drilling on tight places

[v1rtu0s1ty]

hey guys,

When I was looking at my house the other day to visualize where my wires are going to go, I noticed that there were some tight places where my existing drill won't fit. I noticed this especially in windows where some studs only have 8 inches distance from the other stud. Are there any special drills?

Thanks,

Ronneil

 

[pete]

you need a right angle drill . . . and you may still need to drill thru the stud at an angle (not perpindicular) . . . an extra long bit helps keep the angle to a minimum . . .

Pete C

 

[Photon]

Sometimes you can access the tight space with an ordinary drill/bit by drilling through an adjacent stud first, even though you don't need a hole in it. Sometimes I have had to use an extension bit through this "extra" hole to get where I really needed to go.

Option two: If you would rather not buy a right angle drill, Sears used to have a right angle attachment to use with your regular drill.

Good Luck.

 

[ctwilliams]

I just bought a right angle attachment for my drill at Lowe's for about $30.00. It does right angle as well as just about any other.

CT

 

[pete]

I just bought a right angle attachment for my drill at Lowe's for about $30.00. It does right angle as well as just about any other.

CT

I had one of these (maybe not the exact model), but it wasn't up to the task . . . it wore out (internal gears stripped) after just a few holes with a 1.5" Forstner bit . . . I would suggest renting a heavy duty right angle drill . . . most HomeDepot/Lowes/Neighborhood tool rental places should have one available . . .

. . . if you have a long auger type bit (1"dia or better), and lay it up next to the adjacent stud, the slight angle of the hole won't affect the wire pulling too much . . .

       =======  stud 1
         /
        /
       /
      /
     / ======= stud 2
    /
   / long bit

 

[v1rtu0s1ty]

I just bought a right angle attachment for my drill at Lowe's for about $30.00. It does right angle as well as just about any other.

CT

I had one of these (maybe not the exact model), but it wasn't up to the task . . . it wore out (internal gears stripped) after just a few holes with a 1.5" Forstner bit . . . I would suggest renting a heavy duty right angle drill . . . most HomeDepot/Lowes/Neighborhood tool rental places should have one available . . .

. . . if you have a long auger type bit (1"dia or better), and lay it up next to the adjacent stud, the slight angle of the hole won't affect the wire pulling too much . . .

       =======  stud 1
         /
        /
       /
      /
     / ======= stud 2
    /
   / long bit

1 inch diameter, that's huge

Does HD or Lowes forstner type bits?

 

[pete]

1 inch diameter, that's huge

. . . that depends on how many wires go thru the hole . . .

Does HD or Lowes forstner type bits?

the forstner bit is what I used (mostly, but I used it for my radiant heat tube as well), an auger bit is more typical among professional electricians . . .

. . . any hardware store/home center will have them . . .

Pete C

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

Ditto on the forstner bits. I bought mine at either HD or Lowes and got a set that went up to about 2 inches. That's the best way to make the holes!

 

[v1rtu0s1ty]

Ditto on the forstner bits. I bought mine at either HD or Lowes and got a set that went up to about 2 inches. That's the best way to make the holes!

Sorry, I didn't get what you mean by "got a set that went up to about 2 inches".

 

[betrickey]

For drilling lots of holes you will be better off spending your money on one of these, the ship auger bit will serve you better. These style of bits are what every electrician uses. You will never be able to use one up. They will go through nails and everything esle that you put infront of it. One word of warning, be extremely cautious when using this or any other large diameter bit. If they get hung up i.e. bound up the right angle drill WILL take you for a ride, broken wrists, fingers or other injured body parts will result.


http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/...IrwinProd100093


http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/...IrwinProd100096

 

[v1rtu0s1ty]

ok, thanks for the heads up. I've seen Irwin brands in home depot. However, I only saw the clamps. I'm going drop by at Home Depot tomorrow and see if they sell those.

 

[electron]

Another vote for the irwin drill bits here, wish I had found them sooner, this bit, combined with the flexible 36" extension, is an incredible combo, and can get into a lot of tight places. This bit chews through everything, in a matter of seconds. I got my Irwin bits at Home Depot, around $9-$10 each.

 

[v1rtu0s1ty]

BAM! There you go! I'm interested in the flexible thing you mentioned. Did you buy it too from HomeDepot? Brand name please?

My friend told me about it too. He told me how the ADT guy was able to install his keypad on a finished drywall. He said, it was very long and that it also carried the wire? Huh?! That's what I didn't believe.

 

[electron]

It's just a simple drill bit extension, got it at Home Depot, but since it has been several years, I don't remember. It's in the same section where you buy the fishing wire (datacom isle), around $30. It doesn't help you guide the wire (at least not the one I have), but it has helped me out a lot.

 

[v1rtu0s1ty]

Thanks guys for all the recommendations!