Pulling a 4x4 post - Ugh!!!

[Joisey]

I inherited a telephone pole jack when my grandfather died. He worked for Public Service Electric and Gas when they still used horses to pull the majority of the loads.

The pole jack is about 3 feet high, made of steel and weighs a bit over 125 pounds. Like the bumper jack of the sixties, it has a forked finger that raises or lowers when you pump the handle.

Put two or three wraps of 3/8 or larger chain around what you want to remove, set the jack on a two inch thick base of plywood to distribute the weight and put the loose end of the chain in the forked finger....and jack. The jack handled is 8 feet long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter, solid steel.

Once you get some decent tension on the chain, walk away for a bit and let the jack do its work. After about 15 minutes check the tension of the chain. If it has relaxed, pump the handle until the post comes out of the ground.

I have used this to remove live maple, oak and cherry trees. Trees approaching a foot in diameter will probably require repositioning the jack to give you an even lift according to how the roots have grown.

No noise, no digging, just slower than a backhoe and it doesn't tear up a lawn and can fit in a space a foot wide.

 

[William1]

Yikes! Today, I was prepping the area for grass seed and I found another cut off about 1/2" below ground top.

I dug down to the top of the cement. Chained it, had the wife guide me so a vertical pull could be done and nothing. Rear of the little BX came up in the air. I stood with my feet in a rear wheel and bounced it. Nope, zero movement.

OK. Dug a little trench, got the Sawzall out and cut it off just about the cement plug. Not worth the battle.

Chopped up the first inch of topsoil, (hard as a rock!!!) Seeded, starter added, raked in, walked on to lightly pack for maximum soil to seed contact, straw matting down and well watered.

I finished the job with a glass of wine.