Barb-wire fence? Brace it correctly to make it last
Here are some tips from a full-time fence builder on how to string steel so it lasts long enough for the next generation of cowboys to cuss it, too.
January 4, 2023
Take a look back into the history of ranching in the U.S. and what do you guess that historians peg as an early game-changer?
You got it. Barbed wire.
While many attributes of that time-honored and cowboy-cussed string of steel have changed, its original purpose is as necessary today as it was when the first patent for barbed wire was issued in 1867.
Here are some tips from a full-time fence builder on how to string steel so it lasts long enough for the next generation of cowboys to cuss it, too.
Braces
The key to a good fence is good braces. Michael Thomas, Thomas and Son Custom Fencing, Baker, Idaho (son of the author), says a good barbed wire fence can be built in nearly any terrain, as long as you match bracing for the terrain.
“In flat country, you can go a lot farther between braces, but if geography is variable you need more braces, shortening the distance. We try not to stretch wire through low places or over high places without bracing,” he says.
If it’s steep, Thomas puts a brace in the low spots even if it’s just a simple H-brace to stabilize the fence, hold it down in that area and give something to pull the wire to.
The distance between braces will vary depending on a lot of factors, including terrain, animal pressure and how many strands the fence will have. But as a general rule, shorter is better; and Thomas says a quarter-mile between braces, even on level ground, is the absolute maximum.
For corners, Thomas says any good brace will work. However, he prefers a double H-brace on each leg of the corner over an H and a diagonal. “You are depending so much on that pole. If it fails, the brace fails. The double H-brace is actually stronger, and those shorter brace poles are less apt to get knocked out.”
It is important to tie off the wire at a brace, securing it solidly to the brace posts rather than just stapling the wire — even on long runs. “When we rebuild fences for people and have to take apart and remove the old fence, we often find the wires were not secure. Even though the original builder went to the trouble to put in braces at appropriate locations, they didn’t pull to the brace; they just ran the wire by and stapled it to the posts,” he says.
This defeats the purpose of the brace because there is always some give, even if the posts are set right. “You need a solid attachment to the brace posts; otherwise you are putting all your faith in just the staples — and they don’t last,” says Thomas.
In low spots like a gully, a good brace will generally hold the fence down if posts are well-set. “We don’t use anything less than 6-inch-diameter posts for most braces in that kind of country. Smaller posts don’t have as much anchor quality,” he says.
“In gullies that have washed to bedrock, your chances of setting a post securely are limited. Sometimes you can set two posts — one on either side of the exposed rock. In extreme cases, where we can’t set posts, we gather rocks to make a rock basket as an anchor for the fence in that low spot.”
Tension
“You want it tight and straight between posts, with no droops, but not so tight that it vibrates when you hit it, like when sinking staples into the brace posts,” he says. If you’re playing a tune with your hammer, the fence is tight enough that it might break.
The longer the run, the harder it is to tell how tight to pull it — and experience is the best teacher. It’s helpful to have another person or two along the line to check as you pull it. If you’re working by yourself, put on your hiking boots.