CntryBoy777
Herd Master
We are suppose to get a couple of inches out of this go round thru tomorrow.
GB are those the gripples ya was referring to previously?
GB are those the gripples ya was referring to previously?
Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.
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- #4,562
You know GB, the actual wrapping isn't the worst part. The worst part is cutting all the vertical stays and removing them from the horizontal wires that are being wrapped. I don't know if I could even use those without the gripple tool... 
So far have gotten 3/4" of rain. First part of the front line has passed through. Looks line another line is building to my west but seems to be moving SE, so may miss me. Looking at the sky, the clouds seem to be moving NW... <scratching head>...
So far have gotten 3/4" of rain. First part of the front line has passed through. Looks line another line is building to my west but seems to be moving SE, so may miss me. Looking at the sky, the clouds seem to be moving NW... <scratching head>...
greybeard
Herd Master
Well, I don't know exactly how you are tensioning the wire. I do the gut stretch method..pull 2 sections together from a point somewhere away from the corner or end, so the ends are already wrapped and grippled on the anchor posts before I ever start to pull.
Otherwise, I would attach the puller bar somewhere between the anchor post and the brace post and tension the wire with the comealong(s). Then wrap the wire on the anchor post using the Tee gripples. The little bit of slack that may exist between the puller bar and the end post (position a and b) is going to be nominal.
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- #4,564
I realize I can save a bit of time (OK... more than a bit) if I don't cut out the vertical stays except the very end ones where I need bare wire to twist back onto itself. But I can't get the wire real tight that way and it looks sloppy.
greybeard
Herd Master
I don't staple to the post on the far left of your graphic until after everything is complete. Here's why, and it applies to net fence of all kinds and single strand wire of all kinds.
If you pull from out on the end of the wire as shown in your graphic,then staple both posts good, when you release tension, the rest of the fence's tension can't distribute any looseness that is always present in the tie off.
Tho I usually use an attachment point between the anchor post and the brace post, and end up with that attachment point about 1' away from the anchor post, it still leaves a little slack to deal with. By not stapling to the far left post until after tie off and tension is released, I'm assured the entire fence is the same tightness, from one anchor post all the way back to the anchor post on the other end.
An alternative to that, is to staple both posts, and after tie off but before releasing tension, go to the brace post (far left post) , and use your fencing pliers and a hammer and loosen the staples on the brace post. Just drive the pointy end under the staple and lever it out enough to grab it with the parrot beak. On field fence, you may have to pull 'em all the way out so a vertical stay isn't hanging up on the staple, but with the staples out, any irregularity you see in the tie off (loose or uneven ties) will simply disappear when tension is released from your puller. After tension is released from comealong or in your case, ratchet straps, you can re-install the staples you removed.
Not a fan of pulling from the post you have pictured.
If you pull from out on the end of the wire as shown in your graphic,then staple both posts good, when you release tension, the rest of the fence's tension can't distribute any looseness that is always present in the tie off.
Tho I usually use an attachment point between the anchor post and the brace post, and end up with that attachment point about 1' away from the anchor post, it still leaves a little slack to deal with. By not stapling to the far left post until after tie off and tension is released, I'm assured the entire fence is the same tightness, from one anchor post all the way back to the anchor post on the other end.
An alternative to that, is to staple both posts, and after tie off but before releasing tension, go to the brace post (far left post) , and use your fencing pliers and a hammer and loosen the staples on the brace post. Just drive the pointy end under the staple and lever it out enough to grab it with the parrot beak. On field fence, you may have to pull 'em all the way out so a vertical stay isn't hanging up on the staple, but with the staples out, any irregularity you see in the tie off (loose or uneven ties) will simply disappear when tension is released from your puller. After tension is released from comealong or in your case, ratchet straps, you can re-install the staples you removed.
Not a fan of pulling from the post you have pictured.
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- #4,566
I was just finishing up typing a response and my (%^$*$%^) system did a complete reboot. 
In case I haven't expressed my love of windows, let me do so now... on 2nd thought, better not.
I didn't finish my drawing and all my "H" braces are cross wired for stability. They aren't moving while being used as anchor points for stretching fence. I really tried to specifically set it up so I could use them as the anchor points for stretching.
I put the pull bar outside the fencing length being stretched so that the tension is equal throughout the entire length. Therefore, stapling to both "H" brace posts makes no difference in tension along the length. After I release the pull bar and cut the end of the fence, the only part not under tension is the 18-20 inches of fence outside the staples, and I wrap that pretty tightly around the end posts & tie it off back on itself. So even if the staples loosen, the fence isn't going to "adjust" or move back very much at all. If I use the pull bar between the "H" brace, then yes, the fence will be under tension to the left and loose to the right of the pull bar. So after wrapping, the fence is absolutely going to adjust back to the left to even out the tension when the pull bar is released. And there is going to be an inordinate amount of slop needing to be absorbed if done this way, as there's no way you can achieve anywhere near the tension the pull bar is achieving, when wrapping the loose fence to the end post.
When I was first getting started, I followed the steps and advice of the fencing pros (Red Brand etc.) online at YouTube and pulled, then one at a time, cut the wires and wrapped/attached them to the end post, starting with the center wire and moving out to the top and bottom wires. I was not impressed and found it to be a royal PITA & back, not to mention very labor/time intensive. Now, all that being said, it's probably because I''m working with woven wire fencing. I'm sure that process works like a champ with slick wire or barbed wire. But with 13 strands of wire, it sucks. So I formulated my own process/procedure that seems to work pretty well. I'm not doing any runs longer than the roll of fencing (330'). If I was, I'd probably do a gut pull and attach at both ends then pull toward the middle. I have my posts all planted, including the T posts. I find it very difficult to pound T-posts with the fencing already in place as the pound bar is always getting hung up on the fencing, and there's no real room to work with the fencing already standing in place.
I roll out my fencing along the section to be fenced. I leave about 2-3 feet of extra fence at the start end and cut the fencing at or just beyond the end of the run. I then attach the pull bar to the that end and set up the tightening straps. I then go back to the start end & stand the fence up and staple it firmly to the starting end post leaving enough overhang to later wrap the end post with. I then walk the length of fencing, standing it up and "hanging" it on the top of T posts about every 30-40 feet or sometimes I'll lift it up and put the top wire over the T post so the post goes through the top fencing hole. When I get to the end, I stand up the puller bar and start stretching. Every couple of inches stretched, I walk the length to make sure there are no hang ups and adjust as necessary. As it gets tighter, I remove it from the tops of the T posts and lift the top wire back over the top on the ones I'd done that way. When I've got it stretched taught, I staple it firmly to BOTH "H" brace posts at the puller end. I then remove the puller bar and cut the excess fencing off to leave enough to wrap the end post with. I then go back and firmly staple the inside "H" brace post at the starting end.
Then I walk the fence applying the top 3 clips to each T post (wire #1/5/9). If there's a dip I'll do the posts on either side of the dip first, then pull the fencing down and clip it to the T post in the dip area. I then cut out/remove the vertical stays and wrap the fence ends to the end posts. The last step I do is to apply the bottom clips at each T post (wire #13). Basically because I'm old and stiff and it's painful to constantly be getting up and down to apply those, so when I'm done with them, I know I'm done fencing for a few days or longer.
In case I haven't expressed my love of windows, let me do so now... on 2nd thought, better not.I didn't finish my drawing and all my "H" braces are cross wired for stability. They aren't moving while being used as anchor points for stretching fence. I really tried to specifically set it up so I could use them as the anchor points for stretching.
I put the pull bar outside the fencing length being stretched so that the tension is equal throughout the entire length. Therefore, stapling to both "H" brace posts makes no difference in tension along the length. After I release the pull bar and cut the end of the fence, the only part not under tension is the 18-20 inches of fence outside the staples, and I wrap that pretty tightly around the end posts & tie it off back on itself. So even if the staples loosen, the fence isn't going to "adjust" or move back very much at all. If I use the pull bar between the "H" brace, then yes, the fence will be under tension to the left and loose to the right of the pull bar. So after wrapping, the fence is absolutely going to adjust back to the left to even out the tension when the pull bar is released. And there is going to be an inordinate amount of slop needing to be absorbed if done this way, as there's no way you can achieve anywhere near the tension the pull bar is achieving, when wrapping the loose fence to the end post.
When I was first getting started, I followed the steps and advice of the fencing pros (Red Brand etc.) online at YouTube and pulled, then one at a time, cut the wires and wrapped/attached them to the end post, starting with the center wire and moving out to the top and bottom wires. I was not impressed and found it to be a royal PITA & back, not to mention very labor/time intensive. Now, all that being said, it's probably because I''m working with woven wire fencing. I'm sure that process works like a champ with slick wire or barbed wire. But with 13 strands of wire, it sucks. So I formulated my own process/procedure that seems to work pretty well. I'm not doing any runs longer than the roll of fencing (330'). If I was, I'd probably do a gut pull and attach at both ends then pull toward the middle. I have my posts all planted, including the T posts. I find it very difficult to pound T-posts with the fencing already in place as the pound bar is always getting hung up on the fencing, and there's no real room to work with the fencing already standing in place.
I roll out my fencing along the section to be fenced. I leave about 2-3 feet of extra fence at the start end and cut the fencing at or just beyond the end of the run. I then attach the pull bar to the that end and set up the tightening straps. I then go back to the start end & stand the fence up and staple it firmly to the starting end post leaving enough overhang to later wrap the end post with. I then walk the length of fencing, standing it up and "hanging" it on the top of T posts about every 30-40 feet or sometimes I'll lift it up and put the top wire over the T post so the post goes through the top fencing hole. When I get to the end, I stand up the puller bar and start stretching. Every couple of inches stretched, I walk the length to make sure there are no hang ups and adjust as necessary. As it gets tighter, I remove it from the tops of the T posts and lift the top wire back over the top on the ones I'd done that way. When I've got it stretched taught, I staple it firmly to BOTH "H" brace posts at the puller end. I then remove the puller bar and cut the excess fencing off to leave enough to wrap the end post with. I then go back and firmly staple the inside "H" brace post at the starting end.
Then I walk the fence applying the top 3 clips to each T post (wire #1/5/9). If there's a dip I'll do the posts on either side of the dip first, then pull the fencing down and clip it to the T post in the dip area. I then cut out/remove the vertical stays and wrap the fence ends to the end posts. The last step I do is to apply the bottom clips at each T post (wire #13). Basically because I'm old and stiff and it's painful to constantly be getting up and down to apply those, so when I'm done with them, I know I'm done fencing for a few days or longer.
greybeard
Herd Master
1. If you pull it tight as it should be, the fence will stand itself up. It has to. All you have to do is pull the wire over as close as possible to the tee posts, tho it will pull over on it's own as well on most ground if there isn't brush or rocks in the way.
2. When you tightly staple the wire to either of the brace posts, you are effectively making those posts the anchor posts. Their sole purpose is to absorb 1/2 the strain of the wire thru the horizontal brace. I staple them, but loosely, so all the tension is on the anchor posts.
2. When you tightly staple the wire to either of the brace posts, you are effectively making those posts the anchor posts. Their sole purpose is to absorb 1/2 the strain of the wire thru the horizontal brace. I staple them, but loosely, so all the tension is on the anchor posts.
Bruce
Herd Master
I'm thaaaaaaaat close to being able to let Mel and the goats roam
I bet they will all like that a BUNCH!
Mike CHS
Herd Master
I wish I had pictures of the first time I turned my sheep into the big 6 acre paddock. They were literally jumping straight up as they ran into it.
CntryBoy777
Herd Master
The goats did the same here when the new area opened and they could get out and about without a lead on and had room to run and stretch.....
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