# Auger alignment



## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

Anyone have a solution to keep a PTO driven auger up right other than a second person manually resisting the torque developed when boring a post hole?


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Looking at your name, I was going to ask you! 
Welcome to the forum. I'm not following your question. If you are talking about keeping the auger plumb while boring the hole, try adjusting where the frame work bolts together. Most have a bar on the boom to adjust the angle / approach of the auger to the ground. I usually start my post hole on the mark, them move the tractor slightly ahead to keep the hole plumb if need be.


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## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

pogobill said:


> Looking at your name, I was going to ask you!
> Welcome to the forum. I'm not following your question. If you are talking about keeping the auger plumb while boring the hole, try adjusting where the frame work bolts together. Most have a bar on the boom to adjust the angle / approach of the auger to the ground. I usually start my post hole on the mark, them move the tractor slightly ahead to keep the hole plumb if need be.


Hi. My name is John Mitchell and I want to thank you for the rapid response! I do not have a photo depicting this issue. The alignment problem is not front to back. It is side to side. The implement is a 3-point attachment auger with a PTO drive. The rotation of the PTO shaft causes the motor to torque with a lot of force and it rotates to the left side of the tractor. The auger remains vertical after initial rotation has begun and remains vertical when first touching the ground, but then as the auger enters the dirt it begins to torque over to the side in reaction to the force being applied to the auger to cause it to penetrate. The unit develops so much torque that with my wife on the tractor and me standing on the drivers side of the auger motor it takes a lot of strength to resist the rotation of the implement. Once the auger attains some depth the dirt on the side of the hole will resist the torque and keep the auger vertical. 

In your response you began with, "Looking at your name, I was going to ask you!" I am curious about what you were going to ask?
Thanks again for your time, John


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## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

Certified AWS d1.1 3G4G, tested on 1" Ticket (Expired). (Wanted to write this on the photo but could not figure out how to do it?


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## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

Got tired of all the store bought mowers falling apart so built one. Now the frame never breaks but the blades and the pins need attention. My wife runs over logs (10"+/-) *^#&@!.............


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

the key of knowledge said:


> Hi. My name is John Mitchell and I want to thank you for the rapid response! I do not have a photo depicting this issue. The alignment problem is not front to back. It is side to side. The implement is a 3-point attachment auger with a PTO drive. The rotation of the PTO shaft causes the motor to torque with a lot of force and it rotates to the left side of the tractor. The auger remains vertical after initial rotation has begun and remains vertical when first touching the ground, but then as the auger enters the dirt it begins to torque over to the side in reaction to the force being applied to the auger to cause it to penetrate. The unit develops so much torque that with my wife on the tractor and me standing on the drivers side of the auger motor it takes a lot of strength to resist the rotation of the implement. Once the auger attains some depth the dirt on the side of the hole will resist the torque and keep the auger vertical.
> 
> In your response you began with, "Looking at your name, I was going to ask you!" I am curious about what you were going to ask?
> Thanks again for your time, John


Hello John, I was just pulling your leg on the name thing, "key of knowledge seems to lend itself to answering questions, rather than asking them! My Bad!

I'm having difficulty with your augering procedure. You shouldn't be turning the auger on before it hits the ground. What are you using to create down force?

If the Auger is mounted up properly, there shouldn't be a whole lot of swinging of the auger.








Place the bit exactly where you want the hole keeping the auger vertical side to side. Once the bit is firmly planted on the ground, I back up or drive ahead slightly to make sure the auger is vertical on a front to back plane. The point on the auger keeps the bit from climbing around the ground, and the auger action is what pulls it into the ground. No down pressure on my three point hitch








Sometimes I do move the tractor slightly to keep the auger vertical, as the boom does travel in a bit of an arch as it pulls down.


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## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

Bill.
You do not seem to have any noticeable torque issue. could it be that I have too much play in the attachment and the slop allows the auger to rotate? When mine is set up it looks just like your photo. I would love to see a couple of different angle shots from the rear showing the attachment points. 

The "name"...When I joined the site asked for some kind of a name to post by. I did not realize that the request was for my name. I thought about it for a moment and decided it was requesting some kind of handle because I had already entered my real name. In front of me was a book that was almost finished after more than 30 years of research and being readied to mail to the Library of Congress for copyright. So I entered the title, "THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE". Probably could have come up with a name that would have been more appropriate, but, such is hind sight, 20/20.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

It's a good forum name....No stranger than pogobill! Sounds like quite a book. You'll have to tell us about it one day!
What are you running your PTO at? I run mine at no more than 540 rpm, but I do adjust the speed to suit the environment. The picture attached was when I got lucky with a bit of sandy soil. Most around here is rock (go slow) and hard pan clay (go for the 540 but doesn't make much headway) I usually run the auger well below 540.
Place the auger firmly on the ground, exactly where you want the hole and at idle, engage the PTO. Once you have collared the hole and are happy with the location, begin to increase the speed of the auger. Only go as fast as you see fit, fast or 540 is going to cause you to bury the auger into the ground and have it stuck, or you'll snap shear pins more often than not. 
I don't have any other photos of the set up, but the main boom replaces the top link when attached to the tractor, and the "U" support it attached to the three point lift arms. Pretty much what you see. 
Be very careful around the spinning auger, it can grab an appendage or a piece of clothing in a heartbeat!


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## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

You have caused me to think on several things. I have no idea what RPM the auger has been run at. We have three tractors, all Fords, (3610, 4610, & 5000) the auger was always mounted on the 4610. Not certain that the tack even works. Will check on that and get it fixed. The most interesting thought I had after reading what you wrote and looking at what could be seen of the back of your tractor is that I need to check carefully where the top of the auger attaches to see if it can be mounted more securely so the top cannot rotate. That coupled with paying attention to the RPM ought to go a long way to resolve my auger alignment issue. Its been a long while since needing to run the auger but have some fence work coming up. If memory serves the top connection had a lot of slop. (Getting close to 78 and sometimes memory doesn't). Thanks again, John


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

the key of knowledge said:


> Anyone have a solution to keep a PTO driven auger up right other than a second person manually resisting the torque developed when boring a post hole?


Assuming the auger is on a 3PT setup:

Q. Does the top link have any slop at the pivot connection to the auger? Then add in large washers. Don't make it friction tight either. 

Q. Does the lower arms have anti-sway chains? If your tractor has anti-way bars, then they are just too weak to keep the auger steady to prevent the sway back and forth. The anti-sway chains can be tightened up to ensure proper alignment. 

Q. On augers, the top link usually has 3 mounting hole positions, what position is in your setup? 

Q. One of the lower arms has an adjustment to keep implements level, is that set correctly?


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## Fotoguzzi (Jan 12, 2020)

the key of knowledge said:


> In your response you began with, "Looking at your name, I was going to ask you!" I am curious about what you were going to ask?
> Thanks again for your time, John


What's the best oil to use?


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## Raymond Henrie (Sep 18, 2019)

the key of knowledge said:


> Anyone have a solution to keep a PTO driven auger up right other than a second person manually resisting the torque developed when boring a post hole?


 For side to side you have to use the adjustment between the lift arms and the attachment arms and raise the attachment arm about as high as it will go. Then, for forward and aft you have to move the tractor slightly as you dig deeper. I use a Yanmar with a creep gear for hole drilling and I can creep it forward a bit as needed while it is drilling.


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## Loki (Apr 28, 2020)

I really appreciate this site and all the questions most of us need answered sooner or later. The ground here in WV is shale. Not good for augers, as they dig down and get stuck. I have a auger but have not used it yet but will in near future for fence time. My neighbor was showing me his bit with a story of how hard it was to dig holes around here. The bit was ruined because it got stuck deep and they had to remove bit from implement, and use 4ft long bar/wrench to unscrew it from ground. In process he bent the shaft. Bit is trash now.


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

Loki said:


> I really appreciate this site and all the questions most of us need answered sooner or later. The ground here in WV is shale. Not good for augers, as they dig down and get stuck. I have a auger but have not used it yet but will in near future for fence time. My neighbor was showing me his bit with a story of how hard it was to dig holes around here. The bit was ruined because it got stuck deep and they had to remove bit from implement, and use 4ft long bar/wrench to unscrew it from ground. In process he bent the shaft. Bit is trash now.


When I was in TN, I hit rock, auger got stuck and the front end of the Yanmar was up in the air. We had to use shovels and a post hole digger to loosen the auger and free the tractor. Took a few hours too. It was only one hole out of 200+ that ever did this. Rocks do weird things, even BIG ONES. Same here, the cutting screw at the tail bottom of the auger got trashed. The bits were alright.


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## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

Don't have issues like that when digging in Florida. Lots of sand, sand and more sand. John


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## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

Raymond Henrie said:


> For side to side you have to use the adjustment between the lift arms and the attachment arms and raise the attachment arm about as high as it will go. Then, for forward and aft you have to move the tractor slightly as you dig deeper. I use a Yanmar with a creep gear for hole drilling and I can creep it forward a bit as needed while it is drilling.


 Can you explain what you mean by using the adjustment between the lift arms? What adjustment? (I have many years experience with heavy eq. like dozers, blades, loaders and doing earth work, but only owned one I.H. tractor with a mowing bar for a small patch of grass.) It was sold after a year and never even had to do any work on it. After retiring back to Florida Tractors have become deeply meshed in my daily life and now getting lots of experience . John


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## the key of knowledge (Jul 12, 2020)

Fotoguzzi said:


> What's the best oil to use?


Good Morning.
I just noticed the question you asked at the bottom of your post to me. You asked, "What's the best oil to use?" I cannot figure out what you are referring to? John


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

the key of knowledge said:


> Can you explain what you mean by using the adjustment between the lift arms? What adjustment? John


John, 

In the image, look for the Lift Arm Leveling Assembly. Most tractors only have this on the right side while other have an adjustment for both. 

When the auger is attached to the tractor, and the ground is level, use a 3-foot level (or longer), and span over both arms. Turn the handles on this device until the bubble in the center window of the level is between the 2 markings. Most of the time, the long level sits across the arms very close to where the drawbar would be. 










Biw, depending on the tractor manufacture, the stabilizer chains are used or stabilizer arms. The arms for the most part on tractors are lame, while others are durable enough. Just depends on the manufacture. I've had the best success with the chain type with the take-up adjustment to keep things tightly controlled. 

Here on the forums is the method used on Yanmars and John Deere Compact tractors. 
https://www.tractorforum.com/threads/stabilizer-stay-bars-or-chains.41371 

I've been thru both setups. The chains win hands down.


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