Self-Propelled Fence Building Machine

Self-Propelled Fence Building Machine FENCING Miscellaneous 24-5-9 Thousands of showgoers at the recent Farmfest farm show near Redwood Falls, Minn., stopped to stare in awe at a big red machine that was unlike anything they'd ever seen before. It took people a minute or two to figure out what the machine was designed to do, and then many of them would comment that it looked like it had come straight from a factory rather than out of a farm shop. The big self-propelled machine was designed and built by Dan Hall and his four sons, Jeremy, Andy, Tony, and Michael. The four brothers, aged 17 to 22, did nearly all the work, turning to their dad "occasionally" for guidance. When Dan Hall and his wife, Terese, got out of farming four years ago, they went looking for a new way to make a living that would allow them to keep living in the country. They hit on the idea of doing custom fencing. Demand was so strong, they were soon in business full time with enough work to keep them and all four of their sons busy. They specialize in high-tensile livestock and security fence - up to 8 ft. tall - and they'll work anywhere within about a 120-mile radius of their home near Butterfield, Minn. Initially the Halls used a heavy-duty commercial-built fence post driver. But they wanted something bigger and faster that could also carry posts and the wire. That's when they got the idea of building a self-propelled machine. They found a Case 600 self-propelled combine at a sale and set out to modify it. "Ever since my boys have been little they've been builders," says proud mother Terese Hall. "They've done a lot of building around the farm but this was by far their biggest project." The young men stripped the combine down and then beefed up and shortened the frame. The operator platform, which raises up for easy access to the transmission and hydraulic components, was moved lower and placed up front between the big drive wheels. The up-front post driver was patterned after a commercial rig. It's made from a big H-beam and is big enough to drive a 10-in. dia., 12-ft. long wood post. It tilts hydraulically in any direction for easy use on uneven ground. And it mounts on a telescoping table that extends out as much as 3 ft. from the side and 3 ft. ahead of the self-propelled machine. "It lets you drive right along the fence row and drive posts without ever having to back up," says 17-year-old Michael Hall, noting that all components on the post driver were "overbuilt" to stand up to tough conditions. A stabilizing "foot" drops to the ground right next to the driver when extra support is needed. Behind the operator platform is a post-hauling platform with a lift crane that loads and unloads posts. The platform also tilts hydraulically to the side to make unloading easier. A wire spool on back makes it easy to string out the first wire which is used for alignment of the posts. And a blade under the rear of the machine is used to clear the fenceline before beginning work and also as a hydraulic lift to pull out posts, if needed. "People are supposed to clear the fence row before we come out but they often don't do a good enough job. The blade makes it easy to quickly clear and level out the area to be fenced," notes Michael. The tractor is fitted with the original engine and mechanical transmission. One improvement the Hall brothers say they might make to the machine in the future is to add hydrostatic drive. The Halls bought a second Case 600 combine which they say they might use to build a second self-propelled fence machine. They might also be interested in custom-building a machine for sale. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Hall, Southwest MN K-Fence, RR 1, Box 196, Butterfield, Minn. 56120 (ph 507 956-2657).

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