Large wood / steel hs drill bit with small shank?

[Tony Williams]

The other big neg is that water will squirt everywhere. So wear your bikini. :-)

[T i m]

Well, I suppose that depends on how well the post is stuck in the hole and how well the piston fits it's cylinder ..

So wear your bikini. :-)

That was a 'given' Tony (and not a problem in the sun like today) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

ps Have you done this yourself (hydraulic post removal not bikini wearing) ?

[Cicero]

================== Wood augers can be used in power drills so you don't need to worry too much about the hard labour aspect!

Another possibility would be to use a flat wood bit for which you can buy a

300mm extension bar. Look at Look in drill bits / wood drills - item no. 16769. This item is cheap and and together with the length of a flat bit would probably go all the way for you - provided that you don't lose the bit somewhere in the hole!

Cic.

[Cicero]

============ The 'hydraulic' method is a fairly standard way of extracting metal bushes from car engines / gearboxes but I think it might not work with your gate post because the concrete will have moulded itself to the shape of the wooden post. Still it should be fun trying but don't stand too close when you hit the 'piston' with your sledge hammer as it's likely to shoot back out of the hole like a rocket.

Cic.

[T i m]

Really? I would have thought it would have done it no good?

I was more worried of it snatching as it broke through between the holes?

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

I was thinking that. I would also thinking that I should leave the top of the hole clar to try to let the stump dry out and shrink a bit?

Still it should be fun trying but don't stand too close when

Ooops ;-)

T i m

[Pete C]

Or drill a 15mm hole, glue a length of 15mm copper pipe in and attach it to a hosepipe?

cheers, Pete.

[Cicero]

================ Screwfix sell some short augers. I've used them in my bench drill for several years without mishap.

Cic.

[Ian Stirling]

Seems to work just fine.

It does, badly. An auger is much, much more controllable, even when cutting the wood into swiss-cheese.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember T i m saying something like:

I've used that technique to remove flywheel spigot bushes; I don't see it working on the stump, though.

[T i m]

Just had a look at augers on Screwfix (as Cic suggested) and they seem to have different (chuck) ends compared with my Dad's selection. His have a sort of square 'bulged' bit where they go in the brace (hence why I was unsure re the electric drill thing ..)

Fair point .. I'll try one .. ;-)

Cheers

T i m

[T i m]

Or my pressure washer?

T i m

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember T i m saying something like:

Bugger.

In view of it being on the public footpath, it probably rules this out, but thermite might be just the thing.

[Tony Williams]

In article , T i m wrote: [snip]

No. The thought was from an experience of lifting two large gateposts out of Herefordshire clay, using a car jack and levers. The hydraulic suction was so large that it nearly defeated the job. The saving grace in clay is that the post can be rocked to break the seal.

[Pete C]

Maybe! Depends on how much water might leak out, the flow rates on pressure washers aren't always that great.

If anything a hole through to the bottom of the post would help break any suction that develops under the post when levering out, as mentioned by other posters.

cheers, Pete.

[MBQ]

Can a core drill be used in wood?

Or a set of hole cutters. Go as deep as you can then chisel out the plug and do the same again?

MBQ

[MBQ]

Another thought. How about a "scary sharp" SDS chisel bit?

MBQ

[T i m]

True .. mines a fairly old Kew Hobby .. seems quite punchy?

Good point .. ;-)

All the best ..

Ti m

[T i m]

Hmmm ,, where's the angle grinder .. ;-)

I was 'hoping' for something less energetic. ;-)

The 'problem' with this job is that for a large part of it I'll be working in a 9" square concrete hole and hence the need to try to get away from the ground a bit (excuse the pun).

Off to B&Q to check out some electric drill speed augers ..

T i m