Hey Guys,
Has anybody used post hole diggers from “The Hole Deal”?
These look like a pretty good idea. I was thinking about getting one.
Any comments on ’em?
http://theholedeal.com/index.html
-Sawdaddy
Hey Guys,
Has anybody used post hole diggers from “The Hole Deal”?
These look like a pretty good idea. I was thinking about getting one.
Any comments on ’em?
http://theholedeal.com/index.html
-Sawdaddy
There's a constant source of clean water for you to use, and all you have to do is collect it.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox
Fine Homebuilding
Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox
© 2024 Active Interest Media. All rights reserved.
Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox
Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.
Start Your Free TrialStart your subscription today and save up to 81%
SubscribeGet complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.
Already a member? Log in
Replies
That looks slick, priced OK. I wonder how tough it really is.
My question would be whether you can exert enough force with that leverage to effectively hold the dirt during removal. Seems like it should be easier pushing the handles together like that vs pulling them apart, but you're still losing a lot of leverage vs the standard scheme.
I would think you would be considerate enough not to put your tag line outside of the tavern.
You can set your preferences to not view taglines. I keep mine turned off because I get tired of them taking up viewing space. And some are too long, as well as annoying.
When have you ever known me to be considerate?
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
There are several kinds of post hole diggers.
http://www.terrierman.com/phd.htm
On TOH they have mentioned the Boston Digger several times.
But they are very expensive.
And an auger digger.
http://www.usahardware.com/inet/shop/item/90450/icn/20-129544/seymour/au_a2.htm
I don't see the problem that Dan suggest.
You are only trying to capture the small amount of dirt in the clams so I don't see that a lot of force is needed.
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
I've used three of the types on your link. 1) Traditional
2) Boston Digger
3) The Hole Deal, but we called it "double-jointed"The Boston Digger I didn't care for. Too much up and down to loosen the dirt, and to really dig it required too much moving of the hands. Once the dirt was loose it pulled it out of the hole fine. But it did take longer to dig a hole with the BD.Traditional is what I have now. I've dug many a hole with it, but it is depth limited. I prefer wood handles over fiberglass, good FG is okay, but cheap FG diggers, the handles flex too much. Sometimes you just can;t get good purchase on a loose stone with flexing handles.My uncle made a version the Hole Deal when I was a kid, which we called a "double jointed digger". All steel, weighed I can't tell you how much, but it dug and dug and dug. I pounded in thousands of metal fence posts and dug probably 800 or 900 post holes when I was a teenager, fencing in horses and cattle. I'd dig down about 4' and drop in 8" square by 12' long creosote soaked fence posts. Gawd I hate creosote to this day. 35 years later though and the fences are still standing.I reroofed my Mom's house a couple of years ago, one of the things I was looking for in the barn to bring back home with me was the double-jointed post hole digger. It was no where to be found. The bolted on blades of the Hole Deal digger worry me a bit. I have a lot of stone here in CT, I'd be worried about shearing off a soft bolt. But I might just get me one of those.
That's the same thing I have, made by Ridgid and sold at Home Depot. Works great!
~ Ted W ~
Cheap Tools! - MyToolbox.net
See my work at TedsCarpentry.com
I've never seen a set of those used. I wonder how strong the handle is at the hinge point. Seems like it would be easy to bend the handles.
OTOH - On deep holes it could be useful due to the limited handle travel. But I don't dig too many deep holes - Mostly just post holes.
Hi Fellas,Thanks for the replies.
I'm concerned with most of things mentioned here too. They look like they may not be that tough. I guess I won't know that until I try 'em out.What Dan said occured to me too. If ya gotta pull up a rock outta the bottom of a deep hole, will they exert enough force to squeeze the thing tightly enough to lift it?I've used the Boston Diggers before and didn't like them. They work pretty good, but something about the ergonomics of the thing makes them uncomfortable for me to use. I've got a nice manual auger that works fantastic. But, boy, is that thing slow.Ted, I have never seen these in Home Depot before. (Or anywhere for that matter.) I'll have to look a little closer next time I'm in there.
Are they the Hole Deal brand? Boss, That's exactly why these things look good to me. Deep holes. When I have to dig a deep hole with regular clamshells, I gotta dig out the top of the hole just so I can open the diggers enough to work.(I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know there...)
And we dig a lot of deep holes. We have a 42" frost line here and we usually go a little deeper and pour concrete in the bottom of the hole. So a straight sided hole all the way down means quite a bit less digging.
I've got the Ridgid version; very sturdy tool and resolves the problem of widening the top of the hole. I start with the normal digger then shift to the offset one about 2 feet down; dug to 3' no problem. The 6' digging bar is a highly recommended accessory - for digging and for tamping back in if needed...
"Offset" reminds me that there's another variant: A conventional digger only with the handles bent so they cross each other. You still have the problem of the handles limiting the hole depth, but you can get about a foot deeper before it's a problem.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
Yep, that's the one I have - with the crossover handles. I'm guessing they open to around 16" or so - a little wider than most holes I dig but as you say good for another foot before that's an issue. The thing for me is that they are very solid, much sturdier looking than the ones that started this thread.
I use a long digging bar for breaking up the soil, and then pull the it out with the traditional post hole digger. The hole diggers dont work very good in hard clay, or if you hit a rock or tree roots. The digging bar is heavy, about 5' long with a spade type end on it.
Edited 5/10/2009 9:59 am by wood4rd
Edited 5/10/2009 10:08 am by wood4rd