"CWatters" wrote in message
...

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
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Do I dig a hole first and then shove the post in or backfill with bits
of stone etc like the post for the washing line? Posts will be about 6
foot above the ground, so how much needs to be below?

I recently hired a petrol powered post hole boring machine to make holes
for
some 3" diameter posts supporting new trees. It made short work of the
holes
but was quite a bit of a beast to use (we have clay soil with stones).

I borrowed one of these about 20 years ago to put up 100yards of fence at
the old place. First hole fine, second a bit tough going, on the third the
drill jammed on a rock about a foot down. We could not hold the machine and
had to let go. It continued twirling round and round with the drill jammed
firmly in the ground acting as an anchor. What to do? Thing going round so
fast we could not really see let alone reach the stop switch or throttle
control for fear of having a hand ripped off, almost full tank of petrol. In
the end my mate thwacked the spark plug cap (it was luckily the only easily
identifiable part as it stuck out the side) with a hammer as it spun past,
after a couple of goes he smashed the plug and cap. That stopped it.

I returned it to the owner and hired a newer one with a safety bar hand
grip. Let go of this one and the engine stops.

Mike