building a simple fence puller

My hurricane fence blew down during hurricane Wilma. That's the second year in a row. It probably has something to do with the plastic slats that my girlfriend filled up the fencing with. All of the poles snapped off just above the concrete, just like last year. Last year I was able to borrow a fence puller, which is what I call the thing that hooks to a comealong and puts tension on the fencing so you can bolt it to the poles. This year I couldn't get hold of the guy who lent it to me last year, so I went to Home Depot, where they sell them for $19.95.

I looked at the puller, and figured I could build one in less than an hour. I bought two packs of hooks, and a piece of flat bar. I knew I had some pipes at home that were about the right size. Sure enough, it was the easiest project I ever did. Chop saw + grinder + mig = fence puller. The key was buying the hooks, instead of trying to bend them out of rod. Here's a picture:

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Oh, and the fence went back up with no problems.

Dave

Reply to
dlwilson
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Reply to
RoyJ

"RoyJ" wrote: Now you have one ready for when the next hurricane hits! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Be sure to keep the slats in. Otherwise you may not get to use your really nice puller.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Ever get hot dingleberrys down those tennis shoes?

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Reply to
Gunner Asch

Dave I use one of them also to stretch 5' no-climb horse fence, and I think you should have used heavier hooks. I stretch my fence so tight that the come-a-long is under stress. I do not know how tight you are stretching the fence, but that may be a good over kill. Just a thought from another user. Don D.

Reply to
Don D.

If you put some close fitting round hardwood into the bottom half of the metal poles they will be a -lot- stronger.

73 Gary
Reply to
Gary

The fence has been so stretched out by two hurricanes that it doesn't need much tension, but you are right, the hooks are kind of weak. I couldn't think of an easy way to put a 45 degree V bend in a piece of

5/16" rod, or I would have used that. I don't have a bench vise, but even if I did I don't know how I would use it to make a bend like that.

And no, no dingleberries in the shoes, although I did do that once. You'd think I would learn.

Dave

Reply to
dlwilson

Put the rod half-way in two pieces of 1/2" iron pipe. Make them about

3 feet long each. Put your foot or knee in the middle where the two pipes meet around the 5/16 rod and pull on the ends with your hands. You can bend it as sharply as you want with no heat.

Get the inner bore of the pipe as close as possible to the outer diameter of the rod to be bent for a neater bend but don't have it a tight fit, otherwise you might not get it out when you finish the bend.

Or, look around for a hole in some sort of framework, like a bumper hitch, a hole in a tractor implement, or even two pieces of steel close together that would hold the rod to be bent. Wedge the rod in there and then whack it with your favorite hammer.

-- Jack

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Reply to
Jack Hunt

Time to get your girlfriend to remove the slats from the fence when the next hurricane is on its way, and avoid that problem again. Either that or do it yourself and find another girlfriend!

Reply to
carl mciver

I need one also - same issue - no slats. Tree trunks don't float on air, they crush fences.

I suspect you are hooking wire with the hooks - I'd get a slat of steel and hook it. - examples are at the end of a chain link fence.

Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

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Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

I always clamped the fence between two 2X4s and pulled on that....

Reply to
Rick

Here's the instructions I used:

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Pictures, videos, drawings, and step-by-step instructions. I used their suggestion of putting a tension bar (the steel bar at the end of the fencing) about five feet from the end of the fencing, and hooking the fence stretcher onto that.

I like the idea of using two pipes to bend rod at sharp angles. If I ever have to use this fence stretcher for heavy work I'll cut off the lightweight hooks and make stronger ones.

Dave

Reply to
dlwilson

You can get the same type hooks in various sizes, just like bolts. You may want to check at Lowes or online go to

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or
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and you should be able to find what you want. There are probably other online sources as well, but these two come to mind first.

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Reply to
Al Patrick

I didn't think wood was that strong when it stresses the come-a-longs. Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Rick wrote:

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

wrote: (clip) If I ever have to use this fence stretcher for heavy work I'll cut off the lightweight hooks and make stronger ones. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ No need to discard these hooks. Just wrap or bend some rod around the back of each hook and tack weld. You could continue the rod down to the main crossbar and weld it, to act as a brace.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

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