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Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
gm1zvj
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Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:34 pm Posts: 3726 Location: Fife in scotland IO86HB
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Re: Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
Thanks so much to each and every one of you for all your kind advice...happy to say got there in the end !
Neighbour who I am friendly with popped around to borrow my ladder and well 5 minutes later had roped him into giving me a hand with the digging of this hole . At first he tried the auger himself and like myself only managed to dislodge a very small bit of soil at a time, he mentioned he had a spade in his garage that would do the job and turned out to be one of the above mentioned narrow trench spades. Around 40 mins later we were done, hardest bit was reaching down to get the loosened soil back out was just in reach and no more !
Postcrete picked up tomorrow and hopefully get it finished later this week weather permitting.
They always say rope a neighbour into helping you went dealing with aerials / masts etc that way then aren’t shocked when the aerial finally goes up. ! Cheers guys. John
_________________ John ......... Yaesu FTDX10 Yaesu FT847
G3TXQ Hexbeam 20-6mtrs Moxon for 6 mtrs Innovantennas 6 ele LFA for 2 mtrs
DX World HF 400w Linear Amplifier
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Sun Apr 25, 2021 2:38 pm |
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Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
M0MWC
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Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 8:05 pm Posts: 985 Location: Middlesbrough
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Re: Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
Sangoma wrote: gm1zvj wrote: MM0TFU wrote: John, the ground here sounds similar to what you have through there in Fife. About 2 feet of soil,and sand followed by heavy clay down to the water table.
The only tools I use to dig narrow 4' holes are a pinch bar* and a long handled straight shovel. The first couple of feet are easy, but when you get to the clay what you need to do is break it up best you can with the pinch, and then shove the shovel down and wiggle it about to get as much clay as possible to stick to it (it sticks like sh*t to a blanket). Then lift it straight up out the hole and scrape the clay off. It's slow and laborious, but it works. It's been very dry recently so if the clay is not sticking then pour a SMALL amount of water into the hole to help the process. I can easily dig a 4 foot hole not much wider than the blade of the shovel using this method.
*Pinch or pinch bar - a long straight heavy steel round bar, used by fencers to make a hole for stabs and fence posts. Name might vary from area to area, but that's what they're called here. Perfect yep exactly that couple of feet of easy to deal with soil and then clay ! Thanks for the advice will see how I get on. Was going to buy one of these seem to get decent reviews for the very job. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spear-Jackson- ... B0044TM5XSThe tool I referred to earlier looks like two of them hinged together, so you pull the handles apart and lift the soil out. I used one of those, made getting wet clay soil out really easy. I have an RSJ with a pump up mast attached so I wanted a deep hole but not very wide so being able to scoop out the mud was handy too. https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-he ... gger/50215
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Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:20 pm |
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Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
gm1zvj
Contributor 2024
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:34 pm Posts: 3726 Location: Fife in scotland IO86HB
Feedback: 124 (100%)
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Re: Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
Antenna project on hold due to a national shortage of building materials ! Tried everywhere local to get some postmix but after finding everywhere advising they were sold out was advised by a chap putting up fencing locally that obtaining timber products / cement is proving a major issue just now and is said to get worse.
_________________ John ......... Yaesu FTDX10 Yaesu FT847
G3TXQ Hexbeam 20-6mtrs Moxon for 6 mtrs Innovantennas 6 ele LFA for 2 mtrs
DX World HF 400w Linear Amplifier
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Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:27 pm |
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Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
G0BHD
Advanced Member
Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:46 pm Posts: 28671 Location: Shropshire UK IO82TN
Feedback: 9 (100%)
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Re: Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
gm1zvj wrote: Antenna project on hold due to a national shortage of building materials! Tried everywhere local to get some postmix but after finding everywhere advising they were sold out was advised by a chap putting up fencing locally that obtaining timber products / cement is proving a major issue just now and is said to get worse. You are not kidding, drove up to the nearby medical centre for my second shot of vaccine recently, bloke coming out having had his whatever shot, and seeing the van says to me...."You ain't got any spare cement on board have you mate?....I have being trying to get hold of a bag and everywhere seems to sold out!" I replied...."No mate, I am just Sparky... sorry, I leave the building work to others!" As it happens I have several bags at home, they are just not sat on the van, but they are destined for the next stage of the property improvements! Glad I acquired them when I did.
_________________ Dave G0BHD. Been there and got the T shirt, sadly like the T shirt the memory of it has long since faded, gone rather tatty, and finally been consigned to the bin!
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Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:37 pm |
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Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
G4LNA
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Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:11 pm Posts: 4199 Location: Hertfordshire, IO91st
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Re: Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
That's strange, I've tried Wickes and B&Q and every store seems to have plenty of Postcrete around here.
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Mon Apr 26, 2021 3:42 pm |
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Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
gm1zvj
Contributor 2024
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:34 pm Posts: 3726 Location: Fife in scotland IO86HB
Feedback: 124 (100%)
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Re: Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
G4LNA wrote: That's strange, I've tried Wickes and B&Q and every store seems to have plenty of Postcrete around here. Strange must be certain areas, saying that had a quick look on google and a lot of mention of it within the building trade in general and particularly fence panels, posts and cement . Not sure why ? In fact the guy doing the fencing who I mentioned earlier was saying it was so bad that some sellers had doubled there price of any materials they had and joe public were happily paying such prices, Amazon were selling a bag of postcrete at £24 last night, the very same bag which is around £6.50 inc vat at the builders merchants ( when in stock obviously ! ) one guy who had bought the stuff on Amazon kindly left a review saying such after a neighbour had advised him of the much lower builders merchants price !
_________________ John ......... Yaesu FTDX10 Yaesu FT847
G3TXQ Hexbeam 20-6mtrs Moxon for 6 mtrs Innovantennas 6 ele LFA for 2 mtrs
DX World HF 400w Linear Amplifier
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Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:25 pm |
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Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
gm1zvj
Contributor 2024
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:34 pm Posts: 3726 Location: Fife in scotland IO86HB
Feedback: 124 (100%)
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Re: Help- Digging hole for mast support ?
M0MWC wrote: Sangoma wrote: gm1zvj wrote: MM0TFU wrote: John, the ground here sounds similar to what you have through there in Fife. About 2 feet of soil,and sand followed by heavy clay down to the water table.
The only tools I use to dig narrow 4' holes are a pinch bar* and a long handled straight shovel. The first couple of feet are easy, but when you get to the clay what you need to do is break it up best you can with the pinch, and then shove the shovel down and wiggle it about to get as much clay as possible to stick to it (it sticks like sh*t to a blanket). Then lift it straight up out the hole and scrape the clay off. It's slow and laborious, but it works. It's been very dry recently so if the clay is not sticking then pour a SMALL amount of water into the hole to help the process. I can easily dig a 4 foot hole not much wider than the blade of the shovel using this method.
*Pinch or pinch bar - a long straight heavy steel round bar, used by fencers to make a hole for stabs and fence posts. Name might vary from area to area, but that's what they're called here. Perfect yep exactly that couple of feet of easy to deal with soil and then clay ! Thanks for the advice will see how I get on. The tool I referred to earlier looks like two of them hinged together, so you pull the handles apart and lift the soil out. I used one of those, made getting wet clay soil out really easy. I have an RSJ with a pump up mast attached so I wanted a deep hole but not very wide so being able to scoop out the mud was handy too. https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-he ... gger/50215Got yet another hole to dig in the garden for my mast ! You recommend these post hole diggers ? Have one of these fence post augers which worked fairly well but if I thought one of these would work better will get one !
_________________ John ......... Yaesu FTDX10 Yaesu FT847
G3TXQ Hexbeam 20-6mtrs Moxon for 6 mtrs Innovantennas 6 ele LFA for 2 mtrs
DX World HF 400w Linear Amplifier
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