Unpopular opinion: I think post hole diggers are overrated

I was talking to a guy named Rick at the lumber yard in Tacoma last week. He said he's been setting posts for 25 years and only uses a shovel and a steel bar. Said diggers just waste time and make your arms hurt for no reason. Made me wonder if I've been making this job harder than it needs to be for no good reason.

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_baker991mo ago

My buddy Jeff threw his back out with a post hole digger in 2019.

ninabutler1mo ago

Wait was he actually using the digger when it happened or did he just sneeze wrong the next morning? I gotta know cause I've seen both scenarios play out myself and honestly the sneeze one is way more common than people think. Did he at least finish the hole he was working on or did he just leave it half dug like a monument to bad timing? That type of work is brutal on the lower back no matter how careful you are, I've learned that the hard way.

-1

luna5891mo ago

Are you sure about that, @uma_baker99? I've seen a lot of those stories and half the time it's from something stupid like bending over to pick up a pen the next morning. The digger just gets the blame. plus if he was using it right, the motion is pretty smooth, not a lot of sudden jerking. The real trouble comes from twisting wrong or lifting something dumb. I think people like to make the digging sound more dramatic than it really is.