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Drills and drill bits for hard wood

Whisky

ATF. I use all three.
Staff member
Any pictures of the tree when it was alive? Ironwood has a deep tap root like that and should grow well in your area. If it is Ironwood, you may have to grind through it.
 

Eben Stone

Staff member
Any pictures of the tree when it was alive? Ironwood has a deep tap root like that and should grow well in your area. If it is Ironwood, you may have to grind through it.
No. I've been living here for 20 years and there hasn't been any tree there that I'm aware of. This just came up out of the ground 2-3 years ago. It looked like a small bush above ground.
 
I need some suggestions for which type of drill and drill bits to use for hard wood.

l have 12v and 20v wireless drills, and a wired hammer drill.

The best drill bits I have are Milwaukee Thunderbolts (titanium coated). I have a bunch of black oxide and no-name bits that are garbage in comparison.

None of the above drills (I didn't try the hammerdrill because its SDS chuck and I only have masonry bits for it) and drill bits that I have are good for drilling Walnut.

My budget is $300. I would prefer wired, but I'll consider whatever is known to work.

Thanks.

My farmer buddy who does a fair bit of carpentry with his own trees,
says that his hardest species is hickory.

He recommends the kind of bits that are ordinarily used for drilling metal.
 
My farmer buddy who does a fair bit of carpentry with his own trees,
says that his hardest species is hickory.
I have a friend who makes custom rifle stocks. Much of his work is by hand. He made another friend a stock from hickory. The stockmaker said it was very difficult to work with due to hardness. He said he won't use hickory again.
 

Eben Stone

Staff member
So the eBay seller is apparently flaking out on the Milwaukee Magnum.

So, I bought these. Total less than $100. I'm no expert, but 9 amps seems like it should be enough. Tomorrow I will declare war on the stump...

20221001_204057.jpg
 

Eben Stone

Staff member
Sadly, I have to admit defeat. Yes, I'm being serious.

sigourney weaver michael GIF


My goal was 5 holes, 1 inch diameter, 4 inches deep. Two of the holes were in places where I previously drilled and filled with stump killer, so I'm not going to count those. That leaves three holes. I was not able to drill those three holes any deeper than 1/2 inch. The drill was definitely powerful enough but the bit just stopped cutting. This is basically the same result I had using the Rockwell 9v and 20v cordless drills and the Milwaukee Thunderbolts.

20221002_164544.jpg
Hole # 1, managed to get about 4 inches, but not counting as a success because I had already drilled there.

20221002_164541.jpg
Hole # 2, managed to get about 4 inches, but not counting as a success because I had already drilled there.

20221002_164522.jpg
Hole # 3, only got about 1/2 deep.

20221002_164526.jpg
Hole # 4, only got about 1/2 inch deep.

20221002_164532.jpg
Hole # 5, only got about 1 inch deep.

20221002_164715.jpg20221002_165100.jpg
Scenes from the battlefield after it was over and I had given up trying to drill any more holes.
 

Rosseforp

I think this fits, Gents
Sadly, I have to admit defeat. Yes, I'm being serious.

sigourney weaver michael GIF


My goal was 5 holes, 1 inch diameter, 4 inches deep. Two of the holes were in places where I previously drilled and filled with stump killer, so I'm not going to count those. That leaves three holes. I was not able to drill those three holes any deeper than 1/2 inch. The drill was definitely powerful enough but the bit just stopped cutting. This is basically the same result I had using the Rockwell 9v and 20v cordless drills and the Milwaukee Thunderbolts.

View attachment 1532499
Hole # 1, managed to get about 4 inches, but not counting as a success because I had already drilled there.

View attachment 1532498
Hole # 2, managed to get about 4 inches, but not counting as a success because I had already drilled there.

View attachment 1532497
Hole # 3, only got about 1/2 deep.

View attachment 1532495
Hole # 4, only got about 1/2 inch deep.

View attachment 1532494
Hole # 5, only got about 1 inch deep.

View attachment 1532496View attachment 1532500
Scenes from the battlefield after it was over and I had given up trying to drill any more holes.
Carbide tipped hole saw? That's nuts!

~doug~
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Stump burnout works but it's prep and labor intensive.
Put a little white kerosene in those holes and let it soak in.
Do that every other day for a week.
Then pile up some decent medium to hardwood around the stump and burn it.
Add wood as it burns down until it is small enough you are satisfied.

EDIT: Do not be tempted under any circumstances to substitute gasoline for white kerosene.
 
Last edited:

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
If you don't decide to burn it out.... I think I'd try masonry bits. You'd have to use more downward pressure but they wouldn't dull so easily.

I do think burning it out might be the best approach, however.
 

Whisky

ATF. I use all three.
Staff member
Do not be tempted under any circumstances to substitute gasoline for white kerosene.
If you want to see a truly awesome explosion pour gasoline on it and a large pile of brush because you’re out of diesel. Then stand about 20ft away and throw firecrackers (m80’s work great) at it until you see a white vapor spread across the ground. Then throw another firecracker and see what happens. You can trim your eyebrows back into any shape you want as they grow back.
 
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