Screwfix drill chasing attachment.
Tim Hardisty
attachment and asked if anyone had used it.
As of yesterday - yes I have!
I needed to cut 5 vertical chases into plastered lightweight blocks
(cinder blocks I think) and it seemed a good excuse to try it so I
bought one.
It's made by Wolf, and comes with a 10mm TCT cutter. It's quite robust
and made af a thick gauge of steel. You can adjust the depth of the
cut up to about 15mm deep, and the attachment allows the cutter to
enter the wall at about 45 degrees and then roll up the wall.
The maximum depth is not deep enough for plastered blocks, but by only
inserting the cutter into the chuck part way I got enough depth for
what I wanted.
I found it worked best to cut in 3 stages, increasing the depth of the
cut as you go otherwise it cut the block under the plaster but
couldn't cut the material above it - obvious really.
It has a tendency to throw material in your face if you're not careful
(goggles needed) and the dust it produces is something else. No
argument here - use a mask!
The resultant slot was straight enough, but is only suitable for small
oval conduit inserted thin side in IYSWIM. I can't recall the conduit
size but it's the one that takes 1.5mm cable OK, and probably a single
2.5mm.
What it really needs is greater depth (which could be achieved by
elongating the adjustment slot by a few mm) and a wider cutting tool.
Basically, it was easy to use and did the job much much easier than
with a bolster, and gives a wider slot than an angle grinder would.
I also tried a mates SDS drill with a chisel - this tended to flake
and crumble the plaster off far more than the Wold chasing attachment
which cut much more cleanly. Perhaps a different SDS chasing bit might
have worked better, but he didn't have one so I can't comment!
Hope this is of interest,
Tim Hardisty.
Andrew Gabriel
t...@hardisty.co.uk (Tim Hardisty) writes:
> Basically, it was easy to use and did the job much much easier than
> with a bolster, and gives a wider slot than an angle grinder would.
>
> I also tried a mates SDS drill with a chisel - this tended to flake
> and crumble the plaster off far more than the Wold chasing attachment
> which cut much more cleanly. Perhaps a different SDS chasing bit might
> have worked better, but he didn't have one so I can't comment!
There is another tool for this job - a power chaser.
The tool has two diamond cutting discs spaced to fit standard oval
trunking (resulting in about a 30mm slot). It cuts two thin parallel
cuts, and you can then easily knock out the centre with a cold chisel.
I also used it to do some of the cutting for the plaster boxes,
although this isn't what it's designed for. It chucks out brick dust
significantly faster than any vacuum cleaner is likely to be able
to collect it from the dust outlet, and also from everywhere else,
so you'll going to end up with one hell of a mess whichever way.
You push it up the wall on wheels. It's quite heavy, very noisey,
rather terrifying, but extremely fast and effective.
You can hire it from any good tool hire company. The way it is charged
for varies from one company to another: if you don't have a lot to do
and will be cutting mainly onto soft breeze blocks, look for someone who
charges based mainly on wear on the cutting discs. Otherwise, go for
a pure daily charge (and watch out for charges for replacement discs).
I cut about 10 metres, mostly into plastered breeze but did come across
a brick area where a door had been bricked up. This amount didn't cause
any measurable wear on the cutting discs and the rental was quite cheap,
about £40 for a week (the first half of which it sat on the floor until
I plucked up the courage to use it :-).
--
Andrew Gabriel
Peter Watson
> Someone a short while ago mentioned the Screwfix drill chasing
> attachment and asked if anyone had used it.
>
'Twas me that asked and I too bought one.. More or less the same
experience as you when I used it but in the end I resorted to using an
angle grinder. I was doing a small job that time but when I start on the
major rwewire project I'll probably use it as it was definitely less
messy!
I have used and SDS chisel bit before for chasing, but I tend to run
along the chase with a bolster first to 'score' the plaster. That way
the chisel bit doesn't do as much dammage to the surrounding plaster.
BTW I also bought the box sinker as well - Excellent tool. I used it on
a brick wall carefully and slowly so I hope I haven't blunted it!!
Peter Watson
Phil Addison
<pe...@pwatson.org> wrote:
>BTW I also bought the box sinker as well - Excellent tool. I used it on
>a brick wall carefully and slowly so I hope I haven't blunted it!!
Great - do you mind a few questions on it then? It is only for single gang
boxes isn't it - any problems doing two side by side for a twin gang box?
How does it make the box fixing hole/s - is that just the hole the pilot
drill makes? How long does it take to sink a box hole in brick?
--
Phil Addison
UK DIY FAQ is at http://pages.eidosnet.co.uk/~ukdiy/
Lee
> There is another tool for this job - a power chaser.
> The tool has two diamond cutting discs spaced to fit standard oval
> trunking (resulting in about a 30mm slot). It cuts two thin parallel
> cuts, and you can then easily knock out the centre with a cold chisel.
> I also used it to do some of the cutting for the plaster boxes,
> although this isn't what it's designed for. It chucks out brick dust
> significantly faster than any vacuum cleaner is likely to be able
> to collect it from the dust outlet, and also from everywhere else,
> so you'll going to end up with one hell of a mess whichever way.
> You push it up the wall on wheels. It's quite heavy, very noisey,
> rather terrifying, but extremely fast and effective.
>
<snipped>
Terrifying is rather an apt word for one of these :-)
The one I hired a while back was 110v and very heavy.
But it was a drum with TCT teeth rather than diamond
and cut the whole width of the chase in one go.
The hire shop supplied ear defenders, goggles and a pack
of disposable dust masks with it. All of which I would
suggest are essential :-)
About the same amount of dust as an angle grinder I'd have
said, but it gets just about everywhere!
Lee
Robert Crawshaw
Phil Addison <phi...@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:2WKOOqAe+NzIf3...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 17 Feb 2001 09:00:08 -0000, in uk.d-i-y Peter Watson
> <pe...@pwatson.org> wrote:
> >BTW I also bought the box sinker as well - Excellent tool. I used it on
> >a brick wall carefully and slowly so I hope I haven't blunted it!!
>
> Great - do you mind a few questions on it then? It is only for single gang
> boxes isn't it - any problems doing two side by side for a twin gang box?
> How does it make the box fixing hole/s - is that just the hole the pilot
> drill makes? How long does it take to sink a box hole in brick?
Dunno about brick, but cuts through breeze blocks with the greatest of ease
If cutting a single box, you could use the mounting hole that the tool
makes, but there is only 1 hole, might be better to drill 2 in the normal
position.
Cutting doubles is dead easy too, but you dont cut the 2nd hole up to the
edge of the first, you overlap the first hole a bit.
No experience of drilling brick im afraid
--
Robert Crawshaw http://www.golcar.demon.co.uk
Member of HAUG (Huddersfield Amiga User Group)
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