Good drill / bit combo?

[treeman82]

What is a good drill and bit combination to use when drilling trees to test for rot? My father has a battery powered Makita which I have tried before in conjunction with a 3/8"? bit. I felt it didn't have anywhere near enough power because it didn't last very long at all. What would you say is a good battery powered drill and what is a good size bit to use?

 

[treeguy347]

I have an 18 volt DeWalt. Absolutely love it, in low gear, it'll drive 8" screws thru landscape timbers or seawalls with ease, so there is no lack of power. in high, it has done a lot of tough drilling (some masonry) without a problem too. Another to check into would be the Milwaukee.

 

[treeman82]

What size bits are you using?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I'll second the 18v DeWalt. Great tools. If you're thinking of buying any, do a google on "reconditioned dewalt tools". You'll find some nice combo packs with multiple tools.

Why are you using such a large, 3/8" diameter, bit? All that you need is no larger than 1/8".

To practice your skills, head to the wood dump and drill into some chunks to see what the end grain looks like as you drill from solid wood into decay or soft wood.

With my DW, I can drill pretty deep holes for through bolting. I take both batteries with me. If I have to cut threaded rod I bring the recip saw. Makes short work.

Tom

 

[jimmyq]

dont laugh but I pack an 18V Ryobi and it seems to hold up fine. Came in a kit with a small circular saw, a reciprocating saw (nice for cleaning up those 4 inch stubs all over the junipers that homeowners seem so proud of trimming themselves, and a handy vacuum for cleaning the sawdust off the floor of the car from my boots.

 

[treeman82]

I was able to find a 3/16" drill bit tonight at HD. Gonna check it out tomorow on a sugar maple.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I would not want too much torque in the drill, I want to feel the resistance as well as see the chaff.

I like several lengths so that you can go deep, 3/16 for the longer ones, 1/8 for the shorter ones.

use an ear plug for a depth guage.

if the tree is to be removed then maybe a bigger bit would be better, so you can get a beter feel of the resistance deeper in.

if you just want to asess cylindar strenght the smaller the better amd you can figure depth by what you figure the nominal wall thickness should be, ie if over 3 inches is your safe zone, then no need for a 4 inch long bit.