Forums:

rock jack

wayne fajkus

gardener

Posts: 3074

Location: Central Texas zone 8a

834

I like...

posted 7 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I was fascinated by fencing when i visited Jamestown,Va area. How they did what they with what they have. Here's 2 examples. A worm fence which needs no posts, but uses a lot of wood and takes a lot of space. The other is a root fence that i found when searching the old ways.

worm-fence-862x647.jpeg-640x480.jpg

roots_knots_spr10.jpg

Sometimes the answer is nothing

PEP - BB5 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by gir bot

paul wheaton

author and steward

Posts: 110091

Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

∞

I like...

posted 7 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

from robbie's bootcamp thread ...

they repaired a rock jack yesterday ...

Coco Fernandez

pollinator

Posts: 590

Location: Hamilton, MT

388

I like...

posted 7 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Working on a new rock jack at the ATC

Other rock jacks at wheaton labs

double rock jack

Thanks,
Coco
Fernandez

PEP - BB10 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by gir bot

Devin Lavign

pollinator

Posts: 1133

Location: Pac Northwest, east of the Cascades

351

I like...

posted 7 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I was wondering about these when at the PDC, now after reading this thread I am thinking these might be a great idea for my property when I start fencing it.

I have lots of rock and very rocky soils that are a pain to try and put posts into. So some rock jacks would make life a lot easier to secure posts.

I was wondering how I was going to do some of the fencing, and didn't like how I saw a lot of the 4 strand barbed wire fences around here did things. But these rock jacks seem like the right thing to do the job well.

"Where will you drive your own picket stake? Where will you choose to make your stand? Give me a threshold, a specific point at which you will finally stop running, at which you will finally fight back." (Derrick Jensen)

Coco Fernandez

pollinator

Posts: 590

Location: Hamilton, MT

388

I like...

posted 7 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

More photos for rock jacks at wheaton labs.

Thanks,
Coco
Fernandez

Coco Fernandez

pollinator

Posts: 590

Location: Hamilton, MT

388

I like...

posted 7 years ago

1
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

10-1-19 junkpole fence

Thanks,
Coco
Fernandez

Sarah Houlihan

pollinator

Posts: 131

Location: Central Maine

I like...

posted 7 years ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

So glad I saw this post. Im in Maine on 8 acres of rock/ledge and clay. We run into lots of problems with fencing and things. I will be trying this out soon for sure.

Now if only I could make this work for the base of a cordwood house.....

homestead houligan: one who lives on any homestead and tends to break the "rules" or practices of a traditional homestead. ex:using practices such as permaculture on a homestead. homesteadhouligan.com

Travis Johnson

pollinator

Posts: 4958

1214

I like...

posted 7 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Sarah Houlihan wrote:So glad I saw this post. Im in Maine on 8 acres of rock/ledge and clay. We run into lots of problems with fencing and things. I will be trying this out soon for sure.

Now if only I could make this work for the base of a cordwood house.....

What are you planning to use for a foundation? Rubble trench?

Sarah Houlihan

pollinator

Posts: 131

Location: Central Maine

I like...

posted 7 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Travis Johnson wrote:

What are you planning to use for a foundation? Rubble trench?

Yes. Then the base of the house will be stacked boulders.

I'm experimenting with the same idea as a rock jack. Im working on an addition where I sunk the posts a foot or so and filled in with gravel. Im stacking rocks around the posts to make wall bases, like in the house.

Something like a rock jack covered in cob could make a nice house corner with a built in corner bench inside.

Gail Jardin

Posts: 357

posted 6 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

So hypothetically speaking you could use rock jacks to put up a temporary fence while still observing your land for the first year? How many feet would you have to have them separated to fence in goats and dogs? How high of a fence is it good for? I am thinking of using four foot field fence then running an electric wire around the top to keep in mini goats and a Pyrenees mix. I would rather invest in permanent fence than just electric; but love the idea of making permanent fencing temporary with these, so I can know if I have pens and paddocks where they will serve the most purpose.

paul wheaton

author and steward

Posts: 110091

Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

∞

I like...

posted 6 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Each rock jack is a fair bit of work. I don't think it is a good fit for something temporary.

Carmen Rose

pollinator

Posts: 188

Location: Pacific North West of the United States

I like...

posted 5 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

paul wheaton wrote:I've described this several times now, so I thought I would use the mighty internet to make things clearer:

(source)

(source)

(source)

I've lived in the country a long time and never seen such a thing! Great idea! Thanks

The first and last image are the ones I am used to for a rock jack. The middle rock jack is mighty fancy!

Kristin Lang

Posts: 10

posted 3 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Hi. Curious the pine you are using is it balsam? We live deep in the boreal forest and are clearing some areas for animals. Can balsam be used for watteling like this with bark on? We peel our spruce logs and plan to use them for fence posts, raised above ground by rods or rock jacks. We have not been using any balsam. But I like the idea of watteling it in the fence areas between animals. And my husband is building wire rock jacks! So they won’t rot. Would be great to use more of the wood I was just curious about the bark as well as it was not peeled does it last as long?

paul wheaton

author and steward

Posts: 110091

Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

∞

I like...

posted 6 days ago

3
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

The best rock jacks i have ever seen have been recently built by the bootcamp.

the rock platform is low and flat.

the angle braces and platform sticks have excellent saddle joints.

the rocks are placed well within "the tripod" while simultaneously being far from the post. Fewer rocks are needed.

The post is beefy.

I grabbed the post and used all of my (substantial) weight to try to move it. Solid as a rock.