Thread: High Speed Drill

The guys who do it over here to innoculate against dieback just use regular cordless drills, this one even looks like one of the cheapy firestorm ones.

According to my imperfect understanding, "high speed" is with reference to hand drilling, not really HIGH speed. Such really high speed in hardwood would likely burnish the hole sides, and impede the transfer of the inoculation.

Joe

I'd hate to see what whould happen when a 10,000rpm hand held drill grabs! Ouch!
Also you would burn your way thru not bore.

A decent cordless and a sharp auger would do the trick.

You could use a laminate trimmer or other small 1/4" router (which'll get you the speed) with a down cut spiral cutter like this one http://www.apworkshop.com.au/html_ro...-sb-ttslw.html Be a damn sight quicker than a drill

Joe is correct.
How many trees to do? Perhaps an old fashioned hand auger would do. Failing that an auger bit for an electric dill and use slow speed with High Torque.

Thanks for your help everyone. I do agree - the 10,000 rpms would be difficult to control.
I have about 10,000 logs to do and each will need to have about 50 holes each. I don't think a hand auger is an option!!

What dia. holes are required?

Originally Posted by robri

Thanks for your help everyone. I do agree - the 10,000 rpms would be difficult to control.
I have about 10,000 logs to do and each will need to have about 50 holes each. I don't think a hand auger is an option!!

May I suggest a Drillfest? A little like a "turnfest." You provide the beer. Potluck for snacks.

Even that would be a bit much for 500,000 holes. At 1 minute per hole, I calculate 1040 man-days at 8 hrs per day. Depending on staffing, the last logs could rot before they could be inoculated. Is there no other way?

[You're pulling our legs about the quantity, ain'tcha?]

Joe

sugest panasonic cordless and are you looking for workers

Yes - I am accurate - there is about 50 holes per log, the slog will have to be about a metre long and about 6 inches dia. The dowel will be about 10 mm so I will need a quick auger bi. The hole depth will need to be about 30 mm deep.
A productive Shiitake farm needs about 10,000 logs to be economical. With Joe's figures it will take a couple of years to get that number. Each log has a productive lifespan of about 4-5 years before it becomes just firewood. Maybe I should start with 2,500 logs to begin with and build up.
I have seen an estimate of about 8 minutes per log - 2,500 means 8x40 hour weeks to finish. That is why I was thinking of drilling in a gang of 2 or 3 drills.
And yes Fubar I will need help!!

What about something like this - http://www.gmcompany.com/download/pr...850_Manual.pdf

Straight away it halves the time per hole.

Like the idea of o drill fest!

How would spade bits go?

OK, Rob. I misunderstood the problem a bit. When I asked "Is there no other way?" I thought the objective was inoculation. In fact, you're building a mushroom farm, right? It has just dawned on me that either way, with the quantity you're after, a gang drilling machine could be a good investment. These machines are used on engine blocks, for example, and are the principle application of left-hand drill bits. With alternate drills spinning anti-clockwise, there's no need for idler gears between the drivers, and the holes can be closer together. Properly arranged with extra idlers, a single motor can run the whole thing. I suspect that in a town as large as Melbourne there'd be knowledgeable machinists or (mechanical engineers) / (machine designers) to steer you better than I can.

Artme, there's no reason why spade bits couldn't be sharpened to left-hand cut, and used in a gang driller like I described. (within the extent of my imperfect understanding, of course.)

Joe

Originally Posted by robri

Yes - I am accurate - there is about 50 holes per log, the slog will have to be about a metre long and about 6 inches dia. The dowel will be about 10 mm so I will need a quick auger bi. The hole depth will need to be about 30 mm deep.
A productive Shiitake farm needs about 10,000 logs to be economical. With Joe's figures it will take a couple of years to get that number. Each log has a productive lifespan of about 4-5 years before it becomes just firewood. Maybe I should start with 2,500 logs to begin with and build up.
I have seen an estimate of about 8 minutes per log - 2,500 means 8x40 hour weeks to finish. That is why I was thinking of drilling in a gang of 2 or 3 drills.
And yes Fubar I will need help!!

looks like I'm about a week late to this one, but for the record here's my thoughts

10,000 logs at 50 holes each = 500,000 holes

say you get 200 holes per battery charge and it takes about 10 seconds to drill each hole (= 6 holes / minute) — a battery will last about 35 minutes
if you want to spend 8 hours drilling holes each day, you'll need about 12 batteries AND 12 chargers

I don't know about you but 12 batteries are a hell of a lot to lug to and from the site each day

yes, different drill/battery combos might get more holes per charge and hence require less batteries for a day's work, but the basic point is to show that this is a job for 240V or, if you're working in the wet, AIR

I'm going to suggest that drill speed is less important than drill torque and the type of bit you use

I'd be talking to the tech guys from Makita, Metabo, Hitachi and Bosch about your need and which drill they recommend for near continuous use — I calculate that your drill will be running for at least 55 minutes each hour, 8 hours per day, 5 to 6 days a week — a duty cycle that might require that you use an electric screw driver with hex shank bits or more than one drill

I'd also hang the drill off an overhead beam so I only had to direct where it goes not support it's weight as well

I'd also experiment with different types of drill bit and learn how to sharpen them
The job you're contemplating is not one for cheap drill bits
despite the expense it would be worth trying carbide tipped (or solid carbide) dowelling bits
but you might find that a box of 100 10mm P&N twist bits reground for wood will see you get you through Monday to Friday lunch time, with Friday arvo set aside for sharpening


May I also suggest that you don't want to drill 10,000 logs in one hit
If each log will last 4 to 5 years, you want a system where you're installing 2,000 to 2,500 logs per year, or 150 to 200 logs per month — a much more manageable quantity
(If you do 10,000 in one hit, you'll have to replace all 10,000 in one hit in 4 to 5 years)


lastly, your system of work will have a VERY large influence on how long the task takes.
I figure it's a minimum two person operation
Person A places log 1 in a holding frame
Person B drills the holes in log 1, while Person A places a second log in a separate holding frame
Person A inoculates log 1 and replaces it with log 3 while Person 2 drills log 2
repeat
If drilling the holes takes less time than inoculation and log exchanging, then you'll need additional log handlers


ian