Tool for digging grooves in walls

[Robert Irwin]

Need some kit for making a better appearance to my cabling work, I'm after kit for digging grooves into walls so I can bury a couple of power cables in the walls before being plastered over again. Having trawled various DIT sites I've come across horrifically expensive 'wall chasers'. Are these the best bits of kit for the job, and anyone know good soures of them? Or for a shallowish groove in wall is an angle grinder okay? Also wondering if anyone know of tools for digging holes to fit flush-mounted sockets out easily, or is it just a case of whacking away at it with a lump hammer and chisel?

[Bob Minchin]

Angle grinder will do the job neatly and quickly BUT will make clouds of fine dust over everything and the rest of the house. Chain drilling with a masonry drill and follow up with a bolster will take longer thna the angle grinder but a lot quicker and easier than hammer and bolster alone.

Bob

[Set Square]

Screwfix sell a variety of attachments for making channels for cables and cutting box holes - all of which require an SDS drill with rotation stop. The box hole cutter is expensive and apparently makes a *lot* of dust. Many say that an SDS chisel is almost as good, with less dust.

Angle grinders also make a lot of dust. A channel cutter is probably better and neater - and not fantastically expensive.

I've already got an SDS drill and chisel. I think that I were doing a lot of wiring, I would invest in a channel cutter but not bother with the box hole cutter.

[Andrew Mawson]

SDS channeling chisel:

?_dyncharset=UTF-8&q=&n=d16724&pn=1&pd=1&pi=1&cn=1&cd=1&x=0&y=0SDS socket sinker:

?_dyncharset=UTF-8&q=&n=d74206&pn=1&pd=1&pi=1&cn=1&cd=1&x=7&y=17Happy Christmas !

Andrew Mawson

[Robert Irwin]

?_dyncharset=UTF-8&q=&n=d16724&pn=1&pd=1&pi=1&cn=1&cd=1&x=0&y=0>> SDS socket sinker:

?_dyncharset=UTF-8&q=&n=d74206&pn=1&pd=1&pi=1&cn=1&cd=1&x=7&y=17>> Happy Christmas !

Thanks chaps

Its a new house where everything is being gutted anyway, so dust isn't a big worry. Will probably go for the SDS drill as it looks safest (!) and I can probably use it for other jobs too.

As a matter of interest, is it worth putting some sort of trunking in the groove before putting cable in, or can I get away with just slapping plaster over it?

Sorry - I'm a newbie to all this (1st 'proper' house...)

Cheers and merry Chrimbo

Robert

[Peter Taylor]

Robert Irwin wrote

As it's a new house maybe the walls are built of Thermalite or Celcon blocks. If so they're so soft you can almost do it with your finger nails. I'd have a go with a hammer & chisel first before buying expensive gear.

Peter

[Gary]

Robert Irwin scribbled :

Use capping which is specifically used to cover cables. Its just nailed over the top of the cables and comes either as metal or plastic, plastic is much easier for cutting and fixing.

[Robert Irwin]

Ah no - the house is new to me, not a new house. Its a 50s ex-council job and the walls are VERY solid - mainly solid brick (don't know exact type TBH) or stone in places.

[Dave Stanton]

Thats answered my question, I was wondering why you were rewiring a new house !!

Dave

[Michael McNeil]

It's unlikely to have engineering brick so you should still be able to manage with a 3" boulster and a 16 oz hammer. I would steer clear of a

4" boulster and lump hammer if I was a newbie -and knew enough to realise that a little and often is the best MO chasing anything.

You need to go deep enough to bury the wire and -when patching the plaster, cover the tin protector. An house that old may have enough cement rendering under the plaster to save you chasing into the brickwork.

Whatever, it would be a cold day in hell before I shelled out 20 to 40 quid or more on sds tools just for the one job.

[Alan]

In message , Michael McNeil wrote

If it's going to be done by hand a chasing comb and with lump hammer would be more suitable.

[Set Square]

Metal capping is much safer - because it makes it much harder to drill into the cable by accident! Metal can be cut fairly easily with tip snips - and held in place with galvanised felt nails prior to plastering over it. [Even if the walls are brick, you can usually nail into the mortar courses without too much difficulty].

Metal capping comes in various widths for different cable sizes. One of the most popular sizes takes two 2.5mm^2 T&W cables side by side for ring main wiring. You might find that you have to go to a proper electrical wholesaler to get metal capping - many of the DIY sheds only seem to stock the plastic rubbish these days.

[Rick Dipper]

Wall Chaser, 22.50 a day from the hire shop.

For the sockets you can get a special bit (screwfix) to put into your SDS. Never tried one though.

Rick

[Harry Bloomfield]

On 25/12/2003 "Robert Irwin" opined:-

A grinderette fitted with a stone cutting disk will cut a channel in masonary, cutting a series of slots. For boxes, simply drill lots of holes with a masonary bit/hammer drill where you need to fit the box. Then expand with a lump hammer and chisel hitting sideways, rather than straight at the wall.

The danger with thumping at right angles, is that you might well knock bricks right through the wall.

[Michael Mcneil]

A 4" boulster and a lump hammer is all you need. About 5 or 10 quid in the local market. However if you have never used a lump hammer you might find a lighter one a lot easier to use.

If it took half an hour to hack out for each point and you wanted say three each in (how many rooms do council houses have?) that would take you less than a day. But you would be wielding an unusual weight for most of that day.

That was all I was trying to point out.

[Steve]

Yes, given the cuttin speed, these things are WELL worth it - I did all the channels in a substantial house in a day. Very clean process, all things considered.

Steve

[Andrew Mawson]

multiple chain holes are well worth the pound or two that they cost. I've cut perhap 100 wall box holes in various houses over the years using a bolster chisel and lump hammer, but recently got one of the jigs and find them excellent.

Andrew Mawson

[Andy Dingley]

SDS drill (rotary stop) and a cable channel chisel does a great job. Lots of dust, but quick and a neat channel.

Chasing machine is slower, neat, and so long as you use vacuum, it's clean.

Angle grinders are slow, messy and untidy.

-- Klein bottle for rent. Apply within.

[ARWadsworth]

Most SDS drills will go straight through metal capping without you knowing it is there and I believe it should be earthed to meet the regs.

-- Adam

adamwadsworth@(REMOVETHIS)blueyonder.co.uk

[PoP]

Wall chasers appear to have come down in price in the recent past. I was looking at them a few months back and they seemed to be priced well over £300.

£150 it brings it into the league of being affordable if you are doing any serious wall chasing, but not as an everyday occurrence. Plus it has a dust extract which could make it quite clean to use.

Alternatively you could go for the drill attachment and bit:

?id=19269&ts=23761Under £30, but I rather expect you will get the dust to go with it.

PoP

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