I have a US Tower TX-455 crank-up / fold over that I installed single
handedly.
(I do contests in the unassisted catagory and didn't want to take a chance.)
The ground here is very good to dig into - no rocks, very few roots.
I dug the hole using a sharpshooter (thin, long shovel), a posthole digger
(to get the dirt out of the hole), a shovel without the handle (for the
bottom), a bucket and a ladder. Also had the XYL check on me fairly often to
be sure I didn't bury myself.
I busted the ground up and squared the edges with the sharpshooter. Removed
the earth with the posthole digger, shovel and bucket. And even got a few low
spots in my yard filled in with the dirt from the hole as a bonus.
It only took 3 or 4 days (long days) to dig the hole -- many were impressed
how square it was (including the guy in the concrete truck).
This was a LOT of HARD work! I wanted to do another one when I finished!
Makes you feel pretty good to complete a job that most everyone else says
can't be done. My buds were adamant that I should get a backhoe or auger --
the logic being that you can't dig a hole that deep and narrow by hand.
The only bad news for the entire project was that the concrete truck really
left some big ruts in the yard and busted a sidewalk.
Bottom line : It can be done -- just depends on how bad you want it.
73, Don K4BEV
P.S. Although there is some danger involved, I never had even a hint of cave
in while doing this. I always had a line tied to me and to a block about 15'
from the hole, just in case. Having a lookout posted topside should be
required.
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