# drilling holes for posts and stakes



## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

i recently got one hell of a deal on a bosch rotary hammer at a pawn shop.

i have been and will be doing more framing for concrete and been making stakes out of 2x3s (goes into ground easier than 2x4) and setting them in with a sledge hammer. this is not an easy thing to do as sometimes the ground is hard and sometimes the stake twists making it not parallel with the direction of the bulkhead.

my question is: is there an adequate auger-like drill bit i can get for my rotary hammer (SDS-MAX) with which i can drill up to 2-ft deep and some 1/2-3/4-ft wide holes to easily set my stakes in ? i realized that just backfilling dirt around the stake to fill the empty space and pouring water on it to compact it makes it set just as firmly.

i think this would be the easiest way to do it ...

sincerely,

SLACKER


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## Kingfisher (Nov 19, 2007)

Depends on the drill size. I have a 1 1/2" spline drive dewalt and a 1/2" by 27 " drill bit for it(actual drilling depth is 22") So you should be able to find one


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## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

thanks. would you know to throw some keywords at me so that i know what to search for online ?

thx,

- a -


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## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

actually, 1/2" seems awfully narrow, i am talking about almost foot-wide holes in the ground. this is almost like aeration holes that i am trying to make.


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## Kingfisher (Nov 19, 2007)

those aren't stakes those are post LOL sorry I miss read it , must need those reading lessons somebody was offering me. No I don't think you are going to find anything like that and if you did the drill would kill you the first time you caught a big root. IMO


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## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

so what is an automated way to drill post holes then ? i am sure in this day and age they have some kind of machines to do it ...

i may recollect seeing a tractor-like machine with a drill in the front ...


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## ponch37300 (Nov 27, 2007)

You can get a post hole digger, it looks like an ice auger and you can get different size diameter augers for it to drill the size hole you are looking for. They also make hydralic post hole diggers for bob cats and ones for tractors if that is what you mean. Have you thought about making a bit for your rotary(assuming it has a hammer only mode) that would pound in the 2x4's? I have seen bits that have a sleeve that fits over ground rods and pounds them in to hard ground with no problems. Maybe a peice of square stock steel that the 2x3 fits into an inch or two with a back plate welded on and a bit welded onto this to fit in your drill?


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## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

*making one ?*

the hammer has a hammer mode (reciprocating motion) and drill mode (circular motion).

i envisioned to use the hypothetical auger-like tool in the drill mode.

it would need to look like a normal any size SDS auger drill bit that you can get at any tool shop but just bigger, instead of 1/2 in in diameter it would be 4-5 in in diameter. and i imagine, to prevent the aforementioned hazard of getting hurt amid an underground obstacle encounter, the speed of operation would need to be lower.

so, my question to you is: how do i make/improvise a bit like that without doing elaborate metalworks ?


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## Kingfisher (Nov 19, 2007)

The drill is geared differently then the auger and that is what is stoping you from pulling this off. They do make small gas augers and I have used then for holes. They work great but for one man the are hard to use two people its good. If you realy what to try this just get a cheap bit and weld a blade to the front at about 10* angel and try it but be careful beacuse the trigers on all the drills I have used don't have a soft start fiture. Good luck and post how it goes if it works I'll try it to


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## ponch37300 (Nov 27, 2007)

I was thinking of making a bit to pound the stakes into the ground instead of drilling a hole for them. You said you have been using a sledge hammer, make your drill a sledge hammer. Electricians use them to pound in ground rods all the time,


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## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

Drilling a hole to set a stake is, if you will excuse me, a stupid idea. It would take more effort to attempt to tamp the fill firm enough for the stake to work than it would be to drive it. You could drill an inch to inch and a half pilot hole and that may help, but you should just get a bigger sledge and work on your aim. For posts, there are earth augers available, but a hammer drill does not have the torque to drive a 6" + auger, and you could not hold it if it did.


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## kgphoto (Dec 2, 2007)

To be more blunt.

Rent a earth auger. Don't try what you are thinking. You are wasting time and may injure yourself severely and damage your tool as well.


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## so-elitecrete (Oct 27, 2007)

*why not just buy some,,,*

steel form pins,,, much easier & they'll last forever,,, we quit using 2x4 stakes yrs ago,,, there may be an auger avail for the bosch but your labor costs'll still be higher'n form pins.


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## SeanR (May 5, 2007)

I'm a land surveyor by profession, but a builder at heart. In my surveying we have to put alot of wood in the ground, alot. Most are 2x2x8 for construction. When we run into hard ground we use what's called a 'bull prick' first to start the hole, then wack in the wooden hub. Works great! A bull prick is a hunk of re-bar perhaps #8 to #16 with a point gound on it. Put it in 3", then pull it out and repeat, just don't get the prick stuck.

Also, I just rented an electric (120v) jack hammer by 'Milwakee' with a 4" shovel that made moving alot of hard dirt quite fast. I think I paid $60usa for a day.


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## so-elitecrete (Oct 27, 2007)

*amakarevic, you must be fairly new,,,*

to the conc biz,,, & w/respect to sean, his application's entirely different & surveyors don't 'move' at the same speed of other trades/professions,,, when we layout hubs, we'll have something like he describes but many surveyors don't carry generators & there's no battery equipment that'll suffice.

invest in some form pins & a 12# sledge - forget earth augers & drill bits,,, watch your competitors,,, while you fart around setting stakes, they're pouring,,, when you finally get around to placing & finishing, they've left for another job.

#8 rebar's 1" diam - #16's 2" diam - & nobody thinks a 4" asphalt/clay spade/s good for anything but cutting asphalt when you don't have to diamond saw,,, then again, there's no definition of ' alot of hard dirt '.

found over the yrs, you can often tell the difference quickly between pro's & diy'ers by their tools & how they use/respect 'em


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## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

*thanks, i am actually not in the biz.*

first of all, let me say that i do not have COMPETITORS. competition is a perceived and by no means a real concept in life. if you think you are competing with somebody, that is fixated in your head - quite detrimental for you at most aspects.

i am a DIY-er who likes to do things in an EASY rather than FAST manner. if EFFICIENCY is sacrificed, oh well ... that is my general way how i go about doing things (in life). you call me a SLACKER, i am complimented.

i tend to break a project into as many small, NO-BRAINER steps, each of which can be done with at most 25% of my mental and physical capacity. i do not do more than one thing at a time. i am very COMFORTABLE that way. comfort is my priority.

on the other hand there is a world out there where they force you to do things FAST and to split a process into a few steps, each of which is complex and hard to do, for the sake of so-called efficiency but it is a form of moder-day slavery.

you are the king of your life - so be comfortable at home, in your truck, on vacation, and yes, AT WORK - do things at the easiest way possible (but do them well) ! why the heck are we in a hurry ?


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## so-elitecrete (Oct 27, 2007)

*philospohically,,,*

we agree but in the real world, its different,,, even if you only compete w/yourself, how can 1 if know he's advancing, retreating, or static in life ?

am comfortable but why make MORE work for 1self turning easy tasks into more complex, physical, expensive, & tiring 1s ? ? ?

perhaps we hurry to accomplish more,,, in itself, i can get around that.


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## kgphoto (Dec 2, 2007)

I am wondering if there is some confusion here on what is trying to be accomplished.

Are we trying to install form stakes or posts?

If it is form stakes, then by all means wet the ground and drive in a steel stake with a sledge and be done with it. If it is setting posts and you need a 8 inch diameter hole or larger, get a helper and rent a two man auger and go for it. If there are a lot of roots, etc, then you can use the post supports that are driven with a 60# jack hammer, not the Bosch Rotary Hammer.

If you want to drive a wood stake and just want to soften the dirt, then there are bits available for the Bosch, just don't go over 2 inches, because the tool is not designed to drive that large of a bit through resistive soil. It doesn't have the gearing.


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## SeanR (May 5, 2007)

Amakarevic, I see your still around. It's been several months since you started this thread. How did your job come out?


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