Make sure you watch to the end so you don’t miss the bonus tip at 13:17

Secrets for digging in rocky ground: Step 1: Buy a $40,000 bobcat drilling rig.

Best trick yet. I’ve been building fence for 23 years and this is an honest and straight forward solution for rocky conditions. We don’t usually have to deal with this type of ground but occasionally find spots near rivers or places that there were once rivers. I’m definitely keeping this one as an ace up my sleeve. Good job fellas. Also to all the critics in the comments, fence building is a very lucrative business. Bobcats or other skid steers are a must for companies that want to keep there employees production level consistent. Just a drop in the bucket for a busy company. Keep up the good work.

It's cool to see how to tackle this in different parts of the country. Been around the fence business since I was knee high to a grasshopper in the Midwest. Blessed we don't have to deal with that on a regular basis. Keep up the good work!

I just discovered this channel when I was looking up some forgotten "know-hows." because I'm not fencing anymore, but I have a big fence project for my new job and I'm a little rusty. Never thought I'd say this but watching these videos is ACTUALLY invigorating. It's an interesting concept to watch how other people do things similarly and differently. Also, I like how y'all use humor and editing to make these videos less stale haha.

Fellow fence guy here, this is an awesome tip and I can't wait to try it out! Thanks for sharing 👍 I'm subscribing!

Hey man , I used up one hole day digging 9 holes in the same kind of rocky soil . This is a game changer for me . Thank you Sir .

Spoiler: add water and bentonite in the way they show at the end of the video. You need expensive machinery and an adapted cast auger with rebar welded onto flat surfaces for extra grip.

We have a small fence business in Oregon and have the same auger setup. We often run into the exact same issue. But now I have a solution. Thanks for the tips!

Some areas in Oklahoma where I'm at have very similar soil but what often saves us here is the high clay content which acts just like your water and bentonite trick. Good informative video. Interesting stuff.

I grew up on a ranch in SD. I've been digging post holes for more yrs than I care to think about. This is the best method I've seen for pinpointing a hole in hard-scrabble ground. Nice job on the video & thanks for sharing!

Great video and very good tips for rocky ground. I used to live in Montana before KZfaq and this would have helped a lot. Need a video about what to do when the rocks are like basketballs.

Highly informative and fun content! Thanks for taking the time and effort to make these videos.

Hats off to you my friend. That looks insanely difficult and expensive. That perfectly illustrates why the Brits, Scots, Irish often use stone fences. Pick it up, stack it up. No digging. Well done!

Excellent video brother! Thank you for the info.

Worked like a charm with the bentonite!

Great tips!

Very helpful and informative video. Thank you!

Brings up nightmares of a project this summer

Great video! I live in Tucson AZ and deal with nasty Caliche. Thanks!

I dig in stuff like that all the time and I use bolt on carbide teeth and add a couple welds on. I also like a double flute it carries more dirt out of the hole. I know the single is supposedly better for bigger Rocks but the double just does a better job in my opinion. Using the additive like you did seems like a really good trick on a stubborn hole.

Oh that was an awesome method for drilling in those conditions!! Thanks for that!

Redrilling is a good trick here too. Coral rock is uneven so when you drill the hole often deflects. You have to drill then try and angle drill to move the hole, refill add water and drill the final hole. You do have to put carbide bullet teeth on your auger here.

Good Job again. It's funny did not know about this trick with water. I was sinking a hole for a signpost and dirt was dry silty powder. While the auger was in the hole I started dumping in some water. Man, that I wish I knew a long time ago. I ended up with such a perfect hole. Amazing.

Interesting and humorous. Makes one wonder how hard it was for the pioneers to set fence posts there. Where I live in California, the soil is similar, with same big round river rocks. Thinking of getting a hand power-auger.

ive had that same problem cutting trenches in rocky areas... gonna try that bentonite next time thanks!

I dont do fences. Im Landscaper and light excavation.. found this very educational. Learned a few things we can do

This is awesome and should work perfect for our super rocky soil. Thank you!

Thanks, this got me past the hard parts.

Great tips, thanks!!

Great info. Thanks for the video.

Great lesson, thanks for sharing

Wow! Lots of impressive tips!!

Nice work!

Good stuff smart man them órgão machines really helpful along with that betenite stuff in the bag was a great big help keep up your good work

Great tips.

brother knows what he's talking about for real. Respect.

I like the flow of information. Some videos people make are just full of jawing about nothing important.

Excellent video, thank you very much for the tips. Additionally, I would like to ask you for the specifications of the auger setup that you used in the video including brand. Thanks in advance.

Excellent pro tips

I can assure you that digging in Coral Springs, Florida, is a challenge. I remember being unable to drive a sixteen penny nail into it. Thanks for the tips.

Amazing.

Probably one of the most useful videos on youtube.

Awesome video ! Thank you

Learned a lot, thank you!

Great video, good information. Love the shoes, if they work for for you that's all that matters. Would you use a regular shovel for loamy soil or go with the clam shell digger? Thanks

Great secret. Our Utah rocky clay is fun to dig in. This could really help.

Gosh - never thought about reducing file sizes like that! Very smart! rofl! Great vid - thanks!

After watching this video this is exactly what we need to do on our property which is literal riverbed. I’ve been searching high and low for the bentonite but can’t figure out which kind to buy as there are lots of different versions. Can you provide any direction? I saw that you get yours for free…could you tell me what version you use in the holes?

Got the same problem at my place due to glacier deposit, I believe it is called an alluvial plain. I am building a wood shed using railroad ties for posts, over kill but they will never rot. Dug my first hole today and I got to 20 inches and that was it. I also have a cheap auger so maybe time for an upgrade. Thanks for your video.

Hell yeah man, thanks for the tip! Bentonight!!

Awesome idea.

Awesome Video! Thank you!

Auger + knowlege! Love the mini!

Wow, local boys on the youtube. I live in Clark, yeah. I gave up with posthole diggers a long time ago. Bought a mini-ex and dig a big hole, then just back fill, the ground compacts well. The water route is fine, if you have access to water. I can see that 'trick' working well in someone's yard. Well done video by the way.

Great idea adding bentonite as a binder. I just need a high-flow skid steer with beefy auger.

So would the bentonite work in like a beach area or would it be best to drive the post?

I live on an ancient river bed up in Alaska and come across small rocks and rocks all the way up to 3’ diameter and so far every hole I’ve dug in the past for fence posts/deck footings have blown out to be rather large. In situations where the hole blows out because of large rocks, would setting sonotubes plumb and compacting soil with a jumping jack and then setting post in sonotubes make sense?

Good info. Thanks. Chip!

In the Ozarks, we use a steel punch bar and regular clam style posthole diggeryto lift out the loosened spoil most effectively.

Well done.

Thankyou

Nice trick, subbed

Drybelt here in southwestern BC. Looks like my type of ground. Just subscribed. Awesome content.

WOW!!!! Great tips

Our auger is almost identical we just have weights added on our mast but with a sharper edge and drive in rock teeth 10" width .

OMG!!! He's working for the DARKSIDE hahaha LoL 😁😁 Great Video and also The Editing...

In Pennsylvania it's all rock clay mixed with topsoil and that's the best condition we have.....I've learned to use a hammer drill to use like a jackhammer to break everything up before I use the pole digger to get it out.

I live just outside of Chattanooga at the foot of the Cumberland plateau. We have lots of rock here also but instead of sand and rock, we have red clay and rock. Oh what a treat that is! Here we use the auger where we get luck enough but often have to use a jack hammer or the iron bar. Actually the iron bar does pretty well in combination with the auger but sometimes we can only get 5 or 6 holes in a day.

They make a great tool to use vs getting a grinder to cut your shovels down. Used in Pipeline work. My crews used them in Colorado

Excellent video very clever 🤠👍

Smokes that is gold!!

The tape measure transformed to light sabre was classic! Good laugh! Excellent content, thanks.

Nice tip

Aw, man. I was hoping you could help as I live on an old riverbed. I have a small shovel.

We plant fruit trees in rocky ground like yours and when the auger gets knocked off center by rocks, it is very frustrating because the row has to be straight. Good tips. Will have to try the Bentonite.

Hey mark great video, the lightsaber effects perfect

Brilliant💎💎💎

Thanks for the tip! A bag of bentonite is definitely cheaper than a case of auger bits/teeth.

Awesome tip... Thank YOU!! How do you "Hard Surface" the edges? Do you just add layers of weld??

Great practical comments.... If you can't afford a Bobcat with an auger drill and have to use hand tools, then using that chisel bar is rubbish. Instead get a scaffold pole, taper and cap the end, then weld it onto a 4 inch wide ditching shovel head. Make sure shovel head points straight downwards. The extra weight of the scaffold pole helps pounding downwards and can also break stones. Instead of using those crappy shovel holers you see in video, can make your own. Make them with a scissor action with push to grab action. This action makes them much easier to use. Buy shovel heads similar to ones on video, however cut rounded edge off bottom making it square. Follow this by castllating base by cutting 3 slots in each side. This helps to dislodge stones and cut more easily using a thrusting and twisting action when lifting. Also Run a weld over castelations to help harden and toughen. Finally metal tube shafts with a slight S shape keep them narrow at base and wider at top. Being metal they ars better for pounding. Being a farmer, have dug many holes like this in flinty dry ground. Compared with using hand tools on the market, holes can be dug twice as quickly. Holes remain small and parallel. In dry conditions, dig a small initial hole and fill with plenty of water from hose pipe if possible. Wait a few hours or over night, then job will be considerably easier.

What size skid steer do you recommend running these augers on?

A 5 gallon bucket might be a good investment to go with the skid-steer and drill rig.

I work on an island off the coast of Maine. Ledge everywhere. Sometimes I have to hammer drill ! Ughhh

Great tips ! Only those of us who struggle to do holes in rocky soil would appreciate this video. We use a mini-skidsteer to make holes for grapevines in vineyard. As you said the right strong auger/teeth is key to start. For difficult holes I'm going to try the water tip but I can't go to the bentonite route as the vines have to send out roots in all directions in the hole. We "punch" 24-32 inch holes every 4 feet in row. Thank you for showing this video.

I learnt 2 things from this video, obviously the bentonite being the point of the video but just as importantly for me is the welding of rebar to to form a retaining wall on the auger. Thumbs up from me.

Protect this man at all cost...he is a National Treasure!

Great tip. What was the name of product you put in the whole? I’m a fence installer in the Hudson Valley of NY. I run in to dry river bed quite a bit.

we have a digging machine called a dandy digger that has a on board water system that the operator controls from the operators seat,it is about the size of a skid steer, it is a monster in rocky or hard ground.

What can be used for limestone terrain

Great ideas. How much does bentonite cost?

Excellent tip - thanks for sharing - will give that a try next time I'm in pit run trying to drill a post hole !!!!

If your not a fence guy this is why you work extra hours at your job and pay a pro.

great video, thanks. just bought a 2022 SUIHE 46 digger, don't know a lot about them, probably chinese made. will be for farm use

This is mostly what our digging is like where I'm from. To combat the big holes we have 12" diameter pvc tubes with rope tied off at the top. We put the tube in with the rope at the top and backfill around the pvc where the hole should be. Pour concrete in the green tube, then pull it out of the hole. The concrete sinks a little but maintains the overall shape by keeping the surrounding rocks displaced allowing you to set your post.

Glad I'm not the only person who hates those clam shell diggers and thinks they're more trouble than they're worth.

That was a great idea about using a grinder to cut the shovel down 🤯🤓

Digging my own fence by hand here in Gillette. Lots of shale and rocks.

My problem is the boulders in the ground. I rented a hydraulic auger...it still got stuck on medium rocks...not sure what to do with boulders.

What model bobcat do you use for running an auger?