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Digging in North / Central Texas

Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
Does anyone have any tool tips they could share when digging into rock? Some areas of North and Central Texas have that white colored rock that will chip and shale away and it's a pain in the ass to dig post holes using a post hole digger and concrete break pole. I'm not big on using the auger because it doesn't really help that much. Any tips to digging in that stuff?

BTW.. I don't know what's worse.. The rock, or the black tar clay when it's soaking wet and sticks to everything... The soils around here suck.
 
MikePatterson

MikePatterson

Head bathroom cleaner.
caliche soil is a PITA. I use a demo hammer a lot of times. (MINI Jackhammer). I did make an extended chisel bit from a whore out bit. I can bust it up to 30 inches deep, plenty for post and panel.
 
chester215

chester215

Just call me Chester.
We have about 15 jackhammers for the drivers when the ground is frozen solid in the winter. (not this year)
We either have a 2000-4000 w gas generator on the truck or a power inverter hooked up to a deep cycle battery and also the vehicle battery for charging.

Amazon has cheap demo hammers for around $125.
Link
I Am not recommending this one in particular, just an example.

I do recommend this generator. It gets as cheap as $249.
Link
 
2B

2B

Active Member
correct,
caliche and/or shelf rocks are a PITA!!!
we currently use a combo of tools
* electric demo jackhammer, we then fabricated long neck bits to get deeper
* A 2-man gas auger
Have been looking at a mini-skid steer to help reduce manual labor.


It is called "black gumbo" or "gumbo", depends on what part of TX, and yes once it gets wet you are done.
have seen/been stuck too many times to count even in 4x4
the bad part is the surface will look dry and have cracks in it, go walking or driving onto it and you will INSTANTLY regret your actions
 
Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
2B said:
correct,
caliche and/or shelf rocks are a PITA!!!
we currently use a combo of tools
* electric demo jackhammer, we then fabricated long neck bits to get deeper
* 2 man gas auger
Have been looking at a mini-skid steer to help reduce manual labor.


It is called "black gumbo" or "gumbo", depends on what part of TX, and yes once it gets wet you are done.
have seen / been stuck too many times to count even in 4x4
Click to expand...

Interesting about the little jackhammers... I will look into those!

I can't stand the black gumbo ... That is the stickiest shit I've ever seen. Each time I was pulling the shovel out I was having to scrape off the goop with a screw driver while I was sinking and walking around with 20 lbs of goop stuck to each shoe. IN THE RAIN about 1 week after I bought my new truck... It was not a good day. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to clean everything .

DFW is new to me... I was in East Texas for 10 years where we have "Tyler Sand". I could dig a 30" hole with post hole diggers in about 2 minutes and not break a sweat.

I have an SDS drill. Is that comparable to an electric jackhammer or is that pissing in the wind?
 
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Moze

Moze

Precision Sign Services
SDS plus is too small. You'll want SDS Max with a clay spade for the "dirt" and a chisel bit for the rock.

Below is what I use if I only have a couple of holes, otherwise I rent a tow-behind auger. i still bring the demo hammer and bits though in case I hit rock that won't give in to the auger.

20170525_203831.jpg
20170531_141233.jpg
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20181210_085904_HDR.jpg
 
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Moze

Moze

Precision Sign Services
2B said:
Moze
good choice for staying "hydrated"
prefer the original or black label



for the demo jackhammer, we use
* https://www.amazon.com/XtremepowerU...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

for the generator
* https://www.amazon.com/WEN-56475-4750-Watt-Generator-Compliant/dp/B00IUKKMDC/ref=sr_1_13?crid=2ZEPHZX6QC09M&keywords=gas+generators+portable+quiet&qid=1581373217&refinements=p_72:2661618011&rnid=2661617011&sprefix=gas+generator,aps,200&sr=8-13&th=1
Click to expand...

My wife liked that Cream Ale, unfortunately they stopped making it. Agreed on the original, it's good stuff!

I had a Bosch jackhammer and didn't like lugging the generator (and cord) around....and frankly the weight of the tool can be pretty tiring. The Flexvolt DeWalt works really well and it's comparatively light. I can easily dig a 12" x 24" ± hole or two on one battery.
 
Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

New Member
Well, if nothing else, at least I have one reason to be thankful that I live in Illinois. The worst problems we encounter here is clay loam, tree roots, and maybe an occasional buried brick.
 
N

netsol

Active Member
"mini" jackhammer?
go with a full size one
i keep one, and a weka drill in my garage (the neighbors all know where to come when they want to borrow)

always better to have a little more power than you need...
 
Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
Moze said:
SDS plus is too small. You'll want SDS Max with a clay spade for the "dirt" and a chisel bit for the rock.
Click to expand...

I have the DeWalt SDS Max but not with that 60v battery. I like the attachment on yours, mine is just a chisel. I will give that a shot on the next hole I gotta dig.
 
Moze

Moze

Precision Sign Services
Texas_Signmaker said:
I have the DeWalt SDS Max but not with that 60v battery. I like the attachment on yours, mine is just a chisel. I will give that a shot on the next hole I gotta dig.
Click to expand...

You won't be digging any holes with an SDS Plus (too weak and no attachments). You'll need to move up to an SDS Max or hex shank.
 
TopFliteGraphics

TopFliteGraphics

New Member
chester215 said:
We have about 15 jackhammers for the drivers when the ground is frozen solid in the winter. (not this year)
We either have a 2000-4000 w gas generator on the truck or a power inverter hooked up to a deep cycle battery and also the vehicle battery for charging.

Amazon has cheap demo hammers for around $125.
Link
I Am not recommending this one in particular, just an example.

I do recommend this generator. It gets as cheap as $249.
Link
Click to expand...

We use that demo hammer whenever we have to go down to Homestead or Florida City along with a generator in the truck bed. The ground down there is pretty much like concrete. As a matter of fact, there are several quarries where they dig up the rock, crush it, and use it in concrete.

First few times I installed signs down there using a breaker bar and posthole diggers (1) 24" deep hole took me well over an hour. I actually gave up installing down there but my biggest customer basically begged me to take up the work again as they could not find anyone reliable in that area. We currently drive 150 miles EACH WAY for them whenever they have something to install down there. I could not dream of doing so without that demo hammer. The ground is so bad, we bought Razorback Post Hole digger at Home Depot with the lifetime guarantee. I believe we are on at least our 10th one now, having only bought two or three :)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Razor-Back-48-in-Fiberglass-Handle-Post-Hole-Digger-78006/100163896
 
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