drill holes in concrete
 

I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks get
higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete where I
need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?

drill holes in concrete
 

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks get
higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete where
I
need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?


Holes, either a "hammer drill" with a "carbide bit" or a "regular drill"
with a "dry diamond bit". For cutting the concrete where you want it to
crack. Why now just use a "diamond blade" and a "circular saw" and just cut
it?

drill holes in concrete
 

a decent size hammerdrill will make the holes with no problem, but if you
drill too close to an edge, the slab may break off.
Depending on the thickness and strength of the slab pieces, you may need a
setback of 6" or more.

If you want reasonably straight edges, it would probably be best to score
the smooth side of the slab with a wet concrete saw and then break with a
hammer.


ps Seems like an awful lot of work.

Bill

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks get
higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete where
I need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?

drill holes in concrete
 

the slabs are 4" think. What works better a hammer drill and masonary bit or
a diamond dry bit in a regular drill?


"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks get
higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete where
I need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?

drill holes in concrete
 

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
the slabs are 4" think. What works better a hammer drill and masonary bit
or a diamond dry bit in a regular drill?


"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks
get higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete
where I need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?




I've never used a dry diamond bit before but a hammer drill with masonry bit
should make quick work of this.

drill holes in concrete
 

In article , HotRod
wrote:

the slabs are 4" think. What works better a hammer drill and masonary bit or
a diamond dry bit in a regular drill?

A hammer drill, for your application. It will go through concrete like
butter. The composition of the aggregate might give you some
difficulty, though. Very hard gravel pieces are tough on the best
drills.

-Frank

--
Here's some of my work:
http://www.franksknives.com/

drill holes in concrete
 

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
the slabs are 4" think. What works better a hammer drill and masonary bit
or a diamond dry bit in a regular drill?



A hammer drill with the appropriate bit will go thru the concrete quickly.

Go rent one from the local rental shop. A homeowner's drill, even though it
may have hammer capability, is not up to the task.

drill holes in concrete
 

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
the slabs are 4" think. What works better a hammer drill and masonary bit
or
a diamond dry bit in a regular drill?

Dry Diamond with a regular drill will work better than the hammer drill with
a carbide bit. The diamond won't "blow out" the back of the slab when you
exit the slab. The hammer drill will "blow out" the last bit of concrete and
make a larger exit hole. Dry Diamond blade for your circular saw will cut
through the slab with no problem. If you want to make it easier on the saw,
just cut one inch depths with every pass till you are all the way through.

drill holes in concrete
 

On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:30:27 -0400, "HotRod"
wrote:

the slabs are 4" think. What works better a hammer drill and masonary bit or
a diamond dry bit in a regular drill?

Neither. A rotodrill sounds much faster and better, according to a
thread yesterday. You can rent one.


"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks get
higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete where
I need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?

drill holes in concrete
 

On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:49:44 -0400, "HotRod"
wrote:

I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks get
higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete where I
need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?

It's interesting how it sometimes (not too often) makes a difference
when one posts and who answers.

I only recognize one or two names in the answers here, and I don't
think any of them answered in the thread yesterday, where 2 or 3
people were very convincing that a Roto-Drill, or something like that,
was far better than a hammer drill.

Although there are weaker "consumer" versions of hammer drills, there
are none afaict of Roto-drills, so you surely have to rent one, and it
is will worth it since you have to drill a ton of holes. (How many
holes in a pound?)

drill holes in concrete
 

"mm" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:49:44 -0400, "HotRod"
wrote:

I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks
get
higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete where
I
need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?

It's interesting how it sometimes (not too often) makes a difference
when one posts and who answers.

I only recognize one or two names in the answers here, and I don't
think any of them answered in the thread yesterday, where 2 or 3
people were very convincing that a Roto-Drill, or something like that,
was far better than a hammer drill.

Although there are weaker "consumer" versions of hammer drills, there
are none afaict of Roto-drills, so you surely have to rent one, and it
is will worth it since you have to drill a ton of holes. (How many
holes in a pound?)

Well, I often core 3/4 - 4 1/2" holes through concrete, block, cidar block,
and rock. The diamond bits kick ass!

drill holes in concrete
 

On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:49:44 -0400, "HotRod"
wrote:

I'm working on a retianing wall project that involves using busted up old
concrete slabs. I need to drill a ton of 3/4" - 1" holes as the blocks get
higher, any ideas? Also ideas on how to crack the 4" thick concrete where I
need to? Do you think a peice of angle iron and a sledge is best?

If you have that many to drill, you want a rotary hammer and
appropriate bit, not a hammer drill. They both work by apply
repetitive impacts inline with the bit while it is turning, but the
rotary hammer applies a much more forceful impact. The rotary hammers
require a special shaft on the bit, of which there are two or three
common styles. You can do this with a hamme drill, but the rotary
hammer will drill 3-4 or more holes in same time the hammer drill will
drill 1.

Go to www.toolsofthetrade.net and select the tool test archive. They
have reviews of both hammer drills and rotary hammers.

If there is rebar in the concrete, you will need a bit designed to
handle it, because you are sure to hit some. (And if there is rebar,
your efforts to cut it or break it are going to be very
frustrating...)

HTH,

Paul

drill holes in concrete
 

Do you use a hammer drill with a diamond bit? or is a hammer drill used with
a carbide bit?

drill holes in concrete
 

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
Do you use a hammer drill with a diamond bit? or is a hammer drill used
with
a carbide bit?


You didn't read my post carefully, so here it is again: "either a "hammer
drill" with a "carbide bit" or a "regular drill"
with a "dry diamond bit"."