Installing fencing wire (barbed or smooth) is not as easy as it may seem. Most fencing wire comes in minimum lengths of 1000 feet and wound in a coil that is two to three feet in diameter. For 12.5 gauge (about 2.5mm thick) smooth wire, which is what I use, 1000 feet weighs about 25 lbs. Unwinding 10 or 20 feet of this coil by simply pulling one end of the coil probably won't cause any problems, but, after that, bad things can happen. Though straightened, the high tensile wire retains the twist of the coil much like a spring and, with each additional foot that is straightened, the wire has more stored energy and becomes prone to kinking, tangling, and sudden whip-like movements.
The solution for the above stated problem is to mount the wire coil on a stand that can rotate as you unwind the coil. This coil unwinder, sometimes referred to as a "spinning jenny," prevents the buildup of rotary tension allowing the user to unwind as much wire as he or she desires.
In the past, I've always used a single spinning jenny to unwind the fencing wire one strand at a time. This method works well for fences requiring only a few strands of wire over relatively short distances. However, when you are measuring your fencing on the scale of miles rather than feet and using more than three strands of wire, more efficient methods are desirable.
Though implemented in a variety of ways, the more frequently used method is to employ multiple spinning jennys arranged in some mechanical contraption that is towed with a vehicle. A few examples of the plethora of products available to the consumer can be seen in the following videos.
While these products are no doubt well manufactured and effective, they do have some short comings. One of the biggest problems with these products is that they do not dispense as many strands of wire as I would like. Many bison fences I've seen have as many as seven strands of wire and the existing products allow for a five wire maximum. Another major factor for me is price. At least one of these products costs well over one thousand dollars, which is boggling when you consider the fact that a single spinning jenny is less than one hundred dollars. To be fair, these products are well made and designed with a level of mechanical complexity that probably warrants the hight price.
It is with these thoughts that I set out to fabricate my own wire dispenser. Prior to construction, I went online and ordered six individual spinning jennys. Then, using a few lengths of structural angle steel left over from another project, I welded together a fixed-armed rack with a three-point tractor hitch attachment. To each arm I then welded a spinning jenny and, finally, I painted the entire device. That's it. The whole project took less than a day to complete.
I haven't had a chance to test it yet, but I do plan on installing a half mile section of fencing in the next month or two and will post the outcome when I do.
