Appreciation post: Setting up a neighbor's fence took me back

Years ago, my grandpa showed me how to set posts with just a shovel and some grit. I helped a neighbor last month with a similar vinyl fence using a powered driver. It went up so fast, but the whole time I thought about those long afternoons with grandpa. Things are easier now, but that old hands-on feel is gone. Do you ever get nostalgic for the way fences used to go up?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_hernandez833mo ago

Yeah I know exactly what you mean. We did my uncle's chain link last summer with a manual post driver and that thing was a beast to swing all day. But last week I rented a gas powered driver for a few cedar posts and it felt like cheating, just boom boom done. It's weird, the job gets done faster but you don't have that same tired, good feeling at the end of the day. I miss the slowness of it sometimes, even if my back doesn't.

nguyen.iris3mo ago

Ever get that weird hollow feeling after using power tools? Like you skipped the real work somehow. Speed's nice but it doesn't stick to your bones the same way.

lilychen3mo ago

Lol, I was listening to a podcast about old school woodworking and they talked about this. The host said that with hand tools, you have to pay attention to the grain and pressure, so you're more connected to the work. It's like your brain and hands are working together in a way that power tools skip over. Makes sense why it feels hollow after just buzzing through stuff.