On to the fence stretching....
...this is the beginning of the stretch....stripping the verticle wires so the horizontal wires can be wrapped around the post and then twisted back to itself. Of course it is always good to have some help when doing this....
....so KiKi stepped in to help speed up the process....Not....
...but despite the distractions and obsticle, the twisting began. I found it is best to wrap the bottom wire first, because the fence is moveable and can easily be lifted so the wire can slip under and during the twisting it is easier to twist it with the hog-nosed pliers. After wrapping and twisting it I would go to the top and twist down, just my preference. I don't bend for long periods of time very easily any more, it doesn't really make a difference when starting, but it does to end the pull.
...this is a little tool that I came across to twist wires with and it really worked well in the spaces where there was room for it to spin, but around brace posts and brace wires it was the hog-nosed pliers that did the job. Also, this wire is 14gauge and I haven't used it on any heavier gauge wire, so unsure about the difficulties that may present. When using this welded wire, in stripping the verticles, there will always be little barbs that are left on the wires and they can present some difficulties in the twisting and also will grab, scratch, and stick you while working with it.
...this is the completed twist. Since I tend to overkill things, there should be a minimum of 4-5 twists around the wire, but I just wound the length I had.
...this is a different post, but it does show the finished product of starting the stretching process.
I should mention that if you are using this wire for fencing, be extra sure that the horizontal wires are on the animal side of it. This will help it to last a bit longer and keep the wear and tear off of the welds. So, to the stretching....
...I used ratchet straps to pull this with, certainly not ideal, but it did get the job done.
...this is ending the stretch and in doing so ya want to begin with the middle wires and alternate from the middle out, continuing until the last 2 wires to be done are the top and bottom. If you are unsure just how much wire is needed, make sure ya have enough to reach....it is easy to clip some off before twisting, but ya can't add to it if it is short. What I did to locate the Tpost placement was to measure the space between the closest posts of the 2 "Hs" and find the middle, then I worked from that point out every 8' until the wooden post was within 10' of the last Tpost. On short spans, I divided the space into equal parts for the placements.
...this is the completed stretch. During this whole process I learned so much, and I must remind ya that this is my very first time of installing a fence in this fashion. This procedure was used in each of the sections of the entire fencing project. I will post the finished portions in the next post, because I wouldn't be able to fit them in this post.
