On Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:29:44 -0800 (PST), mike
wrote:


-snip-

2. The clamshell-type post hole digger, like this dandy by Fiskars:

http://tinyurl.com/cna8js

(reportedly reaches over 4 feet)

Never used that style but I saw a pair like it in a HD a while back.
The Fiskar's might be different, but by gawd the ones I saw weighed 40
pounds. [just guessing from memory- don't hold me to that] They were
3-4 times as heavy as the wood handled clamshells in the next row.

I've dug my share with a clamshell, and if you've got rocky soil
that's definitely the way to go. When we were setting telephone
poles we often only used the power auger to handle the pole- 2 of us
could dig the hole with a clamshell and a bar nearly as fast as the
auger- and we made a much cleaner hole.

Sandy soil is ok for an auger power or hand operated.

BTW- I've never had any trouble making a 4' deep hole [for a 4x4] with
regular clamshells and a spud bar.

Jim