If you have a barbed wire fence, then you must have this stretcher..

[jkim13]

This is a goldenrod 415 fence stretcher splicer
It has 3 grabbers which is very convenience

 

[old guy]

Everybody had those 80 years ago.

 

[GenXer]

Had one back in 97.

 

[Bubster]

I had the Golden Rod and the red one which was called a Reddy-Rod. Both were pretty much junk in my opinion. I have 5 sets of Hayes chain grabs now . Not cheap anymore, but well worth the money.

 

[jkim13]

Everybody had those 80 years ago.

Not for me until several ago..

 

[holeycow]

The pipe post pounder is junk. People hurt them selves with those. The balance and ergonomics are all wrong. I made one out of a piece of heavy pipe and a couple of rods that put those factory ones to shame. It is also balanced properly and far less likely to tilt back and wack you in the face. Which is a very common accident with those, particularly when you happen to raise it clear of the post on the lift-up stroke. In fact I know two people who did that to themselves last summer with those store-bought things. One actually knocked himself out and lost a couple of teeth too. And they are both far from stupid or inexperienced farmers/fencers. You will be tempted to hold that thing below the centre of balance. Make a habit of holding it above the centre of balance. The one I made has curved handles that are far easier on the wrists and pretty much makes you hold it above the centre. It is not likely to flip back at your head. And it is way heavier and more effective. It seems to have gained weight over the years tho..

I have a couple of those ratcheting fence stretchers. Not 3 jaw ones, but whatever...While I use them regularly, they are also junk. The jaws wear and slip, the main beam deflects under heavy tension, and other things..Making the tie in the middle, while awkward because the beam is always in the way, is a non issue. They are also hard on wire because their gripper design is crude at best. They are also poor to release. My best stretcher is an antique stretcher with quality rope and pulleys. And precision old school grabbers that cannot slip and also effortlessly release while being gentle on the wire at all times. I only use it occasionally. I have a couple of other very old, never slip grabbers that I occasionally use with a come-along. I have one good pair of fencing pliers. They are probably, idk, 80 years old. The other 3 or 4 pairs are 20-40 years old and are junk, but serviceable. I don't use the good ones much, but the steel is better and all of the curves and shapes are perfect. My little collection of antique fencing tools are so superior to any new stuff it is ridiculous. They are precious, so I don't use them as much as my junk. Silly, but...

Banging a t-post with a sledge on the ground like that is ridiculous. Just put it in between somethings and bend it perfectly straight. I've used almost any implement to find two pieces of steel at the right distance apart to take out bends in those posts. Last summer, I used an old side delivery rake that I happened to be near. I've used a couple of close-growing trees, the cross tubes in a loader frame, other parts of a loader/tractor/pickup, etc, etc. Way more accurate, safer, and faster. Oh, and many times you can straighten them in stages while you pull them out, depending on the ground.

For the most part, all of the "modern" farm-store fencing tools are like chinese copies. Close-ish, but a little wrong here and there. The good stuff is hard to find, or made long, long ago.

 

[ATpro]

Built my own t-post driver, took a pipe with the inside diameter just a little bigger than the t-post and cut it off long enough so you don't over throw the driver. weighted the middle and some on the top, put long handles on. All one has to do is lay it on it's side load the t-post then stand it up and drive it. Use the driver most with the tractor front-end bucket to drive the t-post.

 

[holeycow]

Interesting...on March 18, 2023 the OP made a similar opening post.

 

[jkim13]

The pipe post pounder is junk. People hurt them selves with those. The balance and ergonomics are all wrong. I made one out of a piece of heavy pipe and a couple of rods that put those factory ones to shame. It is also balanced properly and far less likely to tilt back and wack you in the face. Which is a very common accident with those, particularly when you happen to raise it clear of the post on the lift-up stroke. In fact I know two people who did that to themselves last summer with those store-bought things. One actually knocked himself out and lost a couple of teeth too. And they are both far from stupid or inexperienced farmers/fencers. You will be tempted to hold that thing below the centre of balance. Make a habit of holding it above the centre of balance. The one I made has curved handles that are far easier on the wrists and pretty much makes you hold it above the centre. It is not likely to flip back at your head. And it is way heavier and more effective. It seems to have gained weight over the years tho..

I have a couple of those ratcheting fence stretchers. Not 3 jaw ones, but whatever...While I use them regularly, they are also junk. The jaws wear and slip, the main beam deflects under heavy tension, and other things..Making the tie in the middle, while awkward because the beam is always in the way, is a non issue. They are also hard on wire because their gripper design is crude at best. They are also poor to release. My best stretcher is an antique stretcher with quality rope and pulleys. And precision old school grabbers that cannot slip and also effortlessly release while being gentle on the wire at all times. I only use it occasionally. I have a couple of other very old, never slip grabbers that I occasionally use with a come-along. I have one good pair of fencing pliers. They are probably, idk, 80 years old. The other 3 or 4 pairs are 20-40 years old and are junk, but serviceable. I don't use the good ones much, but the steel is better and all of the curves and shapes are perfect. My little collection of antique fencing tools are so superior to any new stuff it is ridiculous. They are precious, so I don't use them as much as my junk. Silly, but...

Banging a t-post with a sledge on the ground like that is ridiculous. Just put it in between somethings and bend it perfectly straight. I've used almost any implement to find two pieces of steel at the right distance apart to take out bends in those posts. Last summer, I used an old side delivery rake that I happened to be near. I've used a couple of close-growing trees, the cross tubes in a loader frame, other parts of a loader/tractor/pickup, etc, etc. Way more accurate, safer, and faster. Oh, and many times you can straighten them in stages while you pull them out, depending on the ground.

For the most part, all of the "modern" farm-store fencing tools are like chinese copies. Close-ish, but a little wrong here and there. The good stuff is hard to find, or made long, long ago.

It is made in the USA and will be last forever.

 

[Oletrapper]

Everybody had those 80 years ago.

Still got mine. lol OT

 

[holeycow]

It is made in the USA and will be last forever.

Probably not. Not if you use it a lot. It will start slipping. It will gouge wire. It will do exactly what a crudely designed device will do. Maybe I'll put up some pictures of some better tools..someday.

I've been using a couple of those stretchers for years. One, probably 25 and the other, about 10. Mine are probably made in north america too. IDK. Doesn't matter, it is a crude device made crudely.