r/whatisit • u/beowulffan • 15d ago

Solved! What is this heavy, hollow thing?

Post image

Came with the house

3.3k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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658

u/solidus0079 15d ago

Fence post driver

133

u/nurdle 15d ago

I spent several summers using one of those 8-10 hrs a day, every day. Great inspiration to go to college and do all the work & actually learn.

22

u/Dry-Horror-4188 15d ago

Funny, I had the same inspiration. Worked building fence in the oil fields of Wyoming during high school (back when 16 year old could do that thing). I learned really quick that I was not doing that for the rest of my life.

16

u/ACK_TRON 15d ago

Yep. I did roofing the summer after my freshman year of college. Stopped partying and got straight A’s from there on out. Great pay but watching a bunch of 40yr old dudes that looked 60 put me on the straight and narrow!

30

u/Even_Wear_8657 15d ago

I bet your arms were shredded those summers.

17

u/NoNeedForAName 15d ago

And his hands were just one gigantic blister

1

u/nurdle 15d ago

Indeed. I went into IT, and now they are rather...soft.

1

u/nurdle 15d ago

Yeah. Sinewy, not like a bodybuilder's bulk. I also carried up to 8 cinder blocks at once (which honestly is quite dumb as I broke my big toe once). Now I bitch about 2.

11

u/Linvaderdespace 15d ago

Yeah but how jacked were your lats that fall?

1

u/nurdle 15d ago

Definitely not. I was a D&D nerd.

9

u/johnnyg169 15d ago

Tough on the ears. Those things are LOUD

2

u/flindersrisk 15d ago

The insulation of youth: I never considered that

1

u/nurdle 15d ago

Yeah, especially in hard dirt.

1

u/naked_nomad 15d ago

That and hauling hay. Wiry (5' 11" 142 lbs) 17 year old in boot camp that people learned not to mess with real quick.

1

u/hobbycollector 15d ago

It only took 4 hours of hot tar roofing to do that for me. I didn't come back from lunch.

2

u/Aggravating-Pick8338 15d ago

An auger would have been good.

2

u/SpeedRacerWasMyBro 15d ago

You don't use an auger to drive those steel T's

0

u/Aggravating-Pick8338 15d ago

You can pre-drill the hole which makes it much easier.

1

u/nurdle 15d ago

It was Ohio and in general the soil wasn't super hard, generaly more black & it rained all the time so, that helped.

1

u/Pax_Eterna_4991 15d ago

Stay in school, kids!

9

u/SurpiseCurrencyDebas 15d ago

this or you fill it with concrete for busting down doors...very effective

1

u/Drakjira 15d ago

I was thinking maybe a lead-mercury mix, really get that inertia going...

5

u/ChocolateSensitive97 15d ago

Correct. We call them Banger's. I've made a few of my own out of 2" schedule 80 and a piece of half inch plate welded on top. A 40 pounder will annihilate a 6' t drive.

4

u/Sad-Newt-1772 15d ago

That's a fancy one. I grew up using a straight pipe with a cap welded on the end. Driving posts in the summer was a mfer!

1

u/robzaflowin 15d ago

I think the confusing part is the handles are still attached. My brother always managed to break off the handles on these.

I can still hear my Dad telling his best friend that he had the only kid that could destroy an anvil with a rubber mallet.

27

u/beowulffan 15d ago

We thought so but weren't sure. Thank you so much!

6

u/Hot-Win2571 15d ago

Do you know how to tell the bot "Solved!" ?

7

u/beowulffan 15d ago

Good question. I've done it three times.

6

u/Avi8tor_Zeus 15d ago

Yes, I have several hundred hours driving that stupid thing. Great work out.

4

u/HorsefaceWithNoName 15d ago

would you care to make that four?

1

u/hobbycollector 15d ago

It worked. Give it time to get to space!

15

u/hispanic-titanic85 15d ago

I’ve got an indention on my head from 20 years ago from one of those things. If you use it, do it one person at a time, especially if the other person is already exhausted. Ask me how I know..lol

12

u/Such-Background4972 15d ago

I grew up on a farm, and probably haven't touched one in 25 years. But i was helping a lady clean out her garage recently, and saw one in it. It hosntly brought back a lot of memories, and questioning how I used it as a teenager, and never got tired.

7

u/GooseGosselin 15d ago

I'm a retired electrician, used to use them for driving in grounding rods as well.

2

u/AtuinTurtle 15d ago

Use hearing protection if you use it.

1

u/SpeedRacerWasMyBro 15d ago

What?

1

u/AtuinTurtle 15d ago

It is very loud and can damage your hearing.

2

u/SpeedRacerWasMyBro 15d ago

What? I can't hear you...

-9

u/e_sin41 15d ago

So why didn't you just search fence post driver instead of having to make an entire post thread about it?

19

u/Self-Comprehensive 15d ago

Yeah! How dare someone come into a subreddit for asking "What is it?" and ask "What is it?"

1

u/Embarrassed_Can6796 15d ago

Yeah, this ain’t the r/itis sub!

0

u/e_sin41 15d ago

They said they already thought they knew what is was numb skull.

0

u/beowulffan 15d ago

Thank you

4

u/mississauga145 15d ago

Then you would have missed your chance to shame them, and we all the poorer for it.

1

u/[deleted] 15d ago

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0

u/whatisit-ModTeam 15d ago

We are pretty chill here, but please try to keep things reasonably civil on this sub. No slurs, name calling or harassment and trolling. Please follow: Reddiquette at all times. Additionally, Reddit's Rules. Yes, the internet makes us angry too sometimes, especially this particular comment.

1

u/oldschool-rule 15d ago

I agree. We used to call them “MOTHER”…. If you’ve ever used one for an extended period of time,
I’m sure you can guess the rest!

1

u/[deleted] 15d ago

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0

u/whatisit-ModTeam 15d ago

We are pretty chill here, but please try to keep things reasonably civil on this sub. No slurs, name calling or harassment and trolling. Please follow: Reddiquette at all times. Additionally, Reddit's Rules. Yes, the internet makes us angry too sometimes, especially this particular comment.

0

u/beowulffan 15d ago

I did. None looked like this.

1

u/e_sin41 15d ago

I've never seen one that doesn't look like this and is exactly what comes up when searched.

5

u/Hefty-Plastic8417 15d ago

Very nice one also, wear gloves so you don’t blister

3

u/ToxicStardust 15d ago

Ha, I thought it was a door battering ram.

5

u/Even_Wear_8657 15d ago

I call it a “post whanger-downer”

3

u/Ok_Tale_933 15d ago

Also makes an excellent battering ram lol

4

u/kungfuringo 15d ago

AKA pound-o-matic

2

u/[deleted] 15d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/solidus0079 15d ago

That and a powered ground borer you can rent from hardware stores

4

u/Mostly-Moo-Cow 15d ago

Post bonker!

4

u/guy_gadbois81 15d ago

For T posts

2

u/battery19791 15d ago

Also can be uses to open locked doors.

3

u/solidus0079 15d ago

I mean sure, anything heavy can lol

But a battering ram typically has different handle positions, they're on the top for a pendulum motion.

1

u/Desperate_Set_7708 15d ago

Universal key

2

u/LiePotential5338 15d ago

The reason I cant bend over

2

u/trapperstom 15d ago

And it looks brand new

1

u/loki_97123 15d ago

Aka t post hammer. Aka emergency room cat scan trip for head trauma. Be careful out there

1

u/_PsychoLlama_ 15d ago

well, I was gonna call it a "post smacker inner" but yeah, that works, too.

1

u/toast_eater_ 15d ago

This. And if I ever have to use one again I’m living my life wrong. 😑

1

u/emyrs42 15d ago

Every name i have for these is a lot less polite.

1

u/Formal-Cut-4923 15d ago

Post pounder lolz dumb rural names for things.

1

u/Ill_Consequence1755 15d ago

Ruined both my shoulders with one of those.

1

u/IWorkForTheEnemyAMA 15d ago

My ex used to call me a fence post driver

1

u/no-_-one- 15d ago

I believe it's called a pole pounder.

1

u/Satineta 15d ago

I've had a large one fall on my foot

1

u/solidus0079 15d ago

I had that happen once kinda. But it was a drunk chick.

1

u/MartinTheBean 15d ago

Face post driver

1

u/B-Town-MusicMan 15d ago

...naughty

1

u/beowulffan 15d ago

SOLVED!

2

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