Low clearance drilling

Maybe get a small cordless drill in there and drill a 1/8" pilot hole up to the top; then drill down with the 1" bore.

Jim

I have a right angle attachment that screws onto a 3/8 drill, but not a purpose built r/a drill. The attachment was a lot cheaper than a pupose built drill.

I don't think that the attachment would work with your clearance issues, especially when one considers the length of the bit required to drill.

I'd take a hard look at drilling down from above.

Measure the heck out of the upper and under arrangement, then drll down with a small diameter (less than 1/4 inch) bit for a pilot hole.

Use a wire coat hanger painted yellow or white down though the pilot hole to see where you come out. Adjust your upper drill entry point with reference to the pilot hole and drill down with your 1 inch bit to ce out where you want in the 2 x 4.

I think your clearances are such that you are going to be stuck with coming in from above.

Hi Jim- That's sort of my last resort, as I'd like to avoid cutting and repairing the drywall if I could. But yeah, if I run out of options I'll just cut a big enough hole out and drill down from upstairs.

Rent a right-angle drill for the project. A few, easy measurements should reveal whether or not the rental drill/bit will fit in the confined space. Good luck.

Just cut out the beam! :-)

No, seriously,... You should still be able to do it if the beam is directly under the spot. A drill with a one inch bit started at the side of the 2x4 closest to you will come out of a 2x4 roughly in the middle when it exits the wood. Unless you have a

If for some reason this just won't work, then get a flexible shaft for your drill and use that with a very short bit. Don't let the bit come out of the flex shaft and you will be fine.

I had a job to drill holes for cables at the end of 2x8 joists, which gives

My short 1" drill bit will go all the way through anything that is not longer than the flexible shaft. I have never had to shift to a longer bit to complete the job. The flex shaft becomes the drill bit. As long as you keep pushing, it will keep going.

Yes, this is exactly what I'm dealing with. A load bearing beam in my cellar, with 2x8s in top of it, and a floor on top of that. I'm trying to get up the wall to run all my wires between my plasma, new outlet and basement. I want the hole to be big enough to run a VGA connector through, as my grand scheme involves being able to view my server on the tv. Of course, if I drop the requirement for the VGA, I can use my really long 1" drill bit and maybe fit my drill into the hole that I created for the outlet and drill downward.

I was able to drill a hole in a tight area by using an air ratchet. Find the socket that is the right size for your hole saw arbor and put it on your air ratchet. The air ratchet and socket only add about 1

In that case get one of these at any hardware store and drill at a slight angle

Instead of drilling one large hole, I would drill 2 or 3 smaller holes (Maybe 5/8" or 3/4") close together and drill them out to make a slot. I encounter this problem from time to time. If you can get a good idea where the wall is from below, You can set the drill bit a little further back and drill at an angle. When the bit finally pentrates at the other end it should be inside of the wall cavity. I normally use a self feeding nail eating auger bit at low speed.

whats the OPs project?

if its to install say a switch, use a electricians drill bit, with a extension they can go a long ways.

or cut a outlet box size hole in wall, use electricians bit to go down, and do whatever you need.

then install a outlet if it could be useful. I added a couple here for this reason that get used a LOT.

or just put in a box and blank plate, no drywall repair needed.

did that once too, it saved time

If he was just going to pull a 14/2 Romex through I would have suggested cutting the hole in the wall and drill down with a long flexible bit. However he wants to pull a VGA plug into the wall which requires a much bigger opening.

An auger bit which terminates in a hexagonal shaft as do most of the ones used by plumbes and electricians, or a multispur bit. Drive the bit by hand with a socket wrench.

MUCH SNIPPED

Actually, thinking about this more, it does not require a bigger hole.

Take honking long cable with VGA plugs.

Cut off one end of cable, with plug and about 6 inches of cable attached to plug.

Drill mall diamter hole

Pull cable putting cut end of cale ito hole.

After pulling cable, get a VGA plg (Fry's, Rat Shack, etc) and solder new plug onto cable end. You have the cut off cable nd and old VGA plug to use as a "pattern" so that you get orect wire color onto correct pin in VGA socket.

I've re dne VGA plugs on mnitor cables in precisely this way before. It ain't rocket science.

A right-angle attachment is what you need. Woodcraft has a heavy-duty model for about $22 and I'm sure you can find smaller ones elsewhere, probably for less. This attachment can come in handy for other future jobs.

What size hole do you need? .45 or .38 by any chance? I've done it ;)

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

What part of the OP's message didn't you understand when he said he needed to drill a 1" hole?

More importantly, what part of the OPs series messages didn't you read?

The OP is trying to pass a VGA connector device down the hole.

Thats like insisting that a hole for 14/2 romex pass the wiring device, i.e. the receptical or switch. Foolish, at best.

The real solution is to drill a much smaller diameter hole, pass VGA cable ( 9 condictor, IIRC) and then solder the VGA connectors onto the cable after the cable is run between floors.

Duuuh.