Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer" drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.

He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One baseball cap.

I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

Well, Virgin, many moons ago put my cable in first drilling a smaller hole
with longer and longer drills, then one very long big one through the wall.
After the cable came in they seemed to fill up the rather jagged hole with
some kind of sealant or foam and then sliced it off to the wall.
I never saw any protective clothing, he said the speed was slow so nothing
bad could happen... I thought, yes, until one day it does"!
Brian

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"Nick Odell" <nickodell@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:de27e1eb-31ad-4c4c-a777-2c5bedb36e81n@googlegroups.com...
Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer"
drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.

He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I estimate
was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place and flexing
alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One baseball cap.

I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different way to
avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the day, I was
taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so that the really long
ones were suported by the hole they were drilling. Please don't tell me that
doing it this way is considered okay nowadays? In a public space? With
people (me) walking by?

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
> Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer" drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
>
> He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One baseball cap.
>
> I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?
>
> Nick
> nickodell49@yahoo.ca

Never had a problem with a snapped drill

--
The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to
rule.
– H. L. Mencken, American journalist, 1880-1956

On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10:00:20 AM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
> > Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer" drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
> >
> > He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One baseball cap.
> >
> > I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?
> >
> > Nick
> > nicko...@yahoo.ca
> Never had a problem with a snapped drill
>
Yes, but have you ever waved a thin and flexible 700mm long bit around on the end of an electric drill rotating at -say- 800RPM?

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
> Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer"
> drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
>
> He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I
> estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place
> and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One
> baseball cap.

700 seems an odd length - 400 or perhaps 600 being more common. Was this
a SDS bit or a normal one?

The longest "thin" SDS I have is a 400mm long 8 mm drill. That is easy
enough to start a hole with...

> I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different
> way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the
> day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so
> that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were
> drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered
> okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?

Can't see there being much risk on a 400mm bit - a 1m one would be
easier to start with a shorter one.

I do recall seeing someone trying to drill a 2" core into a concrete
wall of a multi-storey car park. The hole was very low down on the wall,
close to the floor. He was sitting on the floor in a position that
suggested that if the core were to snag, the drill handle was going to
hit him right in the nuts!

--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10:39:56 AM UTC, John Rumm wrote:
> On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
> > Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer"
> > drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
> >
> > He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I
> > estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place
> > and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One
> > baseball cap.
> 700 seems an odd length - 400 or perhaps 600 being more common. Was this
> a SDS bit or a normal one?
>

I don't know the answer to either question. Woodworking drills are more my style and I was just walking by! Measuring it out on my desk, it can't have been less than 500mm and it certainly flexed a lot.

> The longest "thin" SDS I have is a 400mm long 8 mm drill. That is easy
> enough to start a hole with...
> > I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different
> > way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the
> > day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so
> > that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were
> > drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered
> > okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?
> Can't see there being much risk on a 400mm bit - a 1m one would be
> easier to start with a shorter one.
>
> I do recall seeing someone trying to drill a 2" core into a concrete
> wall of a multi-storey car park. The hole was very low down on the wall,
> close to the floor. He was sitting on the floor in a position that
> suggested that if the core were to snag, the drill handle was going to
> hit him right in the nuts!
>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEU7ocjEza0

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On 24/07/2023 11:33, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10:00:20 AM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
>>> Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer" drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
>>>
>>> He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One baseball cap.
>>>
>>> I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?
>>>
>>> Nick
>>> nicko...@yahoo.ca
>> Never had a problem with a snapped drill
>>
> Yes, but have you ever waved a thin and flexible 700mm long bit around on the end of an electric drill rotating at -say- 800RPM?
>
> Nick
> nickodell49@yahoo.ca
Ive done worse than that with an AMCO 35 diesel engine. Ripped my
fingers to shreds when starting.

But surely even you wouldn't be stupid enough to have a long and
flexible drill not actually in contact with the stonework before you
pressed go...

--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

On 24/07/2023 11:39, John Rumm wrote:
> On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
>> Walking down my street this morning  I passed a Telephone "Engineer"
>> drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
>>
>> He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I
>> estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place
>> and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One
>> baseball cap.
>
> 700 seems an odd length - 400 or perhaps 600 being more common. Was this
> a SDS bit or a normal one?
>
> The longest "thin" SDS I have is a 400mm long 8 mm drill. That is easy
> enough to start a hole with...
>
>> I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different
>> way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the
>> day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so
>> that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were
>> drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered
>> okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?
>
> Can't see there being much risk on a 400mm bit - a 1m one would be
> easier to start with a shorter one.
>
> I do recall seeing someone trying to drill a 2" core into a concrete
> wall of a multi-storey car park. The hole was very low down on the wall,
> close to the floor. He was sitting on the floor in a position that
> suggested that if the core were to snag, the drill handle was going to
> hit him right in the nuts!

Likely not a problem. The first time I needed to core drill a 5" hole in
my wall, I invested in an SDS drill. My normal drill was perfectly
capable of doing it, but the SDS drill came with a built-in safety
clutch, so that if the bit snagged, it would release and not twist my
wrist off. On snagging, it hardly moves.

On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 1:11:10 PM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 24/07/2023 11:33, Nick Odell wrote:
> > On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10:00:20 AM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> >> On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
> >>> Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer" drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
> >>>
> >>> He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One baseball cap.
> >>>
> >>> I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?
> >>>
> >>> Nick
> >>> nicko...@yahoo.ca
> >> Never had a problem with a snapped drill
> >>
> > Yes, but have you ever waved a thin and flexible 700mm long bit around on the end of an electric drill rotating at -say- 800RPM?
> >
> > Nick
> > nicko...@yahoo.ca
> Ive done worse than that with an AMCO 35 diesel engine. Ripped my
> fingers to shreds when starting.
>
> But surely even you wouldn't be stupid enough to have a long and
> flexible drill not actually in contact with the stonework before you
> pressed go...

Don't ask me how stupid you'd have to be, ask his employer. It's a sub-contractor to CityFibre who, according to the Telegraph yesterday, doubled their losses this year to over GBP200m. (Although to be fair, that's a drop in the ocean to them.)

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On 24/07/2023 14:31, SteveW wrote:
> On 24/07/2023 11:39, John Rumm wrote:
>> On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
>>> Walking down my street this morning  I passed a Telephone "Engineer"
>>> drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
>>>
>>> He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I
>>> estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place
>>> and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One
>>> baseball cap.
>>
>> 700 seems an odd length - 400 or perhaps 600 being more common. Was
>> this a SDS bit or a normal one?
>>
>> The longest "thin" SDS I have is a 400mm long 8 mm drill. That is easy
>> enough to start a hole with...
>>
>>> I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different
>>> way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the
>>> day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so
>>> that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were
>>> drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered
>>> okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?
>>
>> Can't see there being much risk on a 400mm bit - a 1m one would be
>> easier to start with a shorter one.
>>
>> I do recall seeing someone trying to drill a 2" core into a concrete
>> wall of a multi-storey car park. The hole was very low down on the
>> wall, close to the floor. He was sitting on the floor in a position
>> that suggested that if the core were to snag, the drill handle was
>> going to hit him right in the nuts!
>
> Likely not a problem. The first time I needed to core drill a 5" hole in
> my wall, I invested in an SDS drill. My normal drill was perfectly
> capable of doing it, but the SDS drill came with a built-in safety
> clutch, so that if the bit snagged, it would release and not twist my
> wrist off. On snagging, it hardly moves.

He was not using a SDS or a proper core drill - so no guarantee it had a
clutch.

--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

On 24/07/2023 11:33, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10:00:20 AM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 24/07/2023 10:01, Nick Odell wrote:
>>> Walking down my street this morning I passed a Telephone "Engineer" drilling a hole for a cable through a stone wall. So far so good.
>>>
>>> He was just starting the hole and was using a series drill which I estimate was 10mm x 700-ish mm and it was wobbling all over the place and flexing alarmingly along its length. Protective clothing? One baseball cap.
>>>
>>> I don't know the outcome of this exercise: I walked home a different way to avoid possible scenes of carnage and bloodshed. Back in the day, I was taught to use a series of ever-longer series drills so that the really long ones were suported by the hole they were drilling. Please don't tell me that doing it this way is considered okay nowadays? In a public space? With people (me) walking by?
>>>
>>> Nick
>>> nicko...@yahoo.ca
>> Never had a problem with a snapped drill
>>
> Yes, but have you ever waved a thin and flexible 700mm long bit around on the end of an electric drill rotating at -say- 800RPM?

Done that on the top of 3m ladders.