This homemade metal fence post driver makes putting in metal fence posts quick, easy and cheap! The first spring on our homestead when we were fencing off our new 7,000 square foot garden, we had a slew of metal fence posts (also called t-posts) that needed to be pounded in. We didn’t want to fork out the $30+ to buy one and didn’t want to spend the money to rent one. We also didn’t look forward to the idea of having to pound them all in with a sledge hammer. What did we do instead? My husband got creative and made one! This fence post driver cost us nothing to make since we had all the materials we needed in a scrap pile on the homestead. It may not be pretty, but it cost us nothing to make and works like a charm!
I mentioned in the post about the financial challenges of homesteading that we were facing quite a few expenses on our new homestead. It may not sound like a ton of money to go out and buy a fence post driver for $30. But even smaller expenses like this can add up quickly. When we start a new project, we always try to figure out ways we can complete the project without having to buy new materials. Sometimes it just isn’t possible, but sometimes we end up with something like this handy homemade metal fence post driver!
My husband’s metal fence post driver is designed with a longer center pipe than these store bought models have. He did this so the post driver guides itself down the top of the metal fence post as you slam it down. With a shorter center pipe, you have to hold onto the handles on the side of the post driver for a longer period of time which causes more body jarring in the process. The longer center pipe also contributes to a heavier post driver so the fence posts will be installed quicker.
DIY metal fence post driver instructions
To make a metal fence post driver, you need to have a welder. You don’t have to possess a lot of skill with the welder, but you do need to be able to lay down a few beads to weld two pieces of metal together. You will also need a long piece of metal pipe. The pipe diameter needs to be wider than your metal fence posts. You can easily test this by sticking one end of a metal fence post inside the opening of the pipe end. My husband used the metal pipe from the old electric service mast that was taken down during an upgrade at our old house. The top plate of our fence post pounder was a piece of scrap metal left over from another project.
Materials:
-metal pipe at least 1.5″ in diameter
-steel plate or other sturdy metal plate measuring about 4″ x 6.5″
-welder
-sawzaw or other saw that cuts metal
Step 1: Cut the pipe so you have two pieces that are 19″ long and one piece that is 42″ long.
Step 2: Weld the longer center pipe to the center of the piece of steel plate. Make sure your weld goes in a full circle around the pipe opening to ensure a strong bond.
Step 3: Weld the two shorter pieces of pipe to the piece of steel plate so there is one piece of shorter pipe on either side of the longer center pipe.
Step 4: Weld the shorter pipes to the longer center pipe with a couple of tack welds near the bottom of the shorter pipes.
Step 5: Your homemade fence post driver is all done. Now you can start pounding metal fence posts!
Do you have any DIY projects like this to share that help save money on the homestead?
We have a homemade tpost driver that my great grandfather made that has been doing its job well for as long as it’s been around… But I like the ergonomic handles/longer length of your design better, as the rebar handles on ours kills my hands after awhile! I may update ours before the next fencing project!
Wow, I love that you have a homemade post driver that your great grandfather made!!
Well done,I may build one since we have a lot of fencing to do.
Raphael acevedo