We will start pounding posts this week in the new vineyard expansion at Maple Woods. Pounding posts is little more than a brute force project. The post pounder is mounted on the back of a Deere 6000 Series tractor. It uses hydraulic power from the tractor to raise a weighted hammer that strikes the top of the post when it falls. These posts have no point on them and we are not auguring a hole in the ground for the post, so it takes a lot of force. The operator controls the hydraulic hammer with valves at his station. It takes 6–8 strokes to pound in an 8-foot long, 4-inch diameter line post about two feet. The end posts are six inches in diameter and are ten feet long. They are pounded in four feet and it takes about 15 strokes to get them set. Fortunately, the ground is soft from all the rain this year.
Normally, we’d outsource this work. However, this year our usual contractor has too much work on its plate, so we will do this work with our own team.
