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Show TRY CEMENT FENCE POSTS OK THE FARM Are Cheaper in the Long Run Because Once In They Are In to Stay. The use of cement for the making of fence posts on the farm is becoming becom-ing quite gene-al. The material, offers of-fers a very desirable substitute for timber, which is now so expensive and scarce. It has the advantage over i wood in that it gives a post that is not only reasonable in cost but one that is everlasting, its strength increasing in-creasing with age. There is no delay de-lay with cement, consequently no re pairing er replacing. And In appearance appear-ance the cement post is all that can be desired. In cement the farmer has a material ma-terial that he can use for fence posts and in unlimited number of ways in ' PM I - i as illustrated, holds the line wire in position. Cement posts should be reinforced in order to give them sufficient strength. This reinforcement can be common fence wire embedded in the cement as the post is made. If smooth wire or rods are used the. ends should be bent over to prevent slipping. Twisted or barbed wire may be used, the former being the most easily handled. han-dled. Galvanized wire is not necessary neces-sary as it is protected by the cement from rusting. A reinforcing member in each corner of the post is prooably the most efficient arrangement. These will give the desired strength. In using a mold similar ,o those illustrated, il-lustrated, it is necessary to provide a perfectly smooth and even platform of a size depending upon the number of posts to be molded. A cement floor, if accessible, may be used to advantage. ad-vantage. The molds when in place are given a thin coating of soft soap, the platform or cement fiber serving as bottom of mold, being treated in same way. About one and one-half inches of concrete are spread evenly over the bottom and carefully tamped, i so as to reduce to a thickness of ! about one inch. A piece of board cut as in illustration will be found useful in leveling off the concrete to a desired de-sired thickness before tamping. On J top of this layer two reinforcing members are placed, about one inch from the sides of the mold. The molds are then filled and tamped in thin layers to the level of the other two reinforcing members, the fasteners fasten-ers for fence-wires being inserted dur-j dur-j ing the operation. These reinforcing I members are adjusted as were the first two and the remaining one inch of concrete tamped and leveled off, thus completing the post so far as molding is concerned. To avoid sharp edges, which are easily chipped, triangle strips may be placed at the bottom of the mold along the sides, and when the molds have been filled and tamped, similar strips may be inserted in-serted at the top. The top edges may be beveled with a trowel jr by running run-ning an edging tool having a triangular triangu-lar projection on its bottom along the edges. The ends and sides of the mold may be removed after twenty-four hours, but the posts should not be handled for at least one week, during which time they must be sprinkled several times daily and protected from the sun and wind. The intermediate strips may be carefully withdrawn at the end of two or three days, but it is better to leave them in place until the posts are removed. Although a post may be hard and apparently strong when one week old, it will not attain its full strength in that time, and must be handled with the utmost care to prevent injury. Carelessness in handling green posts frequently results re-sults in the formation of fine cracks, which, though unnoticed at the time, give evidence of their presence later in the failure of the post. Posts should be allowed to cure at least six days before being placed in the ground, and for this purpose it is recommended that when moved from the molding platform they be placed upon a smooth bed of moist sand and protected from the sun until thoroughly thorough-ly cured. During this period they should receive a thorough drenching at least once a day. The life of the molds will depend upon the care with which they are handled. A coating of mineral oil oi shellac may be used instead of soap to prevent the cement from sticking to the forms. As soon as the molds are removed they should hi cleansed with a wire brush before being used again. The cost of reinforced concrete fence posts, of course,- depends upon the cost of labor and materials, and must necessarily vary in different localities. Vooden Mold for Making Fence-Posts with Two Tapering Sides. construction work about the farm. It is ever ready and requires the employment employ-ment of no expert labor. The farmer and his ordinary farm help can successfully suc-cessfully handle cement Little experience ex-perience is needed, as the following of a few simple directions is all that Ijs necessary. The mixing is the important im-portant part. Proper proportions of cement, sand and gravel for the desired de-sired construction and thorough mixing mix-ing will give good results. In the making of fence' posts the material should be about one part of cement, 2 parts sand and five parts gravel. The mixing is best done cm a platform of convenient size. The sand and gravel should first be placed on the mixing bed, well spread out, and on the top of this spread the cement. ce-ment. Then mix with shovels or hoes until the whole mass exhibits a uniform uni-form color. Next, form a crater of the dry mixture, and into this pour nearly the whole amount of water required re-quired for the batch. Thoroughly mix from the outside toward the center until all the water is taken up, adding add-ing more by sprinkling to give the desired consistency. Economy points to the use of a tapering post, which, fortunately, offers of-fers no difficulties in the way of molding. mold-ing. All things considered, wooden molds will be found most suitable. They can be easily and quickly made in any desired size and form. Posts may be molded either in a vertical or horizontal position, the latter being the simpler and better method. If molded vertically a wet mixture is necessary, requiring a longer time to set, with the consequent delay in removing re-moving the molds. The first of the accompanying illustrations illus-trations shows a simple mold, which can be used with satisfactory results on the farm. This mold has a capacity of four posts, but larger molds could easily be made if desired. It consists of two end pieces (a) carrying lugs (b) , between Which are inserted strips (c) . The several parts are held together to-gether with hooks and eyes as shown. To prevent any bulging of the side strips, they are braced as illustrated. Dressed lumber at least one inch thick, and preferably 1 inches, SI Wooden Mold for Making Fence-Posts with Four Tapering Sides. should be used. When finished the post measures 6x6 inches at the bottom, bot-tom, 6x3 inches at the top, and seven feet in length, having two parallel sides. If it is desired to have the posts square at both ends, the mold must be arranged as in the second illustration. illustra-tion. This latter form of post is not as strong as the former, but requires less concrete in its construction. Great care in tamping is necessary to insure the corners of the mold being well filled, and if this detail is not carefully watched, the metal, being exposed in places, will be subject to rust. Various devices have been suggested suggest-ed for attaching fence wives to the posts, the' object of each being to secure se-cure a simple and permanent fastener or one admitting of easy renewal at any time. Probably nothing 'will answer an-swer the purpose better than' a long staple or hent wire well embedded in the concrete, being twisted or bent at the end to prevent extraction, oalvanized metal must be used for fasteners, since they are not protected protect-ed by the concrete. A piece of small flexible wire, about two inches in leugth, threading the staple and twist- ; ed several times with a pair of pliers. |