Will a rotary hammer get me through limestone?

[Rebecca]

Hello !

I'm digging the hole for my pond. I'm solid rock - limestone - 4 to 8
inches down. I'm considering my options. Heavy equipment will not fit
in my backyard, besides, I'd prefer to dig this hole myself.

I'm not sure I can handle a 60lb jackhammer. Certainly I couldn't do the
hole in a single day because of lack of endurance. A week's rental will
cost me $250.

I've come up with the idea of using a rotary hammer - I can buy a Bosch
7/8" for the cost of renting the jackhammer. I realize it will take
longer, but that's okay. I've looked at Power Hammers at Home Depot
and Lowe's. 2 Bosch models seem the most likely candidates because they
provide "3 modes" which includes "hammer only, no rotation".

Bosch, 7/8"
amps 6.9
Impact Energy 1.6 ft. lbs.
Speed - Blows per minute - 6,150
$239

Bosch, 1 1/8"
amps 7.2
Impact Energy 2.6 ft. lbs.
Speed - BPM - 3,900
$319.

Would either of these be enough to get me through the limestone using a
chisel bit? Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks,
Rebecca

[Steve Elmore]

Don't forget that if you go this route, the bits are 10 times more important
(and labor saving) than the drill. Be sure to figure several bits into your
cost.

"Rebecca" <rebecc...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3B5A18F8...@yahoo.com...

[ADBJJ]

Hi Rebeca
Thats gonna be tough and depending on weather the lime stone changes to
harder rock. Have you considerd an above ground pond made of Garden
Ties. Or is an inground a must. Just an opinion i would stay above
ground. Those bits get dull pretty fast and can be very expensive. Good
Luck ALDI.

[Rick Samuel]

Sounds like Austin, Tx. How about a LOT of dynamite, Austin's getting
too big anyway.... :)
Rick

[john]

Rebecca <rebecc...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Would either of these be enough to get me through the limestone using a
>chisel bit? Any thoughts appreciated.
>Thanks,
>Rebecca

Hi Rebecca,

What kind of area is the pond and how deep are you thinking of
chiseling down after you hit limestone? If it is bigger than say
10x10 ft and a foot deep (almost 4 cubic yards!) you should really
think about what you are getting into. I have a lot of respect for a
cubic yard of earth after having dug several large holes.

I respect your "do it yourselfedness!"

John

[Pat]

We encountered a similar situation and ended up purchasing a Makita
demolition hammer (electric jack hammer) model HM1303B that weighs 35
pounds. I ended up chipping out about 12 cubic yards of rock while doing
our pond and waterfall. This hammer is heavy enough to do the job, you
avoid the bit replacement costs, and from our research it was far more
effective for our situation than a Bosch power hammer. Dave

"Rebecca" <rebecc...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3B5A18F8...@yahoo.com...

> I'm digging the hole for my pond. I'm solid rock - limestone - 4 to 8

[mikell]

Go with the professional stuff and rent

mikell

"Rebecca" <rebecc...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3B5A18F8...@yahoo.com...

[Jim Sinclair]

Rebecca wrote:

Have you considered dynamite? It is fairly light weight, and you shouldn't
have any trouble getting it through narrow gates! <bg>

Jim

[Rebecca]

ALDI,
Can you say more about weather related changes to limestone?

[Tom Carpenter]

amen. respect the earth. i had an mri after dumping 4 tons of rock around my
pond. still taking celebrex! christ i have middle age.
john <john109.geo@noSpham!.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3b675594....@news.earthlink.net...

[Rebecca]

Right on both counts. My neighbor's house is within 15 feet of the pond;
given the great distance I'm sure the dynamite wouldn't bother them at all.
:)

Rebecca

[Rebecca]

Thanks for the idea Dave.

Are you interested in selling your hammer? I think I'll see if they are
available for rental.

Did you try and have success in getting any large pieces of rock out? If
so, do you have suggestions?

R.

[Rebecca]

_After_ I hit limestone ? :) I hit limestone when I dropped my rock bar
on the grass!

Actually, I have about 200 sq.ft. of surface and intend to go down 2 ft..
The last two days I've been removing grass,sod, sandy loam and the dark
black clay that is above the rock. Once I'm finished I'll have a very
clear idea of what I face. Mainly, the rock starts between 4 and 9 inches
down. I know the rock is at least 18 inches thick in at least one area. A
rock saw or jackhammer was used to cut a hole to plant a tree 15 yrs. ago.
Turns out what I like most about my now dead tree is the great hole it
provided me :)

Thanks for the advice -- all of you have given me some things to think about
- that's for sure!

Rebecca

[John Hines]

Rebecca <rebecc...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I'm not sure I can handle a 60lb jackhammer. Certainly I couldn't do the
>hole in a single day because of lack of endurance. A week's rental will
>cost me $250.

Rent the tool, and find a local teenager to run it for you for a few
bucks.

Getting paid to build muscles is a pretty good deal for a typical
teenage male.

[Melinda]

I don't know if mine is limestone or not, but I had a similiar
situation. I started digging the sod off the exposed rock and found a
great hole. I did break out alot of rock to get it easier to line. I
used an impact hammer for the small parts, but rented a jackhammer for
some large rock removal. I would not even consider trying to get a
pond hole out of solid rock. If I had not found the hole I did, I
would have filled it back in and picked another spot. Here is pics of
the hole before finishing the excavation
http://pages.prodigy.net/melindasmith/index.html

[ADBJJ]

No i can't i don't know your topiary. Sometimes the further down you go
you could hit bed rock. If it's solid at 4 to 8 inches i would'nt touch
it with a 10 foot pole. I would go with a large pre form or a stick
built ABOVE GROUND and landscape around it. Good luck, let us know how
you made out. ALDI

[vrolson]

Rebecca; The important question is how thick is the limestone. It it is a
thin layer it won't be to hard to go throughl. If it is solid for the depth
you want for the pond I would say forget it. the person who mentioned
dynamite was about on. I'm not suggesting you use dynamite, but that is the
sort of thing that is needed. Hate to be discouraging
vern

Rebecca wrote:

--
Please visit my ponds at: Http://www.webpak.net/~vrolson/

[Gary]

I dug a 2000 gal pond out of nearly solid granite. That's much harder and
heavier than limestone. I rented a Bosch percussion hammer drill for about
$60/day plus $4 insurance for the bit. Best $4 I ever spent because I broke
two bits before the rental center stopped honoring the insurance agreement.
The next day I rented from another rental center with the same results.

Bottom line is this: it did the job nicely. In addition to the hammer drill &
bits I had to borrow some little steel wedges(called wedges and feathers) that
are used in quarries. You drill a hole about 4" deep, put the wedge & feather
in and slam them with a sledge. They split the rock very nicely. My only
problem now is getting rid of all the rock!

Good luck,
~ Gary
Hingham, MA

[Gary]

To get the rock out of the hole I left one side sloping and used that to drag
the rocks out. I hooked up a cable "comealong" so that I could stand out of
the way and ratchet the rock up the slope. It helped to put down a couple of
2x8s as runners to slide them on. BTW, two months after the pomnd was built I
went in for hernia surgery. Coincidence?

~ Gary
Hingham, MA

[KenCo]

it will take many months w/ a rotary hammer,
ea. hole will still need to be close to ea.
other then you will need a sledge hammer and
wide chisel to cut the pieces out.

a lg. air chisel & 2+HP compressor may be a tad better.

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