Granite Post.

[5030]

I liked the Hitachi a lot better then the Bosch. It had more power, felt better in my hands and just seemed to work better. For a very long time, I was a huge fan of Bosch. They invented the SDS stuff, and I was going to buy a Bosch SDS Max when the Hitachi died. But when it came to spending the money, I went with Makita and feel it was a good decision. My Bosch tools are failing on me sooner then I would have expected. My big belt sander and 5 inch orbital sander where Bosch, but now I have Makita, which I like a lot better. I'm slowly replacing every other brand that I've bought over the years with Makita. I just don't know of a better brand out there.

The only Makita I have is one of their gas chainsaws and it's a dandy. My Bosch has all kinds of power...too much actually but I don't use it everyday either.

 

[bigtiller]

They make diamond bits that look like flat spade bits for drilling glass and tile. they are too short to go through your post, but will give you a good start from each side, then follow up with a carbide bit. I've used them for drilling through marble...cut like butter!

That's what I would do. Using a SDS rotary hammer will blow the back side of the post out.

 

[robstaples]

Thomas, examples mentioned above for hammer drills were used the split big stones. You haven't said anything about your column except 6 by 6. I've drilled dozens of holes on granite from 1/4"to 4". Diamond drills cut a smooth gentle hole in the material. But they are carbon and will burn up if they get too hot, IE water cooling and it cleans the grit away so the drill engages the granite instead of making friction heat. Hollow core allows the water to keep the bit cool as the hole gets deeper. I've burned up the diamonds not using a flush or submerged method. If you can water jet it with a garden hose and keep withdrawing the bit to cool and clean , it will last through your hole. Hammer drills fracture their way thru the material, which is fab for many jobs.