jesse_smith10•4d agoMost Upvoted

Rocky ground in Austin chewed through my auger bits like nothing

Last month I took a job in the hill country near Lake Travis and hit solid caliche about 18 inches down. My standard 12 inch bit came out looking like I dragged it across pavement, and the crew lost half a day just on the post holes. Anyone else switching to carbide-tipped bits for that limestone, or do you use a different approach?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin8964d agoTop Commenter

Boring through that caliche with water flow can make a huge difference before you even swap bits. A steady trickle keeps the rock from fusing to the steel, which is what really shreds the edges fast. Test that trick on a cheap bit first, and you might stretch your good carbide much further.

noraroberts4d ago

Took a job off 2222 a few years back and hit the same wall. I switched to a bullet bit with carbide teeth and it helped, but the real game changer was slowing the damn auger down. High speed just heats the steel and bakes the rock on. Ran it at half throttle with water trickling and it cut through that caliche like butter. Still lost some teeth on the bigger rocks, but one bit finished the whole fence line instead of dying on the first hole. Worth the extra cost if you're doing more than a handful of posts.