grew up Handy Man was the brand of choice. You got weird stares from folks if you said you didn't have a Handy Man.  Problem is those farmers used them for every thing. If you needed a jack to pull a post you would find the jack holding up a loaded trailer somewhere."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:I used to call those MULE JACKS, they work just as good pulling as they do pushing. I guess thats what all the xtra holes are for.  Hi Lift was the brand around here.
Reply:Choke chain configuration and a loader pull posts all day long using the jack is a guy without a loaders trick BTDTBacked my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:I use a chain and a spare tire.Tim Beeker.
Reply:I love the Hi-Lift jacks, but that danged handle always wants to flop down from the stored position and hit me in the head.  They do make an accessory clip."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:double wrap your chain so that the bite{hook end} is under the lowere wrap. the chain will bind on itself  and you won't have to nail on or weld on a block
Reply:Originally Posted by SandyWhere I grew up Handy Man was the brand of choice. You got weird stares from folks if you said you didn't have a Handy Man.  Problem is those farmers used them for every thing. If you needed a jack to pull a post you would find the jack holding up a loaded trailer somewhere.
Reply:Originally Posted by Rog02......A useful bit of kit that makes jacking  a bunch of steel "tee" post go a lot faster is to make a plate with a loop of chain welded to it and a "tee" slot cut into it that will slip over the top of the post.  Size the "tee" slot so it will grab the post when pulled up by the chain loop.  Beats the heck out of re-looping that chain a couple of dozen times a day and resetting for more pull is a piece of cake.
Reply:The jack works well.   Double wrapping the chain works wonders,  I pulled 50 telephone poles in an hour and a half with my boom truck and a double wrapped chain.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Well well, you learn a new trick every day......thanks for all the info......got a few stumps in the back garden I cut flush with the ground 'cos they're too hard to dig out, so now I'll make a U frame out of some channel iron  and use my jack and a wrapped chain to lift them out, like in a shop press, but pulling instead of pushing......would never have thought of it otherwise.I like the idea of the "farm jack" and chain best, it looks so easy,  they sell them at our 4 Wheel Drive outlet, so I might get one for the tool pile I must have but will only ever use once on a lifetime....LOL.BTW, I think I'll grease any poles I put into concrete in future, this will make it easy to extract the teeth like in a dentist....LOL. Ian.
Reply:I just use my front end loader to pull posts. They make a thingamabob that clamps on to a tpost with the other end having a hook for attaching to a chain or bucket. You can also pull rebar out of ground using a chain and visegrips if you ever need to pull out vertically driven rebar that was used to stake down stuff (like timbers set in the ground for erosion control)Hobart Stickmate LX235AC/160DCRanger 305GVictor 315 O/A rigHope to acquire in the next couple of years: Hypertherm PM45 and Dynasty 200DX
Reply:Mine is called a "Hi- Lift". Good for about 5000 lbs of pulling power, two inches at a time. Couldn't live without it, and a "More power puller" come-along.
Reply:Originally Posted by shortfuseHi-Lift Jacks makes a "Post Popper" for T-posts.  Have a look at their website.  The part that hooks onto the T-post is a thick piece of steel plate with a notch about 2" cut out of the side.  The notch just slips onto the post and when you jack the post up, the plate grabs it...no need for a chain.  See if you can zoom in or save the pictures of the Post Popper and maybe you can see it.  It also has a hook for chain attached by way of a clevis pin.http://www.hi-lift.com/post-popper/index.htmlI have one and it is worth it's weight in gold!!Originally Posted by JD955SC You can also pull rebar out of ground using a chain and visegrips if you ever need to pull out vertically driven rebar that was used to stake down stuff (like timbers set in the ground for erosion control)
Reply:Originally Posted by Rog02I agree that the "post popper" is a great tool in some soil.  Around these parts we live with a soil type we call "gumbo".  It will grow anything if the conditions are right but give it too much rain and it turns to the slimiest black goo you have ever seen or on the other hand if it gets dry it is about the same consistency as concrete.
Reply:Hi, at that angle you're guaranteed to "do your back in".I think I would have tied a rope to the two handles and used a long wood pole as a  lever over a saw horse to pull it out of the ground.......once a bad back, always a bad back.Ian.
Reply:Trick to pulling form pins like that is to twist them a bit as you pull. If not a couple whacks on the side with a god size mallet will usually loosen them up. The biggest issue is that you usually don't have a good way to grip them if they are flush with the top of a 2x. The pict doesn't show it very well. Because the side is open, you just slip it on from the side, twist back and forth a small bit and out they come most times. It's a lot better than trying to grab the side of the pin with the Knypex pliers  and pull vertical. The pliers will grab and twist well, but there's no real good way to lift vertical. Trying to simply muscle them straight up is usually not the way to go.They do make pin pullers like the Post Popper. Never really liked them myself for short pins. They are great on longer curb pins though, but the tool is a bit bulky to keep on the truck full time.Honestly there's nothing in concrete work that isn't hard on your back!  Bending to trowel and finish, raking crete, moving wheelbarrows, doing demo work and  loading broken crete, running a 90 lb hammer when it drops thru a slab because it settled underneath, carrying 5 gal buckets of crete up 6 flights of stairs to do pan steps...Last edited by DSW; 11-18-2012 at 05:52 AM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWBob, I've augured out a few in the past that rotted off at ground level. Usually I use my big Milwaukee Hole hog bits and the extension to remove as much as possible then try and split the rest into the center with a digging bar. Wet PT is probably a lot tougher than redwood though.
Reply:Up here I've always heard them referred to as a Jackall or a farmers jack.  If you carry one with you in your 4x4 they come in handy to jack up your truck when it is high centered or in a rut, or in a pinch without a winch you could rig one up with a chain to pull yourself up or out."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25