cable brace advice

[daltontrees]

Auger bit, obviously. A helical bit will just use up all your battery warming the wood around the hole. Experience of drilling railway sleepers says be careful against hitting tough wood like buried branch stubs, I nearly broke my wrist when the drill kept rotating but the bit stopped dead.

Ideally you need the hole to be not much bigger than the bolt, so keeping the hole straight is crucial. Quite a big ask over 2 feet. 

Can be awkward up a tree with sometimes no way of pushing on the drill. Use a bit with a small threaded pilot tip they really drag the bit into the wood. 

Edited Sunday at 10:59 by daltontrees

[dumper]

On 25/07/2025 at 05:27, doobin said:

No, no, no. 

 

The last thing you want is an SDS or an impact driver. You don’t see oak framers using them for drilling the holes do you?

 

I don’t understand why people think sds drills have loads of torque, they simply don’t as that’s not needed for

concrete. 
 

you need sustained torque, not jolts of torque. You’ll just burn an sds up and an impact driver will just cam out with too much torque demanded of it. 
 

You need to be looking at something like the Milwaukee SuperHawg. Masses of torque and a nice long control handle. 

 

M18 FUEL™ SUPER HAWG™ 2-speed Right Angle Drill Driver Gen II | Cordless Drill Drivers | Milwaukee Tool UK

UK.MILWAUKEETOOL.EU

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M18 FUEL™ SUPER HAWG™ 2-speed right angle drill driver gen II. Extremely long run time, up to 100 holes with a...

 

 

Suggest you look at hmt technology they recommend impact drivers for large bits I drill 20mm holes in Rsj with mine no pilot just straight through

[Steven P]

8 hours ago, daltontrees said:

Auger bit, obviously. A helical bit will just use up all your battery warming the wood around the hole. Experience of drilling railway sleepers says be careful against hitting tough wood like buried branch stubs, I nearly broke my wrist when the drill kept rotating but the bit stopped dead.

Ideally you need the hole to be not much bigger than the bolt, so keeping the hole straight is crucial. Quite a big ask over 2 feet. 

Can be awkward up a tree with sometimes no way of pushing on the drill. Use a bit with a small threaded pilot tip they really drag the bit into the wood.

 

 

With the length of the auger, you have to be a bit careful not to bend them (from experience)

[doobin]

13 hours ago, dumper said:

Suggest you look at hmt technology they recommend impact drivers for large bits I drill 20mm holes in Rsj with mine no pilot just straight through

. 

VersaDrive® TurboTip from Holemaker Technology

HOLEMAKER-TECHNOLOGY.COM

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VersaDrive® TurboTip Impact drill bits are stepped tip bits that drill at twice the speed of standard bits without...

these?

don’t see them recommending and impact driver over a drill there. 

[doobin]

11 hours ago, Steven P said:

 

With the length of the auger, you have to be a bit careful not to bend them (from experience)

Yes, very easy to heat the auger up and then tie it in a knot. 

[daltontrees]

2 hours ago, doobin said:

Yes, very easy to heat the auger up and then tie it in a knot. 

POssibly better in wet (live) wood. I've never done 60cm, longest is 40cm. But I have wrecked one going through 2 x 3" very hard old joists. 

[Steven P]

I'd be considering a longer one and a shorter one these days - start a smaller hole as support for the longer bits.

[dumper]

13 hours ago, doobin said:

. 

VersaDrive® TurboTip from Holemaker Technology

HOLEMAKER-TECHNOLOGY.COM

---

VersaDrive® TurboTip Impact drill bits are stepped tip bits that drill at twice the speed of standard bits without...

these?

don’t see them recommending and impact driver over a drill there. 

Picture from first page

you should try very quick bit expensive

 

 

 

[AHPP]

That is some strong guff. Are they really that good?

[doobin]

12 hours ago, dumper said:

Picture from first page

you should try very quick bit expensive

 

 

 

‘Impact rated’ is nothing like the same as ‘an impact driver is faster than the sustained torque offered by a decent drill’