HF brad nailer

[Markem]

One man gas powered auger. Then the post hole digger cleans out the last bit of dirt. Well with a trip to the rental place.

Mark (sixoneeight) = 618

[Doug Miller]

How well those work depend _a lot_ on the type of soil. Here in central Indiana, our soil is mostly clay. Those powered augers work just fine in *dry* clay -- but in *wet* clay, all they do is screw the auger down into the soil. You're better off digging by hand.

[cm]

The post hole diggers I have seem to fit my wife's hands better than mine:-)

cm

[Lew Hodgett]

oils for other pneumatic tools, motor oils, 3-in1, etc., have too much acidity and incorrect viscosity to work over the long haul. (Sure learned that one the hard way!)

Ever try red tranny fluid?

Was told some suppliers packaged it as air tool oil.

Lew

[Lew Hodgett]

Make mine the two (2) man version along with two (2) guys from the day labor pool located on the corner.

Lew

[Nova]

Agreed, for a few holes.

In my area there are a number of contractors with hydraulic augers that mount on a backhoe/mini excavator's boom arm. The going rate is about $10 per hole. The minimum number of holes vary but it's usually between

6 and 10. In my opinion it's worth the expense.

[Steve Turner]

Agreed, or as Jack suggested just rent a backhoe auger. A buddy of mine and I recently drilled eight 24" holes into the dry Austin Texas clay and limestone with a two-man 12" auger. Oh. My. GAWD. I may just be a wimp, but that was the most physically demanding thing I've ever done.

[DejaVoodoo]

Ditto that...I got mine for 10 bucks about 6 years ago also....still works fine. I also have one that came with a small compressor I purchaed but have never had a need to even get it out of the box.

MArk

[Ed Edelenbos]

Thanks guys. I went to the other HF (not quite as local but still less than an hour away) and they had the gun in stock ($20). It is an oiled combo brad/stapler gun. It'll hold up to 2" brads. I brought it home, read the manual and shot a few 1" brads. It's everything I need for now.

Ed

[Leon]

Actually I have used them and prefer the standard manual labor post hole digger. The gas operated ones are no better at detecting under ground cable or pipe. Had I been using one on the last 2 jobs I would have been in a hellofa mess.

[Leon]

Exactly, we have clay, gumbo in Houston and the gas powered tend to get stuck if you are not very careful.

[Leon]

Yup the 2 man augers are just as much work.

[Leon]

Or Peppermint Oil?

[Lew Hodgett]

It's up to you to check with the utilities before you dig.

Lew

[MikeWhy]

I'd been meaning to ask. Aside from the baby ass scent in baby oil, is it OK to use around the shop as a substitute for mineral oil? Also, I had noticed its ability to strip grimed surface dirt off finished furniture. Is this harmful to the finish? (Store bought item; finish unknown, but presumed to be polyurethane.)

[Leon]

I did check with the local utilities. In fact the local water and sewer will only locate up to the meter. From the meter to the house you are on your own. Additionally unless going over 16" deep there is no requirement to request a location. I cut a cable line 6 weeks ago at 12". I paid them to repair the section however they attempted to charge me for a complete

100' replacement. It appears that they were lucky that I reported the cut and paid for the repair at all as I really did not have to call at all and they showed up past the required wait period to mark their line.

[Markem]

Was not my experience YMMV.

Mark (sixoneeight) = 618

[Nova]

The "call before you dig" laws vary by state. In NY there is no > 16" stipulation. The only exception to the law is farming.

There are some places where the transcontinental fiber optic cable that I'm responsible for is at a depth of only 4" deep to cross over other utilities.

[Lew Hodgett]

Don't know about your area, but here in SoCal, the utilities have a collective 800#, listed as "Call before digging", in the local phone book, for underground utilities.

I let my principles make the phone calls, so I'm not up to snuff on the details.

Lew

[Upscale]

Yes, but buy the unscented baby oil which is readily available at most drug stores. In fact it's what I used on my entertainment centre a number of years ago. Minwax gel stain, then the baby oil rubbed in with 0000 steel wool, finished with wiping everything off. Still looks good.