How to Tighten a Fence With a Come Along

If you’re looking for a way to tighten your fence without having to hire professionals, this is the perfect solution. A come-along is an excellent little tool that has many different uses. If you’ve ever seen one before, they are usually yellow and look like a giant clamp with wheels on them.

How to Tighten a Fence With a Come Along
Man attaches hog ring to chain link fence during installation process.

You can use them to pull or push heavy objects together by using their lever-action handle. It’s also straightforward to assemble all you need is some rope! So, this article is for you. You will learn how to tighten a fence with a come along with just one simple trick!

Step to Follow on How to Tighten a Fence With a Come Along

Step One: Determine

First, you have to determine the length of the fence that is being pulled across. You can do this by measuring from the post or rail that you are using as a guide. Getting an accurate measurement helps if there is already a wire running parallel to the fence line or a corner piece.

If you do not have any of these two things, you will need to install one to get your measurements. If this is the case, make sure that your corner piece or post has been grounded correctly and stable before touching any conductive metal materials.

Determining the Length of the Fence

If there are multiple sections to measure out, make sure you use the same measuring points to get your lengths. If you try and mix them up, it will throw off the measurements when you add them all together to give you a total distance.

Step Two: Attach the Pulley to the Fence

Now that we have our fence length figured out, we can go ahead and attach one end of this come along to the fence. Make sure that you connect this wire to both rails of the fence. You will then need to run your wire along the side of these rails, leaving about five inches between where you are attaching it and where the last bolt is located.

After doing so, you will need to attach the pulley to the end of this wire. If you are using a post as your guide, make sure to place it five inches up on one side of where the fence posts attach to the corner piece or post that is already installed. If you are using a rail as your guide, the same principles apply.

You will measure five inches on one side of where the fence attaches to the rail and attach your pulley there. If you want more information on how to attach these items correctly, check out my other article on using a come-along.

Step Three: Secure the Release Mechanism

Once you have your pulley firmly in place, you will then need to attach the release mechanism. You can do this by attaching one end of it to the fence that you are pulling towards and then attaching the other end to a post or rail on your property.

Attaching One End to the Fence

After doing so, make sure that when the come-along is in use, it does not come into contact with anything other than the fence line you are pulling towards. If it does, this could cause damage to your other property. This can be avoided by following the proper safety precautions when using a come-along.

If you do not have any other property or obstructions, you can let the pulley hang free so that it does not obstruct anything. However, this will cause the fence to fall over if strong winds are blowing, so be sure to keep an eye on this so that it does not get damaged by another post falling nearby.

Step Four: Using the Come Along

Now that you have your come-along properly installed, it is time to use it. To do so, you will need a sturdy vehicle. If possible, push your car or truck as far away from where you will be working as possible. You want to make sure that the lines do not get tangled as you pull the fence across.

This process will take a lot of physical strength, so be sure to have another person around if possible. One person can hold the release mechanism and steer your vehicle as you go down the line pulling it back. If you live out in a country area, this is a great way to save money by not paying for a service to come out and tighten your fence.

Tighten Fence

Just make sure that you take all of the proper safety precautions when using this tool, especially if there are any other people or pets in the area. Now that you have read this article, you know how to tighten a fence with a come along! Enjoy your new appliance.

Step Five: Final Thoughts

Once everything is all tightened up and you have the fence set to your liking, you must walk along the length of your fence and check for any loose posts or rails. If there are any places along this line where these items are either weak or not secure, make sure that you repair them as soon as possible. 

This will prevent further accidents and ensure that your fence is secure enough to keep all animals in and any unwanted people out. If you have built up a large portion of the fence line, you may even want to reattach the fence rather than trying to fix all of the loose rails and posts.

You can check it to Remove Fence Staples.

Conclusion

A come-along is a tool that can be used to tighten any slack in the fence. To use it, attach one end of the cable to a stationary object and then wrap it around your desired post. Pull-on the handle until you have reached tension and repeat for all posts needing tightening with this method.

You could also increase or decrease the tension by adjusting how far back from the post you pull when using this technique. Finally, the conclusion paragraph is informative and provides information on how to tighten a fence with a come along.

Check it out also – How to Tighten Barb Wire Fence.

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