Large Metal Drill Bits for Green Wood?

Go to the drill bit store and buy several spade bits. Irwin Speedbores are an excellent brand, DeWalt has a line of much heavier ones out. Drilling in the dirty stumps is extremely hard on bits. You can sharpen these bits with a triangular file, or just buy several. A decent 3/8 drill should be able to do the job. You will only get 6 inches out of the bits, but should suffice. ______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net

When I did this a long time ago, I got a ship auger and used a brace. I packed the holes with potassium nitrate, watered it well, then covered for about three months. Then I soaked the stump with diesel a few times, then lit it. It smoldered for a week. When it was over, there were just tunnels in the dirt where the roots had been.

Pete Keillor

How deep did you go with the holes, how big were your holes, how many'd you drill?

(3 foot maple stump in the yard that won't give up)

18" chinaberry stump, 14" high. Three 3/4" holes 12" deep with side holes connecting. The can (Stump-Not) had instructions on how many holes, etc. Also, there wasn't a problem burning in that location, and the stump was at least 30' from the house. Check your fire ordinances before deciding on this route.

Pete Keillor

I've got plenty of spade bits, but they tend to clog up with wood chips pretty fast, even in dry wood. They're great for boring through a 2x4, and I've even got extensions so I could go deep, but I'd think they would clog up the holes fast in green wood. Easy enough to try, and you're right, they are easy to sharpen, which could be important.

Doug White

Spade bits are precisely wrong as can be here. You have to have centerless augur bits. You can buy one at a local hardware store, or get the whole set for $15

less when they go on sale, of course.

If your drill is too wimpy borrow a bigger one. Deep holes in hardwood require an augur. Shipwrights built large ships for hundreds of years boring holes in hardwood, if there were a better bit they'd have found it.

Grant Erwin

They make an extender shaft for more reach.

Wes S

Spade bit with an extension. Though a 3/8 drill is marginal for just about anything, including sheet rock screws...

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

I would use a regular twist drill and one that is about 3/8 th inch in diameter. The fertilizer or stump remover will speed up the rotting preocess. Using a 3/8 th drill , I would drill more holes, but the smaller drill will be a lot faster. The surface area of three 3/8th holes is slightly bigger than the surface area of a 1 inch hole. So small drill and lots of holes.

Dan

I remembered I have a half-inch Bosch combination drill/hammer-drill that should help. I ordinarily use it just for masonry work, so I hadn't thought about it for this. I also did some digging on-line about augers, and these guys:

look like they know what they are doing. They make augers for drilling railroad ties, bits for timber frame construction, etc. They have carbide tipped augers that should hold up better against any dirt caught in the stumps. What remains to be seen is how expensive they might be. Regular steel 3/4" x 18" augers seem to run around $30. I'm going to give them a call Monday & see what they recommend.

In the meantime I have to figure out why the outside outlet nearest the stumps is dead...

Doug White

Spade bits cost a dollar or two a few years back when I drilled the holes in my stumps. They worked just fine. I agree an auger bit would be better, but it will probably be wasted in the effort and they cost quite a bit more. Spend your money as you see fit. ______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net

Negative Karma points.

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

I just went out & tried a couple spade bits with my 12V 3/8" cordless drill. I had a 7/8" with the little spurs at the edges, and a 1" older one that was just two flat cutting edges. Both worked, but they were pretty slow and I had to clear the chips very often. If I didn't get the chips out completely, the bits tended to slide around on the chips and not cut. An auger that would lift out the chips would definitely be a big help. One freshly charge battery was good for 2 holes about 5 to 6 inches deep. I've got 3 stumps, so I think investing in a auger would be worth it. The 1/2" corded drill will also be a big help.

Doug White

I have always used either a large spade or auger bit to drill into the core (making sure not to drill all the way through on some types of stumps). Then, I filled the hole to about an inch from the top and drove a wooden plug into the hole. the moisture dissolves the salt, and it goes back down the roots, to were osmosis is used to collect water. The salt stops it from getting more water, and it dies. Then you can drill a small hole in the plug to soak it with some type of fuel. I used kerosene, or used motor oil if nothing else was available. Then it soaked for a few weeks before it was set on fire.

The quickest way to get rid of a stump? Start calling it a lawn chair.

Ned Simmons

On Sun, 17 Sep 2006 15:22:30 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, snipped-for-privacy@alum.mit.edu (Doug White) quickly quoth:

Go rent a stump grinder, Doug. It's the ONLY way to go if you don't have a D9 Cat to tickle the stump out.

They have fist-sized carbide bits which make short work of stumps and the dirt/rocks surrounding them.

-- Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization. -- Charles Lindbergh

Grant, I am familiar with the bits that you are recommending. But, why exactly are they called 'centerless'?

Thanks, Ivan Vegvary

Because they are a spiral ribbon with no center! :-)

GWE

You might try smaller diameter holes, say 9/16", with a Greenlee "Nail Eater" auger bit or similar.