Today I rented a hammer drill and a fitting for driving in ground rods
(they even had the right fitting even though they didn't know it and
didn't know what I was talking about...).

MAN, DOES THAT THING WORK NICE !!!

Took about two hours to drive 7 rods, after the first one (that I did
manually with a sledge hammer) took about 10 hours spread out over a week
(just for one).

Those of you who suggested a hammer drill really had it right, and saved
my butt... thanks. :-)

Somebody mentioned something about a battery-powered hammer drill. I
haven't been able to find anything like that... can someone tell me who
makes one?

Thanks again... :-)

On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 11:18:56 -0400, "Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T)"
wrote:

Somebody mentioned something about a battery-powered hammer drill. I
haven't been able to find anything like that... can someone tell me who
makes one?

IMO they are too light weight to do your job application. They
normally are used for drilling small and shallow holes.

But here's some info.

http://bosch.cpotools.com/hammers_an...11225vsrh.html

and

http://www.unbeatablesale.com/tpbd90...ci_sku=TPBD904

Danny, K6MHE

"Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T)" wrote in message
news

Today I rented a hammer drill and a fitting for driving in ground rods
(they even had the right fitting even though they didn't know it and
didn't know what I was talking about...).

MAN, DOES THAT THING WORK NICE !!!

Took about two hours to drive 7 rods, after the first one (that I did
manually with a sledge hammer) took about 10 hours spread out over a week
(just for one).

Those of you who suggested a hammer drill really had it right, and saved
my butt... thanks. :-)

Somebody mentioned something about a battery-powered hammer drill. I
haven't been able to find anything like that... can someone tell me who
makes one?

Thanks again... :-)

Hey - - great news. Thanks for telling us. Now, is there any chance you
might know what brand and model number of hammer drill you used? If you
know the model number of the fitting, that would help, too. Ideally it would
be fun to be able to find the model numbers in the manufacturer's catalog to
see what everything looks like, so when we go to the rental place, we can
tell if they have the right stuff, even if they don't know it themselves.

Hey - - great news. Thanks for telling us. Now, is there any chance
you might know what brand and model number of hammer drill you used?
If you know the model number of the fitting, that would help, too.
Ideally it would be fun to be able to find the model numbers in the
manufacturer's catalog to see what everything looks like, so when we
go to the rental place, we can tell if they have the right stuff, even
if they don't know it themselves.





Check out

http://bosch.cpotools.com/hammers_an...ammer_drills/?
ref=googaw808e

for quality hammer drills.

Ed K7AAT

Years ago a friend rented a hydraulic drill to get in a long ground rod --
sed it worked well
Guess it uses water pressure to go thru the earth
Any comments
Lamont

Ed wrote:


Hey - - great news. Thanks for telling us. Now, is there any chance
you might know what brand and model number of hammer drill you used?
If you know the model number of the fitting, that would help, too.
Ideally it would be fun to be able to find the model numbers in the
manufacturer's catalog to see what everything looks like, so when we
go to the rental place, we can tell if they have the right stuff, even
if they don't know it themselves.


Check out

http://bosch.cpotools.com/hammers_an...ammer_drills/?
ref=googaw808e

for quality hammer drills.

None of those drills is suitable for driving ground rods. They are all
regular electric drills, with a conventional 3-jaw chuck and a
lightweight hammer action that depends on the chuck going round.

For driving ground rods, you need a different kind of 'hammer' drill
that has a separate high-impact hammer action, that can be used
*without* the chuck going round.

The SDS+ system is the Bosch company's patented method to build
hand-held electric drills with a *serious* high-impact hammer action.
The system has been widely licensed to other manufacturers, so all SDS+
drills are basically the same. They all have a snap-lock chuck (if it
has a 3-jaw chuck, it ain't SDS) that takes a wide range of heavy-duty
drill bits and tools. Most have a shift lever that gives you the choice
between rotary action on its own, hammer action on its own, or both
together - all in a drill that you can hold in one hand. It makes those
old-style hammer drills look like toys.

The Hilti TE-76-ATC that Rick rented is based on the SDS Max system, the
'big brother' to SDS+, so it's no wonder those ground rods went right
in.


--

73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

" None of those drills is suitable for driving ground rods. They are all
regular electric drills, with a conventional 3-jaw chuck and a lightweight
hammer action that depends on the chuck going round.

For driving ground rods, you need a different kind of 'hammer' drill that
has a separate high-impact hammer action, that can be used *without* the
chuck going round.

The SDS+ system is the Bosch company's patented method to build hand-held
electric drills with a *serious* high-impact hammer action. The system has
been widely licensed to other manufacturers, so all SDS+ drills are
basically the same. They all have a snap-lock chuck (if it has a 3-jaw
chuck, it ain't SDS) that takes a wide range of heavy-duty drill bits and
tools. Most have a shift lever that gives you the choice between rotary
action on its own, hammer action on its own, or both together - all in a
drill that you can hold in one hand. It makes those old-style hammer
drills look like toys.

The Hilti TE-76-ATC that Rick rented is based on the SDS Max system, the
'big brother' to SDS+, so it's no wonder those ground rods went right in.

A compressor and an air chisel do exactly that, and 16mm rod will directly
fit into most chisels.

Jeff

None of those drills is suitable for driving ground rods. They are all
regular electric drills, with a conventional 3-jaw chuck and a
lightweight hammer action that depends on the chuck going round.

For driving ground rods, you need a different kind of 'hammer' drill
that has a separate high-impact hammer action, that can be used
*without* the chuck going round.


My mistake! I googled "hammer drill which was the wrong term, and
device. Instead, I should have used the term "Rotary Hammer" which is
the correct device one would use for driving ground rods. I have used a
Bosch model for many years.... an excellent device for driving copper
clad steel ground rods.... will actually crack and pierce rocks if they
are in the way.

The correct Bosch device can be found at:

http://www.tylertool.com/bosrotham.html


Ed K7AAT

Ed wrote:


None of those drills is suitable for driving ground rods. They are all
regular electric drills, with a conventional 3-jaw chuck and a
lightweight hammer action that depends on the chuck going round.

For driving ground rods, you need a different kind of 'hammer' drill
that has a separate high-impact hammer action, that can be used
*without* the chuck going round.


My mistake! I googled "hammer drill which was the wrong term, and
device. Instead, I should have used the term "Rotary Hammer" which is
the correct device one would use for driving ground rods.

Thank you for finding out the correct American name, Ed.

I have used a
Bosch model for many years.... an excellent device for driving copper
clad steel ground rods.... will actually crack and pierce rocks if they
are in the way.

The correct Bosch device can be found at:

http://www.tylertool.com/bosrotham.html

Yup, those are the ones, and Makita are good too.


--

73 from Ian GM3SEK

In article ,
Ian White GM3SEK wrote:

The SDS+ system is the Bosch company's patented method to build
hand-held electric drills with a *serious* high-impact hammer action.
The system has been widely licensed to other manufacturers, so all SDS+
drills are basically the same. They all have a snap-lock chuck (if it
has a 3-jaw chuck, it ain't SDS) that takes a wide range of heavy-duty
drill bits and tools. Most have a shift lever that gives you the choice
between rotary action on its own, hammer action on its own, or both
together - all in a drill that you can hold in one hand.

Ian-

Local stores carry the SDS+ drills, but I have been unable to locate a
local source for the 1/2 inch nut driver (socket adapter) to use with it.

I did find a Hitachi part number. A Hitachi dealer called the company
to see about ordering one. Hitachi agreed it was a good number, but
they didn't have any and didn't know how to get them!

There is a company in the UK called ScrewFix.com that advertises them.
However, I don't know how to handle the conversion between dollars and
pounds when paying. I wonder if the credit card company can take care
of that automatically?

Fred
K4DII