As the creator of the propane-powered paintball gun, Dennis Tippmann, Fort Wayne, Indiana, knew he had developed a technology that could have a variety of applications.

"I liked what I had developed in the propane paintball gun. It was a good source of energy," says Tippmann.

As the owner of a 5,000-acre ranch, Tippmann was well aware of how much work maintaining fence was. That's when the idea for the hammer came to him. "I thought it would make an ideal energy source for a self-contained fence post pounder," he says.

The Propane Hammer Post Driver is similar to hand-operated post drivers, except once you put it on the post, instead of lifting up and dropping, you simply pull the button under the index finger. Once pulled, it ignites the propane, and the air in the combustion chamber pushes a piston down at 700 pounds driving force, hitting the drive ram and pushing the post into the ground.

"One person can put up fence with this tool easily. If you have two people, you can put up fence as about as fast as you can walk. It eliminates a lot of manpower because it takes a lot of energy to put those posts in by hand. It puts posts into the ground in as little as 7 seconds. On average, it takes 15 to 20 seconds," he says.

The driver can drive T-posts, silt fence, and any other type of sign post, ground rod, and rebar up to 3.5 inches in diameter. The Propane Hammer costs $1,995 and weighs about 43 pounds. To learn more, call 866/286-8046 or visit them on the Web at www.propanehammer.com.