First off, you blow me away with your energy! You actually dug a better more symmetrical hole than a machine (post hole digger) and with the least of a 'carbon footprint' (your sweat and burned carbs) expended. Your craftsmanship shows up everywhere...even the most mundane of chores. God Bless

Al: You could line up the face of the bucket with the top of FEL arm. Then strap a 4x4 to the FEL arm and bucket; say 4' beyond. Then pick-up the pole from just above the balance point; put the butt in the hole. Then drive slowly forward. Sliding the pole into the hole; plumb and back fill. Bert

You and your flame thrower to start a fire, cracks me up 😅 Great dig! My dad would have approved !

Great job with digging the hole for the pole, cutting it and dragging it around to where you need it !! Awesome update today Al !! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience and skills

Good job on Olivia's new tire swing for 11 months of the year, just in time for pig season that's just a bonus. ;-)

Oh you poor New Englanders! Anytime you have to start a hole with a pick axe it is not an easy dig. They recently had to dig up our water line to repair a leak here at our Missouri homestead. We are on the top of a ridge even and the backhoe was down a good 5 feet with nary a rock in sight. (I have video proof!) God bless you and your energy and determination.

Welcome to the wonderful world of setting utility poles! I have always been told there is two rules to follow to know how deep your pole needs to be: the larger taper portion (yes, we still see poles set upside down in 2017...) needs to be bury at least 20% of its length or 18" (50cm) under the frost line, whichever is deeper. You did not had to cut the buried portion of the pole unless rotted. Those are generally safe as some manufacturers give that part extra creosote for that reason. If available, a large backhoe can easily install the poles using a sliding chain.Otherwise, if you don't have access to heavy equipment, I believe that a (huge) tripod with a few blocks and tackles is your best option to lift this pole up. Keep up your good work.

Al, the Energizer Bunny has nothing on you! Your amazing on how determined you are. I hope that the rest of the project goes well, good luck raising the post. Not sure if it will help but for raising sailboat masts we use something called a Gin Pole. See if you can find a KZfaq video on raising a sailboat mast.

Thank you AL for sharing your video homestead chicken farmer garden keep it up 👨‍👩‍👧👸👕👓🐩🐔🐓🐥🐈🐖🌱🏡🎥👍👍👍

Good old east coast granite, where what starts by appearing to be just a small rock, and ends up being the top of a buried mountain. Good job, lot's of perseverance. I saw from your FB post on Miss Gina's birthday that you have the pole up. Looking forward to seeing just how you went about it. Happy belated birthday, Miss Gina.

Raise your poles by using a pulley off a tree close by an use your tractor to pull it on up. Great work on your homestead brother. 👍👍

You had the mom in me scared you was gonna be stuck head first in that hole for a week!!! LOL Great job!! You really do have one of the BEST channels of its type on KZfaq! Blessings to all! ~ Lisa

Your thumbnail scared me with dangling upside down in that hole!! You showed that rock who's boss!!! 👍

Hey Al, well done on hand digging that hole and showing the rock who the master is at Lumnah Acres. As for the pole setting, try it with your tractor. Check out a youtube video called "Dan and John Pole Setting". Guy uses a tractor by himself and sets a longer pole in place, with his buddy just there filming, and does it while smoking a cigarette! Obviously he's pretty well practiced in the method from the 20 other poles you'll see, but takes his time and shows a good technique. While your Kubota isn't quite as big your pole is shorter and therefore lighter, so I think the technique will likely work if you can lift high enough and get enough traction. For extra safety, you could use an appropriate length of chain or strap looped around the pole loosely to stop it sliding off side of bucket if you are worried. Do approach the hole from the outdoor kitchen side as you don't want to over flip it onto it. If you are worried about pushing over top of the hole, a wooden plank on angle in the hole could work as a back board to help it go down. Oh, and please make sure to wear a safety helmet and have Olivia, Gina and Pluto indoors :) Really liked the stove videos... its perfect fit for outdoor kitchen and I bet the apple wood will smell awesome. Think us modern homesteaders are going to miss Spots and Mrs Pigs next month, but I'm sure the next generation of Lumnah pigs will be a big hit too.

That's the Best BBQ Lighter I've ever seen!! Lol I've gotta get one of those. Your energy amazes me Al...and what an awesome dig too! Love the Kalamazoo...it's perfect for the Outdoor Kitchen! Cate

There's always a way when the will is there....Good job Al.....onto step two next smile!

Al; how about digging another hole about 6 feet from the other one and set up two poles with a notch on the top of both to drop a 4” x5 “crossbar on top and boat it together. Yes well make a better support for holding the weight of your pig or beef in the future. Good luck with your endeavor

You are one crazy working little man.

I'm coming late to this video, but I love synchronicity in action! Keep up the great work!

Line up the end of the pole with the hole a little shy. Build up the Middle with a fulcrum and a guide so it doesn't role. Then use the tractor close to the Middle to lift till the pole until it tilts and slides in. Also line up some boards on the far side of the hole to keep the pole going into the hole and not eating into the dirt. Also may be better to install the cross piece and braces before lifting it in.

Great video. I know it will be the best it can be. Thank you for sharing.

You need 2 people for this; dig a channel next to the hole, angling it steeper closer to the hole, roll the pole into the channel, end of pole hovering over the hole. Insert a 6-8 inch wide backstop dropped into the hole and protruding the surface by about a foot. Basically something about 5' tall. Attach two straps or heavy tow chains to the pole, attach the other ends to your truck and tractor (here's where you need a 2nd person). Move both vehicles slowly at angles away from each other to pull the end of the post against the backstop to drop it into the hole. Make sure your straps are anchored high enough on the pole so when the pole drops it doesn't damage your vehicles with the force of the drop. Good luck!

You’re amazing Al, nothing stops you. Can you raise the far end with the Kubota and cut a large wedge (maybe a large stump cut on angle) to place under it as a fulcrum and find a way to sledge hammer or push w equipment that fulcrum closer and closer to the hole until the pole is standing some? Then maybe it can be pulled from the far side to stand up? Guess it depends on the weight of the pole and strength of your equipment. Just a thought.

A 2x6 (or even just a 6"wide piece of plywood) inside the hole for the pole to slide down instead of collapsing the dirt. Use the kabota to lift the end as high as it can go, set saw horses under the pole to hold in place while you reset the kabota. The higher you go, the less weight you're carrying. Then you can probably just walk it in the rest of the way..

Yup, it was a little chilly in the AM but then the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. You had a little more color up your wy than in the Laconia area.

I'd use your rig's scoop there to guide the pole upright into the hole. Putting some metal C Clamps on the lip of the scoop as a guide, one on either side of the width of the pole (12 or 15 inches apart) will keep the pole steady and from rolling off. Line up the hole and the pole bottom, put the top of the pole in between the alignment clamps. Raise up the scoop and inch forward until the bottom of the pole loads itself into the hole. I'd maybe tie a strap to the top of the pole and hook it around a branch of a close-by tree (like a pulley) to guide it if it starts to get wonky. I love trying to figure out big tasks on my own... I wish I could draw a picture on here : )

love watching u figure stuff out

Use the pulley mount to rig and raise from closest tree. If it will raise a pig the pole will be a slam dunk.

Think about creating a structure above and in front of the hole so that the pole can pivot off of it at about the pole's midpoint. Then the task becomes one of getting one end of the pole over that pivot point and sliding the pole along until it is almost balanced by using your choker. Then you just erect the pole by hand until it starts to slide off the pivot point and into the top of the hole. With a 5 foot hole that pivot point would only need to be about 6 feet tall and say about 8 feet in front of the hole.

Awesome dig...

Haha! Amazing work. Love the thumbnail :)

Sure glad you didn't fall in that hole upside down.

you know we used to have a pole truck that actually had a big boom on it was big enough to do exactly what you're doing with that but you got to weld one on an old truck so that would stand on there so you can have a big pole it's good for a lot of other uses picking engines out of cars and everything so that's what my dad had done with an old Chevy it welded up a boom on it and boom lift

dig a trench, make a pivot point at the base by drilling a hole and putting a piece of rebar or bolt through it, also through a couple of 4*4s and make sure you put some sort of stop half way up so when you pull it with your truck it doesn't just flip over..lol

Use a tripod to hold the pole not balanced/centered. Then you will be able to push down on the one end and lift up the other to get it straight up and down. Then lower it into the hole. I believe they use the technique to put masts in sailboats.

looks great

Now that you've dug the hole and probably already have the pole up, here's my two cents ... I would have made a tripod with the two poles and a 4x4 or 6x6. Then you could move it later if you want.

You can build a triangle and brace off at 1/3 of the pole.

I have to remember that fire starting trick. Silly me.....using wood shavings and a match........ LOL!!

Nice digging, know the feeling when digging a hole with rocks holding you up, pain. When you get to the part of scolding the hair off the pig you want to spin the hog so you can cover all sides of the hog that's what a butcher friend of mine does just before he scraps the remaining hair left, does that make sense to you. Larry

Idea. Use 4 by 6 to go thru telephone pole at least 8 feet long maybe 10 or 12 feet. Center 4x6 thru telephone pole so it looks like a T rather than a gallows. When done harvesting pigs you can put a swing on each side for your kids. Just an idea.

you go Al. Please be careful. We built a swing system for that purpose, but its really not tall enough..so you deal may be even better..

sure would be nice to have a backhoe on the kubota right now.

whenever I was cutting trees and I won the hall tree out of the woods like that I just used to change that would bite up around it and pull it out with a truck or tractor

Great video. Interesting to see how you are going to stand it up and get it down the hole. I would have used my tractor but it's a little bit bigger then yours. Greetings from Andreas on Off Grid Sweden

Al, it's the one job tht you start at the top and work your way to the bottom. i.e. digging a hole. 👍

where you got to use a truck and you got to use a cable or a chain you need to get it up stand it straight up and you got to counterbalance a little bit with the weight of the truck pulling it Forward kind of like when you're cutting the tree down you wouldn't want to follow certain direction so you would have the tension built on the top of the tree that's how I used to do move these big things like that I used to work at a sawmill we cut telephone poles up to get them for free and that work at a sawmill when we did it we planned them up made him in the boards and we made decks with me even though it's not good to walk barefooted on those decks though cuz it's made of creosote

that's how they used to do it when they stood those telephone poles up with the tractor and put them in the ground when you're making a pole barn

Al, use your bucket to set the pole, com'on man! Don't make me have to come up there and show you how!!

If you have someone close with a bigger loader tractor ask for some help. A few bucks is cheaper than a trip to the hospital. I heard someone say get the right tool for the job.

You could it a basket ball hoop up when not in use. Just an idea.

such great comments below. Can't top them so DITO

surprised that you don't have a Boston digger post hole cleaning shovel, lol

I’m thinking you’re not a very experienced country boy if you don’t own a clamshell post hole digger. Get one. They aren’t much fun but far better than pick and shovel. And much faster.

Kalamazoo - less than 100 miles away !

Hi

oh wow i don’t envy anyone having to dig a hole that deep. We just planted a tree a few days ago, two feet deep and wide in hard packed clay. My poor husband. Whats that long thing you are using to break up the soil? You have way more rocks than we did. I kept waiting for you to find buried treasure! 🐷🐽😁

I see there's lots of suggestions has to how to set that pole in the hole so I won't bother you with my 5¢ worth of suggestions . Can't wait to see that video... :)

Al good mornin to you all what if you could make it so that the tellie pole would be able to swival while in the ground what do you think

Will you be showing the butchering? Its just i taught my buddy to butcher out first pasture pig last week and im beginning to discover that these skills have never been taught to so many people here in the States.

hi good morning beautiful family they say the early bird gets the sweetest worm ha ha ha another pleasant start to get the day going hi spots and misses 🐷 🐷 hi Mr. Briggs where are you? Hope you guys have a wonderful day today I know I will after watching this video God bless bye 👋 great job with the holes. 🏡🐓🐔🐔🐖🐖🔨🐤🐤🐤🐤👍👍👍👍🐩..

When will you be putting the warmer on the back of the stove?

eh yah 4-5 feet sounds about right me and my friend made a huge deer/bear stand outta telephone poles back in the day

Hope the linemen don't get bent out of shape calling your poles "telephone poles". My buddies get tore up calling utility poles another name! Oh well.Any chance of putting a swivel on the top? or a 2 pole so you can dunk then rotate??

What is the next video that shows you dropping the pole?

Spot knows what's up...:((

Ah, to be young again and full of P & V !

Man, that was a "hole" lot of work! Did you get some Chinese food when you were down in the hole? It looked like you dug all the way to China. When you're done Olivia can paint it like a totem pole. You can create your own family totem. Perhaps a pig or chicken.

Good thing I watched a video with nothing to do about actually putting the pole in the ground

👍 👍

What HP is your Kubota and what's the bucket's lift capacity?

Rope over a tree limb?

Personally, that would have been easier just to set up a tripod with a winch.

Can i keep chickens in my fruit tree area...?

LOL that was a lot of work. I would have just taken one of the poles, cut it and lashed it to two trees at the height you need.

Please be careful always have someone there to help you! I know someone who slipped headfirst and suffocated reaching into a deep hole like that.

How much weight would that hold? Could you lift a cow on that? Let's say 1100lbs?

There are literally zero poles installed in this video. Should be titled "13 minutes of me digging a hole'.

You wouldn't have to go through all that work if you were vegetarians