At Home In The Woods

[radioman]

When I was adding furring strips to stucco on my old house, I would be using 2 bits for whole house. I would go slow as heat is what kills these bits, and sharpen the flutes as needed. Normally, I would sharpen the flutes every night after drilling on my belt sander as it was the only thing I had at the time since I would only work couple hours a night.

 

[clemsonfor]

I have started installing the shutters on the stone. Installing each shutter requires drilling holes for 6 fasteners. I need to drill 24 holes total for the 4 dining room shutters. Unlike the brick, the stone is very uneven so the mortar joints are unevenly placed. Some of the mortar recedes deep into the joints between the stones such that the plastic pins would be too short. Thus, installing the shutter fastener pins in the mortar joints didn't seem to work very well. In consequence, I decided to drill holes directly into the stone.

I quickly wore out my two drill bits on the first hole. My wife went to the nearby True Value store and bought some carbide covered drill bits. I was able to drill three holes with one of those bits. The drill bit would get very hot so I would frequently dip it in some water to cool it off. We saw our tile installer do this when he drilled holes in the tile that he installed inside the house. He said it makes the bits last longer.

Since the new drill bit only lasted for 3 holes, we went to Lowes to see if they had a diamond tipped bit but they didn't have one. We bought from Lowes some more carbide tipped bits that were a different brand than the True Value bits. I'll try the Lowes bits to see if they last any longer that the bits we bought at True Value. If not, I guess I'll just have to burn up a bunch of bits. The bits from Lowes were about $6 per bit. If each bit lasts for 3 holes, I'll need 8 bits for $48 plus tax for 2 windows. That adds up quickly.

I would try ebay or amazon if you need that many, may or may not be cheaper, but have found Lowes to be way overpriced on many items.

 

[clemsonfor]

Id do like brin says and just screw through the shutters where you can. I too as you can tell from my above post thought $50 for bits a bit excessive for 2 shutters.

 

[Danno1]

Jeez, I have been reading this thread for more than 2 1/2 years!

I was thinking the same thing myself. Maybe more like 3 !


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[Obed]

Our 20 year old cat finally died last night/this morning. We are very sad.

This is the same cat that survived after I accidentally poisoned her 2 years ago.

 

[brin]

Sad to hear Obed....a part of the family...I have been through it too, it will hurt for awhile and you will never forget them...Another cat will help some...at least it has for me with both cats and dogs...

 

[ENG18LT]

Sorry about losing your pet. We had to put down or dog a few years back due to kidney disease, it is tough.

 

[Diamondpilot]

She's 2 1/2.

It goes quick. I have one daughter nearly 8 years old and another just 5 weeks. Seems like they were both born just yesterday.

Chris

 

[Obed]

This morning before work we held a funeral service with my wife, daughter, and myself. We read Ecclesiastes then thanked God for the 20 wonderful years we enjoyed with our cat.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Tonight, we buried our cat. Our little girl was included in all of it; she saw me cover our cat with dirt. I believe it is good for children to understand what life is about.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Sorry to hear about the cat. I have a few buried on my property also along with 2 dogs. Its tough but it always brings a smile to my face when I am mowing or weed eating around the grave markers thinking of all the funny things them "stupid" critters did.

Chris