FENCING ERECTING A SEVEN-WIRE FENCE

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 72, Issue 1, 15 January 1946, Page 5

FENCING ERECTING A SEVEN-WIRE FENCE

By

T. E. RODDA,

Fields Instructor, Hamilton.

PROPER fencing is an art that can be learned and mastered only by actual practice at the work. The old saying, “Bad boundary fences make bad neighbours,” is as true today as it was 60 to 70 years ago in this country. All types of fences are to be seen in this country, no two of them erected to the same pattern, and quite a number unsuited for the purpose for which they were erected; some are really first-class, substantially-built fences, which denote the handiwork of a master craftsman at his job.

THIS article is written not for the farmer who has had a lifetime’s experience at fencing, but for the beginner in the hope that the description and illustrations may prove of assistance and guidance to him.

Tools

The first essential is a good kit of tools, which should consist of the following:—

Long-handled spade 2ft. rule Short-handled spade Wire cutter Axe Staple puller Mall Wire strainer Ifin. auger Rammer Ilin, auger Posthole sinking bar Ilin, wood chisel Bag for carrying Claw hammer staples and small Brace and bit tools Hand-saw (crosscut) Wire twister Flat file >

All of the above tools, with the exception of the posthole sinking bar, are illustrated in the photograph below. Some fencers prefer to include a long-handled shovel and an adze. Rammers are of several types. Most fencers prefer an all-wood rammer made from hardwood, such as jarrah,

m a i r i e, spotted gum, or ake ake. Others like a wooden rammer shod with a band of steel at the bottom, or a rammer made from an old buggy wheel axlebox fitted with a lightweight wooden handle (Fig. 1). The post-

hole sinking bar is usually made by welding a piece of good bar steel into the end of a 6ft. length of lin. piping and flattening the steel out into the shape of a fish-tail. The handsaw should be a crosscut, preferably 6 points to the inch. Another essential portion of the fencer’s outfit is the spinning jenny or spindle for unwinding the plain wire, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The following are instructions for building: the bottom or base piece is formed of a piece of good 6in. x 4in. timber, 3ft. long, tapered at either end on the upper side. The bottom of the spindle is built with 2 pieces of 3in. x 2in. timber 4ft. long, checked in where they cross and slightly tapered at the ends to lessen the risk of being caught by projections when revolving. The top of the spindle is built of 3in. x 2in. timber, 2 pieces Ift. long, checked in where they cross. Base piece, bottom of spindle, and top of spindle are bored to take a fin. pipe, which should be pointed at one end to enable it to be driven into the ground. The hole to take the pipe and allow for free

working should be gin. in diameter. An iron washer with a hole of sufficient diameter to take the pipe and a face diameter of 4in. and with 2

holes to take screws bored opposite each other should be fitted on* the top of the base piece, also one on the under side of the bottom of the spindle. This will ensure smoother running and increase the useful life of the machine. The top and bottom of the spindle are joined together by 2in. x 2in. timber, 4 pieces 2ft. 6in. long, and placed as shown in Fig. .2 to accommodate the various diameters of the coils of wire. Another method of making a plain wire unwinding frame (Fig. 3) is as follows: —Take two pieces of 3in. x 3in. timber 4ft. long and check in where they cross. In the centre bore a hole large enough to take a fin. bolt 9in. long, and in each arm bore two or three holes lin. in diameter spaced to fit the inner diameters of the various coils of wire to be used. These holes should be bored with a slight lean towards the ends of the arms, so that the wooden pegs (15in. long) will have a slight lean outwards from the centre to prevent the wire from rising too high while unwinding. This cross is then mounted on a stub post 4ft. long placed

2ft. in the ground. A hole is bored down the centre of this post sufficiently deep to take 6in. of the 9in. bolt that will hold the cross in position, and on which it will pivot when the wire is toeing run out. - •

Materials for Fencing

In the past our native forests have been able to supply all the timber required for posts and battens. Now that this supply of durable timber is becoming very scarce, posts will have to be split from 'varieties of trees grown in this country but indigenous to other lands. Unfortunately the timber produced by many of these trees is not very durable, and the varieties that do produce the more durable timber are hardly old enough yet. Good work has been done and is still being carried on by the State Forest Service in . treating fencing timber with preserving agents to prevent decay, and it appears to be quite possible that in the near future many of our New Zealand-grown softwoods will be used for fencing.

Concrete posts are now being used very extensively, and after the war, when steel for reinforcing becomes more plentiful, will be used in ever-increasing numbers. Concrete strainers have not been used so far to any great extent because the steel reinforcing has to be so strong. Their weight is also very much against them for transport over rough country. Many farmers have, however, adopted the method of building them in the positions they are to occupy. A hole is dug and boxing erected above ground, the reinforcing placed in position, and the concrete packed in the mould around it.

1 Strainers and angle posts should be of good solid timber, of a measurement of not less than Bin. x Bin. at the top, and not less than Bft. long for good holding country and up to 9ft. long for soft country. Stays should be Bft. or 10ft. long, preferably 10ft. for long heavy strains. Shorter stays 6ft. 6in. or 7ft. long are suitable for short strains and level country, and they should be not less than sin. x 4in. thick. Battens can be either sawn or split timber 2in. x 2in, or Sin. x 2in. thick and 3ft. lOin. long.

Boundary Fence Specifications

1 The following are the specifications of one type of boundary fence generally erected between farms: — All strainers and ordinary posts and stays shall be of (here specify timber), and battens of (here specify timber). All strainers must be Bft. in length and an average thickness of Bin. x Bin. Posts must be not less than 6ft. 6in. in length and stand up to a thickness measurement of 6in. x 4in. Stays must be 10ft. long and not less than sin. x 4in. in thickness. Battens if sawn to be 2in. x 2in. and 3ft. lOin. long. If split to be not less than 2in. x 2in. All strainers and angle posts to be placed 4ft. in the ground and to be securely footed and stayed. The heads of the stays to be morticed into the strainers and placed inside the wire line and at a distance of 22in. from the top of the strainer to the centre of the mortice. Posts to be erected four to the chain and to be so placed in conformity with the ground as to keep the bottom wire as near as possible sin. above the surface. All posts in dips and hollows to be securely footed and all posts and battens to be erected at right angles to the ground surface. Dip posts in soft boggy spots to be securely anchored by fastening two strands of No. 8 wire to the base of each post in firm ground on either side of the dip and running it over the head of the post in the centre of the hollow and

twisting the wire on either side to ensure that there shall be no movement when wires are strained. Battens to be spaced so as to have 4 (four) between each two posts, and to be so placed that the tops , are in line with the tops of the posts but swinging clear of ..the ground. All plain wire shall be No. 8 galvanised and barbed wire shall be No. 6 gauge with barbs 6in. apart. Wiring shall be as follows: the first 5 from the bottom shall be plain and the 2 top ones barbed. The top wire to be placed 2in. below the tops of the posts, and the spacings reading downwards shall be as follows : 9in., Bin., 7in., 6in., sin., 4in., and allowing sin. from the bottom wire to the ground. Ground on the upper side of the fence on very steep hillsides to be navvied or benched down to prevent cattle jumping over from the high side. No single strain shall be of a greater length than 12 chains. * Before the erection of a fence all material should be laid along the line as near as possible to the position in which the fence is to be built. .

Erection of Boundary Fence If a boundary fence has to be erected along a surveyed line, the wire of the finished fence must be

dead over the centres of the pegs, the centres being indicated by tacks driven in the tops by the surveyor. The method of erection is as follows: — The line between the pegs must first be flagged with straight sticks about 4ft. high. Next the holes must be dug and the strainers erected. The holes must be dug as close as possible to the peg if it is necessary, as it is in a corner, to erect a strainer or angle post. If a strainer is Bft. long, it must be placed 4ft. in the ground, and a 9ft. strainer must be sft. in the ground.

Strainers and Angle Posts

The strainers are the main posts in the fence, and all care must be exercised to see that they are carefully and solidly placed in position. In excavating the hole see that it is marked out and dug in line with the fence, with the filling side opposite to the strain of the wires and the solid face to the front. This solid face should

be slightly off the perpendicular so that when the post is erected it has about fin. to lin. of lean directly away from the line of pull. Dig square and straight down alongside the peg, but allow sufficient room on the side of the post opposite the survey peg to enable the rammer to be used freely. A space of 6in. or a little more should be allowed between the back of the post and the back wall of the hole to allow for a foot to be inserted. One corner on one side wall of the hole must be slightly undermined to receive one end of the foot, which can be made out of a solid piece of wood from Ift. to 15in. long by 6in. by 6in.; one end should be slightly pointed by cutting off on the underside, keeping the top level. Double a piece of No. 8 plain wire into a strand sft. long, and wrap the doubled end around the centre of the foot and securely twist on top (see Figs. 4 and 5). Place a staple over the wire on the under side and one on either side of the foot. When the strainer is stood on end in the hole and a very slight amount of earth rammed in the bottom, lower the foot down the hole, pointed end downwards, aiming for the undermined side, and ram into position by. hitting it with the rammer on the top side but at the end opposite to the point. When the foot is forced into position bring the double strand of wire up the back of the strainer to a point 3in. above ground level; pull tight and staple and then turn the loose end over downwards and staple

below ground level. Ram the soil solidly into the hole, being most careful to ram well at the bottom. Also be careful to see that the edge of the strainer nearest to the survey peg is kept in true line with the line pegs or flags.

Bracing and Staying Strainers

The next step on hilly country is to place a breast block across the front of the strainer facing the strain. This block should be of good solid timber at least 6in. x 4in. and 4ft. long. Dig a trench not quite 4in. wide and about Bin. deep across the front of the strainer, place the block narrow edge down, and ram solidly into the trench until it is below ground level. A mortice to take the head of the stay is then cut with an auger and chisel, with its centre 22in. from the top of the post and its wire side just inside the line of wires when strained (see Fig. 6). The head of the stay should

be trimmed with saw and axe to make a neat fit into the mortice as illustrated 'in Fig. ,7. There . are , two methods of footing the stay. The first is by cutting a trench at the foot of the stay at right angles to the fence with a slight slope towards the strainer. In this trench, which should be about 9in. deep, place a block of good solid wood at least 6in. x 4in. and 3ft. to 3ft. 6in. long with the flat side up against the bank. Midway along the trench, fairly close to the wire,' make a small sloping trench to enable the stay to reach the . block. Prepare a wedge 2ft. long and 6in. thick at the top end as illustrated in Fig. 8., and drive lightly between the block and end of the stay (Fig. 9). Do not drive fully, home until two plain wires have been strainedpreferably the top one, which will be plain if the fence is according to specifications, or the second wire from the top if the top one is to be a barb, and the third or fourth wire from the top to act as guides when erecting the posts. A second method is to use two blocks and two wedges at the foot of the stay as illustrated in Fig. 10. . The first block is 4ft. long and the one at the foot of the stay is 2ft. 6in. long. The wedges are partially driven in, and later on driven into their permanent positions when two wires have been strained. If it is found that they cannot be fully driven home without forcing the strainer back over the limit allowed backwards against strain, the wedges can be sawn off flush with the tops of the blocks. Earth should be well rammed between

the two blocks. This method is recommended for soft country. If a strainer is in a right angle, two stays must be fitted as illustrated in Fig. 11, in which both stays are shown close to the wire. This is quite good practice on flat country, but on hilly country, where the wire pull on strainers is much greater, it is advisable to place one stay slightly in to the corner about Ift. off the wire line. For long, heavy strains it is advisable to set the foot of one of the stays 18in. or 2ft. in from the wires towards the field being enclosed, with the mortice altered to suit the change in direction. Where a corner strainer is placed on the side of a hill and where both fences take off downhill the only safe way of anchoring is to dig a long narrow pit two or three yards up the hill at a point which, if sighted with the strainer, will divide the angle equally. This pit should be about 3ft. deep, according to the slope of the hill, and long enough to take a piece of good timber 4ft. long and up to Sin. in diameter. A very narrow cut should be made from the centre of the trench to the strainer to take 4 strands of No. 8 wire, which should be placed around the middle of the log and around the strainer 20in. from, the top. After filling and ramming the earth into the trench the wires can be twisted up with a stick as shown in Fig. 12. ' This method of anchoring' is known as the “deadman.” All angle posts where the wires pull around in straining should either befitted with a stay or breastblock (Fig.. 13).

A strainer should never be placed in a hollow or bad depression if it can be avoided.

Erecting Posts

Before beginning to erect posts make sure that the two guide wires are true and touching the pegs between strainer post and strainer post. Mark out the situations for each post so as to place them four to the chain. Erect a straight-faced post here and there along the length, keeping them in about -Jin. off the wires. The wires can then be stapled to these posts and a staple hung over each driver staple at the back of the wire to keep the wire the correct distance from the posts. Starting from one end of the line, all the posts can now be erected keeping them about Jin. off the wires to prevent pressing the wires off the straight or true line. All posts should be of an average height of 4ft. from the general run of the ground. On more or less level land all posts should be erected perpendicular, but on hillsides and slopes they should be at right angles to the slope of the ground to ensure that the wires in all places run with the slope of the ground (Fig. 14). All posts should be well rammed right from the bottom of the hole. Many beginners who make a mistake in placing too much loose earth into the hole at first wonder why the post does not tighten satisfactorily. The only way to tighten a post. properly is to place a little earth in first and thoroughly pack it with the rammer before placing any

more in and so on until the hole is thoroughly packed right up to' the top. Posts in slight depressions or dips should be footed in a similar manner to the strainers, and all posts in dips and soft boggy ground where footing would be ineffective should be tied down as described in the specifications and illustrated in Fig. 15. In preparation for wiring the erected posts a gauge stick 4ft. 6in. long should be made from a light, tough piece of wood such as white pine, on which marks can be cut lightly with a saw. The first mark should be 6in. .from the top end to represent the

height of the post, the second 2in. below the first, and further marks made at spacings of 9in., 8in., 7in., 6in., 5in., 4in. All wire positions can then be marked on posts by using a 4in. nail, a coil of plain wire is put on the spindle, which should be near a strainer post so that it will serve two lengths of strain. Take the loose end of the wire over one shoulder and walk to the next strainer post, where the wire is passed through a half driven-in staple indicating the position of the particular wire. The wire should be passed round the post and, after allowing 8in. to 1ft. over, bend

it down over itself and staple the double strand into the post not less than 5in. from the edge. The loose end should then be bent back towards the wire face and tapped down to the wood, and the staple driven -well home. The method of fastening is illustrated in Fig. 16.

Straining and Stapling Plain Wires

The placing of one wire should be completed before going on to the next. Having two wires (the guides) already strained, begin with the bottom wire and follow on until all are in position.

In long strains it is preferable to strain in the centre, bedding the wires well into the \ wood of each strainer post by tapping in' with the hammer, beginning at the staple and finishing at the loop. In short strains the tightening is done at a strainer post. As the wire is being placed around the post after being strained sufficiently, it is hammered well into the wood, beginning at the face side of the fence and following the wire around until it is bent over itself to form the loop. Before stapling and releasing the strainer on each plain wire it is advisable to pull the wire outwards from the fence somewhere about the centre of the strain to take the curl or twist out of it; the amount of slackness that will have to be taken up on returning to the wire strainer is surprising. All wires should be stapled in all hollows and steep rises and along level areas, but if stapling is left on small rises until the fastening or joining has been completed and the wire strainer released, any slackness that may have occurred during fastening or joining can be taken up.

' Wires are more pliable and will strain better after the middle of the day ■ than they will in the morning, particularly in cold weather.

In hollows a staple should first be driven half home with both points on the mark and then bent slightly downward to hold the wire when pulled down, when another staple is driven in the usual way. The same method in reverse should be used on rises. Staples should be zig-zagged up the posts and should be slightly skewed to minimise splitting the timber, which will cause the staples to pull out.

Straining Barbed Wire

A little more skill and judgment are : needed for the proper straining and tightening of barbed wire than for the straining of plain wire. It is a good plan to place a few pieces of wood or old ■ pieces of timber under the barbed wire on high points of the fence line to keep as many as possible of the barb points off the ground. With short lengths of fence straining is better done at the post, but in long strains of 10 to 12 chains it should be done at the centre. When it is considered that nearly sufficient tension has been put on the wire should be tried by drawing down into hollows and pulling away from the fence, when the wire will stretch and give a little. If, after allowing for hollows and rises, the wire does not seem tight enough it should be strained a little more, and the strainer left attached in case further straining or slackening off has to be done. Stapling should be done first on all hollows, steep rises, and level portions of the line, leaving the slight rises until the wire has been joined up and the wire strainer released.

Putting on Battens

Stapling battens to a fence is generally considered a job for two persons, but can be readily performed by a man working on his own. The tops should be kept level with the tops of the posts, but should swing free of the ground. . Batten staples lin. long should be used and should be placed with both points actually touching the wire and driven well home; they should be zig-zagged up the batten to minimise the splitting of the timber and the. pulling out of the staples. The useful life of battens can be lengthened if 3in. of both ends are dipped in boiling tar; the timber must be absolutely dry before this is done.

Wire Knots

Practically all fencers agree that the figure 8 knot is the most satisfactory for either barbed or plain wires. To tie such a knot with barbed wire it is advisable to remove one barb from one end of each of the wires to be joined. The method of tying the figure 8 knot is illustrated and described in Figs. 17 and 18. If a wire breaks in any portion of the strain excepting near a strainer post,

the most satisfactory way of splicing is to use the double loop as follows Take one end of the broken wire and on to it with a figure 8 knot join a piece of fresh wire; attach the wire strainer to the other end of the broken wire about 6in. from the end; attach the travelling grip of the strainer to the fresh piece of wire and work the handle until the wire is sufficiently strained; cut the fresh piece of wire off with sufficient spare wire to make a loop when turned back on itself and twist securely. The free end of.wire close up to the stationary grip of the strainer is then passed through the loop and bent back on itself and hammered up to take up the slack and twisted around itself at the back of the grip. The tying of this double loop splice is illustrated and described in Figs. 19, 20, and 21.

Flood Gates

Where a fence line crosses a creek or watercourse that is dry or semi-dry for most of the year, but may develop into a torrent during heavy rains, it may be necessary to erect a flood gate to prevent stock getting under. This is usually constructed by running two or three strands of No. 8 wire just about ground level and securely fastening each end to a substantial post on either side of the creek, but well enough away from the edges to ensure good holding. Twist the wire strands with a stick to ensure tightness. From split . timber make a frame board large enough to reach from bank to bank and from wire level to just above creek bottom. With wire and staples fasten to this frame other pieces of split timber to form a barricade, which is suspended by hinges or loops made of 2 strands of No. 8 wire passed over the wire cable at normal ground level and fastened to the top rail. It will act as a stock block during dry periods, will open by swinging downstream during floods, and return to its normal position afterwards, provided no logs or boulders have lodged under it.