How to Stretch Welded Wire Fence Fabric
Welded fence fabric is a form of mesh wire in which the vertical and horizontal wires are joined by a spot weld. This differs from woven wire in which the junctions are joined by a wrap of the vertical wire around the horizontal wire. Stretching welded wire can break the welds if stress is applied to the junctions of the wires. You can solve the issue of broken wire fence fabric during stretching with a home-built tool to limit the stress to the horizontal wires.
Instructions
1
Cut two pieces of 2-by-4 lumber about 2 inches longer than the height of the welded wire fabric you are working with.
2
Drill six 3/8-inch holes through both pieces of lumber, spaced to correspond with the vertical spacing of the welded fence fabric. For example, if the vertical size of the openings is 4 inches, space the holes every 8 inches to accommodate fastening every other fence wire during stretching.
3
Place 1/4-inch bolts through the holes of one of the wood pieces.
4
Fasten the vertical wires to the bolts. Bend the wire around the bolt and then wrap the wire around itself. Fasten a wire to each of the bolts. Try to keep the wire wraps about the same length to spread the stress evenly on the welded fence fabric.
5
Place the other 2-by-4 over the bolts and tighten in place with wing nuts. Manually pull the boards until the fence is as tight as possible. Attach a fence stretcher to the boards and add additional tension to the wire.
6
Attach the welded fence fabric to the fence posts using fencing staples for wood fence posts and wire ties for steel fence posts.
7
Remove the wing nuts and second board from the stretcher to gain access to the wires connected to the bolts. Cut the wires loose or unwind the wire to remove.
