Auger bit snapped mid-hole on a job outside Portland yesterday

I was setting posts for a 200 foot split rail fence near some woods and my auger bit just gave up halfway through a hole. It was one of those cheap 12 inch bits from a big box store, lasted about 15 jobs before it twisted apart. Had to dig the broken piece out by hand with a shovel and a pry bar, took me an extra hour. Switched to a 14 inch torpedo bit from a local rental place after that, finished the rest of the holes without issue. The old one was getting dull anyway but I didn't expect it to snap like that. Anybody else had auger bits fail on them? What brand do you guys trust for rocky soil?

3 comments

3 Comments

wright.kevin28d ago

Man those cheap big box store bits are total JUNK for anything harder than garden soil. I've had two snap on me the exact same way, usually right where the shaft meets the flutes. You're lucky you only lost an hour digging that piece out, I had to rent a mini excavator once when one broke off at a bad angle near some tree roots. The torpedo bits are definitely the way to go for rocky ground, they're thicker through the middle and don't twist apart as easy. I'd say stick with whatever the local rental places carry, they don't stock stuff that'll break on every job. Your old bit was probably work hardened from all those holes anyway, they get brittle after a while even if they still look okay.

jade73810d ago

100 bucks says I could snap a torpedo bit too, just give me a rock and a bad attitude. @jones.brooke honestly, it's not the end of the world but when you're already running late and covered in mud, having to chisel out a broken bit feels like the universe is personally bullying you. I've got a scar on my knuckle from when I tried to hammer one out and slipped, now every time someone asks about it I have to admit it wasn't a cool bar fight story. The work hardening thing you mentioned is real, I had a buddy who kept using the same bit for like three summers and it just crumbled on him one day, no warning. Those rental places definitely have the right idea, they buy the stuff that'll survive a whole season of abuse from idiots like me. At this point I just accept I'm gonna snap at least one thing per project and budget for it.

jones.brooke28d ago

Honestly, is snapping a bit really that big of a deal compared to the other stuff that goes wrong on a job?