My fence post digger snapped on post #6, here's the workaround

I was setting a 40 foot run of cedar fence in my backyard near Tulsa last Saturday. Halfway through, the handle on my clamshell post hole digger just cracked clean off. I had 4 holes left and no spare tool, so I grabbed a 3 foot length of rebar and some duct tape. I taped the rebar to the broken handle stub and it gave me enough grip to dig the rest, but it took about 20 extra minutes per hole. Lesson learned about checking welds before starting a project. Has anyone else rigged up a temporary fix like this or do you just bite the bullet and rent a powered auger?

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barbaraw162mo ago

Wait, you taped rebar to a broken handle and it actually held for four more holes? That's wild, I would've assumed the tape would just peel off after the first solid thunk into clay. And @margaretshah, you finished a whole fence line with electrical tape on a shovel? That's either dedication or stubbornness, maybe both. I get the whole "make it work" thing, but 20 extra minutes per hole sounds like pure misery, especially in Oklahoma dirt. Honestly, I'd probably have just stopped and driven to the nearest hardware store, even if it meant leaving half the fence done. But hey, if the rebar trick got you through the day, that's a win in my book.

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margaretshah2mo ago

Man, that duct tape and rebar trick is classic. I did the same thing with a broken shovel handle once, wrapped it in electrical tape and finished the whole fence line, took forever but got it done.

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