Guide to How To Build A Fence

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A spudding iron, which can be made by welding a heavy metal nose to a wrecking bar, punches a conical hole in wet soil.
A spudding iron, which can be made by welding a heavy metal nose to a wrecking bar, punches a conical hole in wet soil.
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In soft ground, postholes may be spudded rather than dug. Here the author positions a hole next to a twine guideline.
In soft ground, postholes may be spudded rather than dug. Here the author positions a hole next to a twine guideline.
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Each horizontal strand of netting is wrapped around the corner post, then around itself. Note the post-and-wire brace.
Each horizontal strand of netting is wrapped around the corner post, then around itself. Note the post-and-wire brace.
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Keep the upright solid in the ground even after a hearing frost.
Keep the upright solid in the ground even after a hearing frost.
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A halter made of binder twine holds one end of a brace rail steady while the other end is toenailed or doweled in place.
A halter made of binder twine holds one end of a brace rail steady while the other end is toenailed or doweled in place.
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Bill Deavers makes a splice by holding the strands parallel and winding one firmly around the other with a wire twister.
Bill Deavers makes a splice by holding the strands parallel and winding one firmly around the other with a wire twister.
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A top strand of barb is added to the fence to prevent livestock from leaning against the woven wire and breaking it down.
A top strand of barb is added to the fence to prevent livestock from leaning against the woven wire and breaking it down.

A good fence, farmers say, should be “horse high, bull strong and pig tight.” Here’s how Jim Fairfield and his neighbor Bill Deavers construct such an enclosure from wooden posts and woven wire on their family homesteads in Virginia.

NOTE: This is the second half of a two-part article. The first half,
which described how to price out fencing supplies and save money on
their purchase and/or fabrication, appeared in MOTHER EARTH NEWS NO. 34.

Special note for all readers of Jim Fairfield’s first installment in MOTHER EARTH NEWS NO. 34, and especially for any of you who may have been scared out of a proposed livestock project by the high cost of fencing: Hardly had that issue been mailed out when an alert Louisiana economist and geologist, Claude McMichael, telephoned my editorial office to point out a — er — slight error in Jim’s calculations. Mr. McMichael’s logic was indisputable, and when the fainting fit had passed off I put in a call to the Fairfield place up in the Virginia hills to check with the author. Jim, radiating blushes along the phone line all the way to North Carolina, allowed as how he’d goofed for sure and told me how it happened.

  • Published on Sep 1, 1975
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