WO2011011834A1

WO2011011834A1 - A vineyard post reinforcement arrangement and a method of repairing damaged vineyard posts

Info

Publication number: WO2011011834A1
Application number: PCT/AU2010/000970
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nigel M. Catt; Brian O'malley
Original assignee: Ocvitti Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2009-07-30
Filing date: 2010-07-30
Publication date: 2011-02-03

Abstract

A vineyard wooden post reinforcement apparatus including a bracket arrangement with a fastening means to fix the bracket arrangement to the post to provide a tight clamped fit about the damaged portion of the vineyard wooden post, such that wherein along the length of the vineyard wooden post damage or weakness, such as cracks, fractures or breaks, may be reinforced by the clamping of the bracket arrangement there around.

Description

A VINEYARD POST REINFORCEMENT ARRANGEMENT AND A METHOD OF REPAIRING DAMAGED VINEYARD POSTS

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

This invention relates to a reinforcement and/or repair arrangement for damaged vineyard wooden posts.

BACKGROUND ART

Most conventional vineyards that have been constructed to have the grapes mechanically harvested for the most part will be planted such that there is a plurality of parallel rows with spaced apart vine plants in each row. A trellis system is provided by installing a series of vertical posts, which in consideration of this invention will be taken to be wooden posts along each row.

These plants and posts are then linked by laterally extending trellis wires which are extended down each row and anchored under tension to the end posts and attached to the intermediate post. As the person skilled in the art well and truly knows the vines are grown along the trellis wires which support the vines so that the grapes can be readily harvested thereon. -

Considerable work is required to place these end and intermediate wooden posts in position at a vineyard. Holes need to be sunk, posts need to be driven in and clips need to be fastened sectionally along the lengths of the vertical wooden posts to contain the trellis wire in place.

Hence once the trellis system that includes the plurality of wooden vertical posts along the row with the trellis wire has been put in place, preference is to maintain the integrity of the system and avoid damage. Regrettably, however, the mechanical harvesting of modern day vineyards mandates that in many instances the harvester must in fact impart a shaking action on the trellis. Such shaking, while designed to dislodge the grapes from the vine, also places considerable force on the posts and also along the trellis wire which often translates into a push or pull effect along the wooden posts which ultimately may break, split or crack one or more of the wooden posts along the length of the row.

Once a wooden post becomes damaged the trellis wire against the post is no longer at an effective tension and therefore the vines begin to sag rather than extend out along the trellis wire thereby limiting the amounts of grapes available from the respective plants in the row.

Still further, there is also one other significant problem even with those posts that have been damaged inside the vineyard trellis arrangement that have to be removed in order to be replaced by more structurally integral wooden posts. Wood, because of its largely cellulosic material and fibre structure, is susceptible to fairly accelerated deterioration when exposed to an outdoor environment, as well as attack from various kinds of pests and vermin such as white ants and borers.

To overcome this problem of accelerated deterioration or rotting of the wooden posts, copper chromium arsenic is often added to provide a more robust and resilient wood that makes it more suitable and usable as a wooden post in the vineyard trellis system arrangement.

Regrettably, however, wood-based copper chromium arsenic treated wooden posts when removed from the vineyard during impact damage and the like discussed above, have no residual value thereafter as a reusable material and importantly cannot be conveniently discarded. Environmental concerns have now developed and are recognised that wood containing copper chromium arsenic has the potential for the some of the chemicals to leak into the soil if such wood is simply allowed to rot away in a landfill or the like. Therefore, due to the environmental influences there is a need to find a way to utilise these damaged vineyard wooden posts that have been previously removed from vineyards because they have lost their integrity through damages such as cracks, breaks and so forth.

Therefore there remains a need in the field of vineyard trellis systems that use end and intermediate wooden posts that can provide some type of reinforcement or repair arrangement so that the resilient strength of the wooden posts can be returned to the/or each wooden post without the requirement for it to be removed from the ground, or in the case of those damaged posts that have been removed from the ground the ability to return them to their original resilient strength so that the problems associated with discarding damaged posts containing copper chromium arsenic can be avoided.

Hence it is an object of this invention to provide a vineyard wooden post reinforcement apparatus arrangement and also a method of repairing damaged vineyard wooden posts that contain copper chromium arsenic so that they can be used again effectively as one of the intermediate or end posts within a vineyard arrangement.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the complete reading of the specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly in one form of the invention there is provided a vineyard wooden post reinforcement apparatus which is adapted to be clamped about a damaged portion of the said wooden post, said apparatus including: two opposing brackets, a fastening means to fix one bracket to the other so that said brackets when joined provide a tight clamped fit about the damaged portion of the vineyard wooden post, such that wherein along the length of the vineyard wooden post damage or weakness, such as cracks, fractures or breaks, may be reinforced by the clamping of the opposing brackets there around so that the resiliency of the vineyard post can be returned to its original supporting condition for the trellis before the damage was imparted.

An advantage of such an arrangement is that for the first time damaged wooden vineyard posts can be repaired insitu.

No longer will there be the cumbersome task of trying to withdraw the broken or damaged wooden post from the trellis arrangement. No longer will there be the requirement to disengage the wooden posts from its clipped fixing of the trellis wire and its position along the row of the vineyard.

Advantageously with this arrangement, it is now possible to simply put in place over the damaged section of the wooden post a reinforcement bracket that takes away the effect of the impact damage or deterioration suffered by the wooden post within the vineyard arrangement.

Hence even vineyards that utilise mechanical harvesting can now enjoy a rapid, inexpensive and effective way of repairing damages to their vineyard posts without the requirement of having to remove the wooden post and replace it with a separate post of which requires significant skill and an understanding of the complete arrangement as to. how one would maintain the trellis system effectively with the plants there in between the respect posts. Advantageously the repair method provided for herewith is simplistic and easy by design so not only is there significant savings by having to remove the requirement of replacing a damaged wooden post with another, there is also the benefits that the skill required in order to bring the vertical wooden post back to full resiliency and usefulness within the typical vineyard arrangement is quite minimal.

Still further, with the providing of this unique reinforcement or repair bracket means that all those discarded wooden posts that would have to be carefully stored and prevented from leaking any of their copper chromium arsenic into the soil, can now be effectively again reutilised.

Broken and damaged previously discarded wooden vineyard posts that have been treated with the chemical copper chromium arsenic can now have their damage repaired by this unique reinforcement bracket and therefore again then be utilised within the vineyard system. As the wooden posts treated with the copper chromium arsenic can again be placed into the vineyard arrangement the problems associated with their disposal has now been avoided.

In a further form of the invention there is provided a vineyard wooden post reinforcement apparatus which is adapted to be clamped about a damaged portion of the said wooden post, said apparatus including a single length of resilient rigid material wherein at each of the distal ends of said length of rigid material is a corresponding fastening mechanism so that when the fastening arrangement at one end of the length engages with the fastening arrangement at the other end of the length, when said length is wrapped around a wooden post, the respective distal ends can be brought into close proximity in order to fixably clamp about a damaged area of the wooden post.

In preference the fastening arrangement includes a screw mechanism, wherein the screw thread can engage with a series of slots wherein the rotation of the screw forces the slots to move further through the fastening arrangement so as to bring the respective distal ends of the length of rigid material closer together to provide for the fixable clamp of the material about the wooden post.

In preference the fastening arrangement includes a ratchet or teeth configuration on the respective ends of the length of rigid material so that one side can be drawn closer to the other and then secured in place by the inter- engagement of the respective teeth on the opposing distal ends of said length of rigid material.

In preference the teeth arrangement also includes an extension of an aperture therethrough which can be engaged by a hooked rod, wherein the hooked rod can obtain leverage about the post when the length of rigid material is originally placed about the wooden post to be clamped, so that the pulling back of the rod established by the leverage about the wooden post is able to extend and/or retract the respective teeth or gear configurations of the corresponding distal ends of the length of rigid material so that such ends can be brought closer together to provide for a tight clamping fix of the rigid material about the wooden post.

In order now to gain further appreciation of this invention, particularly the various preferred embodiments that accompany this reinforcement bracket which provides a solution for all likely difficulties encountered during the repair and maintenance of damaged wooden posts used in vineyards, it will now be discussed with the assistance of the following illustrations and accompanying text.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS. Figure 1 shows schematically a typical section of a vineyard intermediate wooden posts joined together by trellis wires which extend down each row wherein this illustration one of the posts have become damaged and lost their tensioning and support of the trellis arrangement. Figure 2 is a schematic representation showing how damage can occur to the wooden posts of the vineyard at a variety of locations along the post length when fixed in the ground as part of the trellis system.

Figure 3 is a front perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the reinforcement and the repair bracket of this invention.

Figures 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b show various schematic representations as to how the reinforcement bracket can be placed around a post that has received damage below ground level.

Figure 6 shows a preferred embodiment of this invention wherein additional fastening means are included as part of the reinforcement and/or repair bracket as it is fixed or clamped about a wooden post that has been damaged.

Figure 7 shows a preferred embodiment of this invention wherein the reinforcement bracket includes additional support means for more resiliency fixing the wooden post to its staked position in the ground. Figure 8 is a further embodiment not dissimilar from the embodiment shown in Figure 7 wherein the embodiment shown in Figure 8 has the extra staking or reinforcement features of the reinforcement or repair bracket integral with said bracket.

Figure 9 shows a further preferred embodiment of the reinforcement and/or repair bracket with an alternative means of again staking the bracket in place in the ground to not only overcome the damage to the wooden post but also add additional support to the wooden post when fixed in the ground.

Figure 10 is a further preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the means in which the clamp reinforcement and/or bracket around the damaged post includes a hinged mechanism. Figure 11 shows a further preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the bracket is clamped about a square or tetrahedral wooden post of the vineyard.

Figure 12 shows a further preferred embodiment of the invention wherein in the reinforcement and/or repair bracket, one part of the bracket has a flat mounting plate to accommodate wooden posts that are substantially semi-circular in representation.

Figures 13a, 13b, 13c and 13d show a further preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the reinforcement bracket can act as a link or coupling, to bring together posts at different angles. Figure 14 provides a schematic representation introducing the concept of how the previously damaged discarded wooden post that contained copper chromium arsenic can be joined together and through the use of the unique reinforcement and/or repair bracket provided for by this invention can again acquire the necessary resiliency to be reused in the vineyard arrangement. Figure 15 is a further schematic representation of the embodiment discussed in Figure 14.

Figure 16 shows a further preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the bracket is clamped about the post using inherent clips or arrows.

Figures 17a and 17b are representations a further preferred embodiment of the invention wherein a single resilient bracket is fastenable around the damaged wooden post to provide the clamping effect.

Figure 18 is a schematic representation of a further preferred embodiment of • the invention not dissimilar to the embodiment shown in Figures 17a and 17b where there is one single resilient bracket adapted to be clamped about the wooden post through the use of a fastening mechanism. Figures 19a and 19b show a schematic representation of a further embodiment of the invention utilizing a unique fastening mechanism between the two opposing brackets together to create the clamp effect upon the wooden post to reintroduce the required structural support. Figures 20a and 20b provide a schematic representation of a further preferred embodiment of the invention with a unique fastening arrangement in order to clamp the opposing brackets about the wooden post.

Figures 21a and 21b show a top view of a further preferred embodiment of the invention of a fastening arrangement of securing the two opposing brackets together about the wooden post.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Referring to the drawings now in greater detail wherein Figure 1 shows a conventional vineyard arranged to be mechanically harvested.

The section of the vineyard shown generally as 10 includes part of a parallel row having an upright wooden post 12 and adjoining damaged post 14 interconnected by trellis wire 16.

As can be seen, grape plants or vines 18 are spaced apart and then grow out along the trellis wire shown generally as 20.

Nonetheless, it is easy to envisage as schematically shown in Figure 1 that when a break 19 occurs in the wooden post 14, the requirement to replace this post would be particularly cumbersome, not the least that you would have to disengage the post from the clipped 22 trellis wire 16 and then re-dig a new hole, secure the new wooden post in place, place new trellis clips on the wooden post and then re-fasten the trellis wire 16 & 22 against the newly inserted wooden post. Figure 2 shows that the wooden post 24 can be damaged as shown by way of a break 26 at various locations or sections along the length of the wooden post 24 whether above the ground 28 or otherwise.

Fortunately, however, the remaining illustrations Figure 3 through to Figure 14 provide an apparatus, method and a means by which the problems presented in Figure 1 and 2 and discussed precedingly can be conveniently overcome.

Figure 3 shows the reinforcement bracket shown generally as 30 which includes two substantially u-shaped clamped members 32 and 34 which when brought together provide dimensions of comparable diameter to that of the wooden post 36 such that a fastening portion 37 of the bracket 30 can then be fixed rigidly about the wooden post 36 by screws, bolts or the like shown generally as 38.

Figures 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b shows schematically how the respective u-shape clamps 32 and 34 of the bracket 30 can be positioned about a break 42 in the damaged wooden post 36 of the vineyard despite the fact that the damage or break has occurred below ground level 41. ^•

As the person skilled in the art will appreciate the method of repair is quite simplistic in that a hole can be dug about the base of the post and then the respective sides of the bracket can be clamped there about to provide reinforcement about the damaged portion 42 of the wooden post 36. An embodiment is shown in Figure 6 that includes an additional feature of fastening nails, screws and the like directly into the wooden post.

Advantageously the driving of the nail or screw 44, 46 into the reinforcement bracket 30 provides for an even tighter fit of the bracket against the wooden post therefore improving or enhancing resiliency of the post about the damaged area but also, as introduced above, with mechanical harvesting there is continual shaking and undulating tension placed on the trellis wire which may or may not want to drive up and down the bracket and therefore ultimately loosen its grip upon the post.

By including the additional screws 46 or nails 44 there would be no moving up and down of the reinforcement bracket 30 about the wooden post 36. Figure 7 simply provides for a scenario wherein the reinforcement bracket shown generally as 48 in this embodiment in Figure 7 would also include stakes 51 which function to provide additional upright support for the wooden posts 36 when placed in the ground.

As shown, stakes 50 and 52 show representations that they can be of varying lengths depending on the size of the bracket which is clamped about the post to be repaired.

The process of actually driving the stake 51 or their various representations 51 and 52 into the ground would be conventional and straightforward and can be completed by using a hammer 54 and so forth. Advantageous'ly, again as discussed above, wooden posts in a vineyard need to be supported in an environment where heavy machinery such as tractors and harvesters, cutters and so forth bring a certain instability to the ground of which instability is exacerbated with sandy soils or wet soils.

Advantageously by being able to include these kinds of stakes 50, 51 and 52, improved stability can be acquired.

Figure 8 simply shows a similar embodiment to Figure 7 in that again greater stabilisation, particularly in sandy and wet soils, can be afforded to the wooden post 36 through the use of the reinforcement bracket shown in Figure 8 at 56.

However, the difference with the embodiment shown in Figure 8 as opposed to the one in Figure 7 is that the stake 60 is integral with the bracket 56 per se. Nonetheless, again it would be positioned and driven into the ground 58.

Figure 9 shows a similar embodiment where the reinforcement bracket 62 still has the conventional two symmetrically opposed u-shaped portions which come together and clamp about the damaged section of the post 65. However, through the use of rods 64a and 64b they can also be driven into the ground to reinforce the wooden post 65 therein for greater stability.

The embodiment shown in Figure 10 shows the reinforcement bracket 70 including a hinge arrangement 72 about the post 36 with the conventional fastening mechanism shown at 74. It would be envisaged that this type of hinged arrangement of the reinforcement bracket about the post 36 would be more advantageous in situations where the bracket needs to be fastened about laterally or horizontally along a wooden post that is part of the fencing or vineyard trellis arrangement.

Figure 11 shows that the reinforcement bracket can also be used on square wooden posts 75 wherein the bracket has two symmetrically opposed portions

76 and 78 that come together to fasten in a tight frictional fit about the square or tetrahedral wooden post.

Figure 12 shows a further preferred embodiment of the invention but again remains faithful to the general concept of having two portions which come together to clamp about the post.

Nonetheless the embodiment shown in Figure T2 shows that a variety of different reinforcement brackets can be configured where in this instance there is a flat back plate 82 of the reinforcement bracket 80 and the front plate which is substantially semicircular in nature so that it can be -clamped against the wooden post 88 which would be substantially semicircular in cross-sectional dimensions. This embodiment also shows the additional feature of screws being directly driven into the wooden post 88 to provide additional lateral fixation of the bracket against the wooden post 88.

Figures 13a to 13d show a variety of wooden post coupling configurations which are able to bring together horizontal, vertical or inclined wooden posts. The bracket shown generally as 90 still includes two clamped portions 92 and 94 which provide couplings in directions 96 and 98.

As seen in Figure 13b the reinforcement bracket or coupling can bring together wooden posts 100 and 102. The ideas is expanded upon in Figure 13c wherein there is also introduced along the length of the central laterally extended or horizontally extended wooden post 106 a reinforcement bracket 30 through the interconnecting couplings are secured to the vertical upright posts 104.

Figure ^' 13d shows that the coupling arrangement can also provide interconnection between directions 108 and 110 to join together respective wooden posts 112 and 114.

Figure 14 shows very briefly schematically and quite generally the detailed concept which was discussed precedingly wherein the use of the reinforcement bracket provides a means and method by which discarded wooden posts that have been treated with copper chromium arsenic can be reused.

^• As can been seen, discarded wooden posts 116 and 120 can be joined together through rod 118 and be driven together to then be clamped about by one of the reinforcement brackets provided for by this invention (not shown).

Hence, as the person skilled in the art could envisage, discarded posts like 126 and 128 can be utilised and lined together as in the case of 122 and 124 and whether or not rod or nail ^'118 is used can be simply engaged together through the use of the reinforcement bracket to provide a wooden post with the necessary resiliency for reuse within the vineyard.

Figure 15 shows two part pieces 130, 132 being joined together as reusable post through the support bracket 134. Figure 16 shows a general arrangement 135 wherein the respective u-shaped brackets of the support 136 include spikes 138 that can be clamped onto the wooden post.

In Figures 17a and 17b in this preferred embodiment rather than having two opposing brackets being fastened together to create a tight clamping fit about the post, there is a single length of resilient metal (142) which at its distal end or edges (154) and (156) includes a fastening arrangement (144) which is able to support a threadable screw (146) which can be rotated through a conventional screw-driver and so forth through the criss-cross configuration (150).

As can be viewed from the Figure 17a the slots (152) drawn towards block (144) as the screw (146) is rotated as the threads (148) of the screw (146) engage the slots (152) bringing the two edges (154) and (156) closer together so as to create a wrapped clamped effect of the length of material (142) about the wooden post (140).

Figure 18 presents a similar embodiment to that illustrated in Figures 17a and 17b but in this instance edges (172) and (174) of the single length of resilient metal material (158) are brought together through the fastening mechanism provided for by the teeth or geared ratchet arrangement (170) and also that contained within housing (160).

In this embodiment the ratchet arrangement is able to be operated by virtue of the tab (162) which includes the aperture (168) to which the hook (166) of the rod (164) would engage and by leverage effect, whether upon the wooden post

(159) or otherwise the rod (164) assists in drawing the teeth (170) through the ratchet (160) so as to bring the edges (172) and (174) together to create the tight clamping effect about the wooden post (159).

Figures 19a and 19b show a further fastening arrangement to which the opposing brackets (178) and (180) can be fastened about the wooden post (176).

Each bracket includes holes (183) and (185) on opposing sides of the bracket to which tool (182) with its threaded end (184) and its hook end (186) can engage thereinto the respective holes (183) and (185).

As can be seen from Figures 19a and 19b the hooked end (186) of the tool . (182) can engage itself within holes (183) of the two opposing brackets and hook or bring them close together and the threaded end (184) can then be placed into apertures (185) wherein the nut (188) can be threaded onto the thread (184) so as to fix the tool (182) into place and thereby provide a fastening mechanism to be able to clamp the two opposing sides together. Figures 20a and 20b provide a further preferred embodiment wherein in this embodiment the respective opposing brackets (192) and (194) are brought together and fixed about the wooden post (190) through the use of cable ties (198) wherein the head (198) and the slotted length (196) of the cable ties are able to engage about the holes in the side of each of the opposing brackets (192) and (194) so that they can be strapped into position about the wooden post (190).

Figures 21a and 21b show a further preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the two opposing brackets (204) and (206) are able to be clamped together about the wooden post (202) through the coupling arrangement of the collar (208) which has its rounded shoulders (210) and (212) which are configured to slip in over extended flanges (214) and (216) located at the distal end of each of the opposing brackets (204) and (206). While not shown in the illustrations the collar can include a series of ridges, grooves, teeth and so forth to establish a corresponding ratchet type engagement of appropriately configured corresponding grooves, ridges and/or teeth so that as the collar (208) slides down and makes contact with the extensions (214) and (216) rigid and secure engagement is provided between the respective components.

Advantageously, this invention provides for a solution to the problems encountered with current wooden posts inside the vineyard, whether they are ones that are currently damaged within the existing trellis arrangement or those that have been previously removed but contain copper chromium arsenic.

Claims

1. A vineyard wooden post reinforcement apparatus which is adapted to be clamped about a damaged portion of the said wooden post, said apparatus including: two opposing brackets, a fastening means to^' fix one bracket to the other so that said brackets when joined provide a tight clamped fit about the damaged portion of the vineyard wooden post, such that wherein along the length of the vineyard wooden post damage or weakness, such as cracks, fractures or breaks, may be reinforced by the clamping of the opposing brackets there around so that the resiliency of the vineyard post can be returned to its original supporting condition for the trellis before the damage was imparted.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the opposing brackets are substantially u-shaped with extended flanges or shoulders along side edges of each bracket with holes there along said flanges or shoulders which when the brackets are brought together provide dimensions of comparable diameter to that of the wooden post.

3. The apparatus of claims 2 wherein bolts maybe passed through the holes when the brackets have come together and to be fixed in place by a corresponding nut.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 or 3 further including nails or screws drivable into the brackets to provide for an even tighter fit of the bracket against the wooden post therefore improving or enhancing resiliency of the post about the damaged area.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 or 3 further including stakes positionable between the extended flanges or shoulders of brought together brackets which function to provide additional upright support for the wooden posts when the apparatus placed in the ground by knocking in the stakes.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the stakes may be of varying lengths depending on the size of the bracket which is clamped about the post to be repaired.

7. The apparatus. of claim 2 wherein the shoulder or flange includes a stake integral with the bracket.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the shoulder or flange includes a hollow chamber wherein rods or spikes maybe driven there through into the ground to reinforce the apparatus about wooden post.

9. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the brought together opposing brackets include a hinge arrangement along one side of the joined together brackets.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the opposing brackets wherein joined together provide the defined shape of a square, semi circle, rectangular, oval or triangular configuration to be fixed about a wooden post of the same formed shape.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 further including coupling configurations which are able to bring together horizontal, vertical or inclined-wooden posts.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein discarded wooden posts may be joined together through rod and be driven together by this connecting rod to then be clamped about by apparatus.

13. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the shoulders or flanges includes holes to which a tool with a threaded end and a hooked end can engage thereinto the respective holes.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein a nut may be threaded onto the thread end, of the tool so as to fix the tool into place and thereby provide a fastening mechanism for the two opposing brackets being brought together.

15. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein cable ties engage about the hples in the side of each of the opposing brackets so that they can be strapped into position about the wooden post.

16. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the two opposing brackets are able to be clamped together about the wooden post through a coupling arrangement of a collar which has rounded shoulders that are configured to slip in over extended corners of each flange or shoulder.

17. A vineyard wooden post reinforcement apparatus which is adapted to be clamped about a damaged portion of the said wooden post, said apparatus including a single length of resilient rigid material wherein at each of the distal ends of said length of rigid material is a corresponding fastening mechanism so that when the fastening arrangement at one end of the length engages with the fastening arrangement at the other end of the length, when said length is wrapped around a wooden post, the respective distal ends can be brought into close proximity in order to fixably clamp about a damaged area of the wooden post.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the fastening arrangement includes a screw mechanism, wherein the screw thread can engage with a series of slots wherein the rotation of the screw forces the slots to move further through the fastening arrangement so as to bring the respective distal ends of the length of rigid material closer together to provide for the fixable clamp of the material about the wooden post.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the fastening arrangement includes a ratchet or teeth configuration on the respective ends of the length of rigid material so that one side can be drawn closer to the other and then secured in place by the inter-engagement of the respective teeth on the opposing distal ends of said length of rigid material.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the teeth arrangement also includes an extension of an aperture therethrough which can be engaged by a hooked rod, wherein the hooked rod can obtain leverage about the post when the length of rigid material is originally placed about the wooden post to be clamped, so that the pulling back of the rod established by the leverage about the wooden post is able to extend and/or retract the respective teeth or gear configurations of the corresponding distal ends of the length of rigid material so that such ends can be brought closer together to provide for a tight clamping fix of the rigid material about the wooden post.