How To Dig a Post Hole Using a Power Auger

Introduction

The summer before I turned 16, I spent a couple of months at a local farm hand-digging holes for fence posts. It was tough work, and the long-handled clamshell digger I used was barely up to the task. Roots, rocks and extremely fine, hard-packed clay soil made progress extremely slow. Luckily, the farmer who hired me didn't seem to mind.

That summer built serious amounts of character and finger calluses. A few years later, I tried a gas-powered auger for the first time, and it blew my mind. It reduced hours of work to mere minutes, and did a better job to boot.

Even so, the work wasn't easy. I quickly learned power augers require lots of strength, and can jerk you around like a rag doll if you're not careful — especially if the soil is hard packed, or the auger bit hits a root or rock.

But if you've got some post holes to dig, a good power auger is certainly worth considering. Power augers come in different sizes, some for one-person operation and some for two. Here I'll demonstrate a one-person model, but most steps apply to two-person augers as well. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know to safely operate a power auger.

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