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Eugene
Sep 20, 2008, 12:34 AM
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Registered: Aug 27, 2008
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shockabuku wrote: Buy a hammer drill. Go to cliff. Bring home rocks. Grind flat on sidewalk. Drill holes (through and counter-sink). Bolt on. Climb. Texas limestone works well since it's relatively soft.
Can I do this? I found these cool rocks that would make great holds but I didn't know if there was a drill powerful enough to make a hole in it. Can you rent hammer drills from home depot?
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imcd
Sep 20, 2008, 12:42 AM
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Registered: Nov 25, 2003
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yes you could rent a drill for this. make sure you drill the larger hole first. also make sure the rock secure before drilling. finally, be very careful with these kind of holds, they are cool, but some tend to break while your climbing on them, then fall on your head(ouch!)
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sungam
Sep 20, 2008, 12:46 AM
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They also gunk out faster then climbing holds, specially if you use soft limestone.
And the sure do break. The problem is the bolt doesn't... it just stays where it is, stickin' right out...
Almost broke my hand from that.
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shockabuku
Sep 20, 2008, 12:55 AM
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Registered: May 20, 2006
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sungam wrote: They also gunk out faster then climbing holds, specially if you use soft limestone. And the sure do break. The problem is the bolt doesn't... it just stays where it is, stickin' right out... Almost broke my hand from that.
imcd wrote: but some tend to break while your climbing on them, then fall on your head(ouch!)
u guyz iz t20 STRONG!!!!
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sungam
Sep 20, 2008, 1:01 AM
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Registered: Jun 24, 2004
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shockabuku wrote: sungam wrote: They also gunk out faster then climbing holds, specially if you use soft limestone. And the sure do break. The problem is the bolt doesn't... it just stays where it is, stickin' right out... Almost broke my hand from that. imcd wrote: but some tend to break while your climbing on them, then fall on your head(ouch!) u guyz iz t20 STRONG!!!!
Landed hard on my side (arms still out) from around 7 feet. ouch.
Got to keep the hold, though.
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shockabuku
Sep 20, 2008, 3:34 AM
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Registered: May 20, 2006
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sungam wrote: shockabuku wrote: sungam wrote: They also gunk out faster then climbing holds, specially if you use soft limestone. And the sure do break. The problem is the bolt doesn't... it just stays where it is, stickin' right out... Almost broke my hand from that. imcd wrote: but some tend to break while your climbing on them, then fall on your head(ouch!) u guyz iz t20 STRONG!!!! Having said that I did snap a big fat jug at the wall doing the human flag the other day. Landed hard on my side (arms still out) from around 7 feet. ouch. Got to keep the hold, though.
Gym epic! Whoo hoo! Souvenirs!!
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cragmasterp
Sep 20, 2008, 3:55 AM
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Registered: Feb 2, 2003
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big flat river cobbles work great for this. my favorites are quartzy sandstone, with a nice gritty texture. if you drill from the back side then sometimes the hole will blow out on the front, making a nice counter sink.
you will need a real hammer drill, 24 volt minimum. and good carbide tip bits. this is where the expense comes in.
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hipclimber
Sep 20, 2008, 4:21 AM
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Registered: Jun 11, 2007
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I have tried making holds using a hammer drilll and a drill bit for cement.
The holds have always seemed to break on me either (a) while drilling and (b) while on the wall.
There must be a good way to make these rocks work.
I drilled in to sandstone with a regular drill and it went through like butter. I even sanded down the back side so that it was perfectly flat. I thought I had found the answer, only for it to break when I tightened the T-nut!!!
I think someone should keep posting the results. There must be a functional process which will make this work. My next experiment will be using a mini drill bit to drill a pilot first in hopes to put less pressure on the rock.
Wish me luck.
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shockabuku
Sep 20, 2008, 4:39 AM
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Registered: May 20, 2006
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hipclimber wrote: I have tried making holds using a hammer drilll and a drill bit for cement. The holds have always seemed to break on me either (a) while drilling and (b) while on the wall. There must be a good way to make these rocks work. I drilled in to sandstone with a regular drill and it went through like butter. I even sanded down the back side so that it was perfectly flat. I thought I had found the answer, only for it to break when I tightened the T-nut!!! I think someone should keep posting the results. There must be a functional process which will make this work. My next experiment will be using a mini drill bit to drill a pilot first in hopes to put less pressure on the rock. Wish me luck.
I would imagine that most sandstone, unless it's really thick, isn't strong enough to withstand the rather concentrated load put on it around the bolt.
Sometimes they do break, especially when drilling hard, brittle rock or if you don't have the right kind of bolt and right size countersink.
Mostly when I did it I used limestone that was relatively soft (like compared to granite) yet strong enough to hold. I used a ?3/4" or 7/8" bit to counter-sink the bolt hole and used bolts with a beveled head that, somewhat surprisingly to me, are made at the same angle as the drill bit tip to prevent applying the force over a small area. Also, I used some oil to lubricate the tip of the drill - not sure if it helped the drilling but I think it may have preserved the drill bit somewhat. Get a good bit; the chrome looking ones are generally crap. Don't overtighten.
Flat surface on the backside is important along with the bolt hole perpendicular to that flat surface. Put the rock on a piece of 2x12 or something so that you can drill straigh through it.
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