The 3 methods to hammer or drive a wooden stake into the hard ground are:
- Use a big hammer.
- Create a pilot hole with a gad spike.
- Use a SDS drill with a masonary drill bit.
My preferred method to loosen up rocky and hard ground is to use an SDS drill with a 20mm masonry drill bit attached to drill a pilot hill, then to use a club hammer to drive the wooden stake into the ground.
Method 1: SDS Drill
If you have an SDS drill, I would recommend that you buy a large masonry drill bit that is slightly smaller than the stakes you are driving into the ground.
In the below video I am using a 20mm masonry drill bit and hitting a 50 x 25mm wooden stake with a club hammer.
For this method you simple drill where you want the hole to be, and go down at least 100mm. Then using a club or sledgehammer hit the stake into the ground.
Method 2: Gad Spike
If you don’t have an SDS drill, the next best method is to use a gad spike.
A gad spike is a metal spike that is approximately 300mm (1 foot) long, and approximately 25mm (1 inch) thick. To prevent pieces of the metal gad spike flying around, it needs to be made of a soft metal (softer than the sledge hammerhead), that way the head of the spike will mushroom over and won’t splinter and be a hazard.
Method 3: Brute Force
If you don’t have a SDS drill or a gad spike to create a pilot hole, you are only left with using a big hammer and potentially splitting several wooden stakes.
If you have the time and patience you can wet the ground to loosen up the soil or dig out any rocks with a shove and crow bar.