On 7/13/2010 1:49 AM, Bill wrote:
zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:24:07 -0400, wrote:

zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

One thing you might do is put the wire on a stick so it comes off
straight,
without kinks. It makes it a *lot* easier to thread through the
holes, if
it's straight and not all loopy.

Looks nicer, too!

Hey, thanks! I noticed a few "twists" in the wire I've uncoiled so far.
I'll devise something (I hope the top rail comes off of my wife's quilt
rack!).

Don't do that! You'll likely break it and there goes your toy, er, tool
money. I generally use a clamp (or two) on the wall studs on the other
side
of the room.


Inspired by Doug Miller's collection of exotics (bits to put on the end
of a drill), I bought Stanley's 62-piece set today for 12.99 at Menards.
It turned out to contain a large torx bit, just what I needed to take
apart the quilt rack. I asked permission first, and SWMBO thought it was
fine that I use it the way I explained (turns out this item which is
taking up valuable space in the shop area is not as meaningful a piece
of memorabilia as I might have guessed). I put a piece of padding
underneath my 250' rolls of 10-2 and 12-2 romex to protect my wire from
the hollow square steel frame. The roll of 10-2 is fairly heavy as most
everyone here but me has known for years.

Nuther story. Directions on my new 3/4" auger bit suggested using a
corded drill. Okay, I have 3. The B&D my dad gave me, which was old in
1989 when he gave it to me, was the only one that would fit between the
studs with a bit. According to the label, it is a 5 Amp drill. In my
test efforts, the bit got stuck in the wood (3x) before I was able to
get though a stud--and I mean stuck in the sense that the drill stopped
moving, smoked, and I had to remove the bit from the chuck and from the
wood with a wrench, stuck. I tried a 3/4" spade bit with much better
results, if not quite as smooth an exit hole. I'll take back my new 7/8"
auger bit and trade it for a spade bit of the same size.

Trick with spade bits--put a piece of tape or something on it so that
you can gage how deep you're going, stop when the point is through, then
drill from the other side and you'll avoid the tearout.

Also, electricians often just drill the hole at an angle rather than
trying to fit a drill between studs. Lets them use as powerful a drill
as they need, the wire doesn't care, and it's all hidden when the wall
is closed.

This makes me curious as to what it takes to drive an auger bit (the
salesman at Home Depot spoke so highly of them). Would a 8 Amp Dewalt
drill have handled this much better. How about a 14.4 cordless? It would
probably be a day in the park for the Dewalt 10 Amp drill (if it would
fit). This experience will make me more careful about getting the
Amps/HP I need in a DP. Seeing your drill bit stuck in a piece of wood
is just an ugly sight you don't want to have to see.

If you're getting a cordless, get an 18v. You'll be glad you did. The
DeWalts have the advantage that their 18v drills can use any 18v dewalt
battery pack, NiCd, NiMH, or Lithium Ion. Nice thing about them is the
multispeed gearbox that lets you gear them down for big bits or run at
high RPM for small ones). I've had mine since 18v drills first came out
and it's been a workhorse.

Or, since you seem well fixed for drills, get an impact driver--they'll
handle spade bits just fine and if the bit hangs up they pound on it
until it unhangs or you give up--then reverse it and it _will_ whack the
bit loose. Downside is that they have 1/4" hex chucks, not regular
drill chucks, but the Irwin bit you have has a 1/4" hex chuck anyway so
it will fit right in. And impact drivers are _short_--I have a right
angle drill intended to get into stud-spaces and the like but I haven't
needed it since I got the impact driver. The Makita BTP140 is a really
nice one, but expensive. Any decent brand (deWalt, Bosch, Makita,
Milwaukee, etc) will do the job though.

I drilled all of the holes I need at the 23" level, perhaps 15, and
found another stud I want to reinforce (by screwing a length of 2by4 on
each side of it with plenty of 2 1/2" screws). Looks like it could be
old ant or termite damage. I'll start there tomorrow before I drill (the
rest of) the holes at the 61" level. Turns out the prop is only good for
getting the height right. My eye is fine for the rest. Occasionally,
after I start I measure and restart, adjusting if necessary. I'm taking
my time so I don't burn up the drill.

My 18v dewalt cordless that I've had since 18v drills first came out
would have handled it with no problem and the new ones are supposed to
be better. Normally holes for wiring you angle a little because the
drill won't fit between joists or studs--the wire doesn't care.

Spade bits give a rough cut but don't take a lot of power, they're
perfectly adequate for rough carpentry. Those particular Irwin bits
that you have I've never used but reading the reviews on Amazon they
seem to be known for the problem you're experiencing.