How would you drill a 3" hole 3 Feet deep into a upright tree stump?

[George Farra]

Hello All,

It's been a while since I've been on these boards. I hope everyone is doing well.

A friend of mine has a tree close to his deck which has been lopped down to a very tall stump. The tall stump is still attached to the earth, and most people would create a carving out it.

He wants to turn it into a light fixture and in doing so he needs to bore a 3" hole 3 feet deep into this stump which is in the vertical position. The hole will accept a galvanized pole used to anchor the actual lighted portion to the rest of the stump. The actual lighted portion description is below

The lighted portion will be made using 4" cutoffs (disks) from the stump. The assembly of disks will be about 8-9 feet and will have an led flourescent style bulb in the center. This assembly will be mounted to the stump via the 3" pipe sunk into the hole he is gonna bore.

So.....if you had to drill 3 feet deep into a stump from the top heading to the bottom and the hole is 3" wide.......how would you do it??

Thanks in advance

George

[rudy de haas]

You can rent tools that will do that - but remember that it takes two heavy men to handle those safely and you will need to rent scaffolding too to make something to stand on while working.

[George Farra]

Hi Rudy,

2 strong dudes is doable. He will need to figure out the scafolding part to work safely. Would these tools be similar to a post hole auger but for wood??

Thanks, George

[Malcolm McLeod]

.......how would you do it??

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-SF3001-.../dp/B001GNC8YG

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-EX1012-Straight-Shank-Extension/ x 3 each

https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-167...ords=hole+hawg

Depending on your location, the stump roots will rot fairly quickly. My aunt had a 48"dia pecan stump that lasted ~6 yrs; then we hauled dirt for the next 3yrs trying to fill the root void as it slowly collapsed. To each their own, but I'm not sure how much I'd invest in a relatively short term venture. Be sure to send us a photo, since your friend can invest all he wants!!

[Kevin Goss]

I would think a 3" self feed bit and then 3 12" hole saw extensions. or 2 18" extensions. the self feed bit will eat right through a tree stump. you may need a corded drill or a powerful cordless.

[George Farra]

Thanks guys. I passed along the feedback. I'm interested in seeing what he creates too. He is hoping to have it ready for a party on memorial day weekend. If its done, I will come back with pictures!

George

[Von Bickley]

How does he plan on getting the electrical wire up the pole?

[David Helm]

Just in case nobody throws a damper on the project, stumps are not a good idea near the house. They become the main nest for carpenter ants (satellite nest in the house somewhere) and also harbor termites. Having said that, a ship auger would probably do the job for you. Back when all boats/ships were made out of wood they had to have a way to bolt together keep parts thus, the invention of the ship auger.

[Larry Edgerton]

Strange, I just got a call from a guy that wants a 2" hole 2' deep in the top of a telephone pole. I passed....

[Dan Friedrichs]

Strange, I just got a call from a guy that wants a 2" hole 2' deep in the top of a telephone pole. I passed....

I'm dying to know what for. I assume you passed because the pole is already vertically in the ground?

[Ed Labadie]

Those short self-feed bits will wander.......not enough length to diameter ratio to keep it straight.

Ed

[Charles Lent]

Make the support scaffold large and surround the tree with it, because those drills have massive torque and will take both operators for a ride if it jams. A dead man type foot switch will be much safer than trying to release the trigger if bad things start happening. Cutting into end grain leaves all kinds of possibilities for this to happen. It will also be nearly impossible to drill a straight hole 3 inches deep. If you succeed, a metal cap sealed to the conduit/pipe to keep moisture off the top of the tree will make that part of the tree stump last longer.

I was using one of these Milwaukee drills to drill 2 1/4" holes in doubled 2 X 10" floor joists for a central vacuum pipe. When the drill bit jammed I released the trigger and the drill coasted to a stop, but not until it had pinned my arm up against the joists. It picked me up off the ladder before it came to a stop. I had to reverse the drill to get free and back down on the ladder.

I also agree with the others. A tree stump that close to the house is a bad situation and will rot out too quickly. It will also quickly become a home for carpenter ants and termites, which are natures way of cleaning up dead wood. When they decide to move on from the tree stump to their next meal, the house becomes the next meal. Carpenter ants love rotting soft wood. Termites prefer new moist wood and the two don;t like living together, so you will likely get termites first and then the ants will move in to finish the job after the termites have moved on to dine on the house.

Charley

[rudy de haas]

Hi Rudy,

2 strong dudes is doable. He will need to figure out the scafolding part to work safely. Would these tools be similar to a post hole auger but for wood??

Thanks, George

Yes. I've only seen this type of tool in use once - on a job where they had to drill through two 16-20 inch logs at once. As I recall the biggest electric drills topped out at about 2" diameter and tended to jam about halfway through so they rented a gas powered auger for the job. Worked well, but took two guys to hold. I do not know the brand name, but your local heavy construction tools rental guys will know.

Gratuitous advice: has your friend considered making a fake stump set in buried concrete? much easier to work with, lasts longer, can use the original stump/log, and looks 100% real when done properly.

[Greg R Bradley]

Just in case the posts above aren't enough to stop him from this ill conceived project, how does he think he is going to make the hole straight and completely vertical. A 3" steel pipe isn't going in a 3" hole unless the hole is fairly straight and a slightly off-vertical post is going to look bad and not be fixable.

[lowell holmes]

You fellows do know that 3" pipe is 3.5" o.d.

Tubing is o.d.

Conduit may probably be o.d.