Irwin Blue Groove Augers

[ByronBlack]

Its odd this has come up, I've been having the very same discussion regarding power augers and their aggressive threads, like olly, I bought some wood beavers, and these were a little too aggressive for me and the drill I was using - they also almost stalled it (18v makita cordless).

I've since used them in a hand brace, and they perform excellently.

My cordless isn't really slow enough, so if I use them in a power drill, I will do as suggested and use my slow and heavy SDS instead.

 

[Oryxdesign]

Its odd this has come up, I've been having the very same discussion regarding power augers and their aggressive threads, like olly, I bought some wood beavers, and these were a little too aggressive for me and the drill I was using - they also almost stalled it (18v makita cordless).

I've since used them in a hand brace, and they perform excellently.

My cordless isn't really slow enough, so if I use them in a power drill, I will do as suggested and use my slow and heavy SDS instead.

If your SDS has a clutch, and many do, this is a safer option always. They do take a bit of getting used to but if you've got a lot of rough holes to be drilled fast they take some beating.

Simon

 

[Benchwayze]

I used one of these Wood Beavers (they look very similar) on my workbench top last year and it was lethal yet awesome at the same time! I used a main-powered Metabo SDS drill held vertically in a Wolfcraft guide. But, even with both hands on the drill, it was racing to get away from me!!

I don't remember stalling the drill at all (the bench top was 70mm thick) and the cut as it broke through the underside was flawless - no breakout or splintering at all! Only trouble I had was that chips would sometimes clog around the end of the bit and had to be removed before I could start the next cut.

After drilling a large number of holes and then a chunky piece of chipboard, the bit is still as sharp as it was brand new!

Thanks Olly...

I shall be doing precisely this job in the next few weeks. I bought some sawtooth forstners, to replace augers which I also bought specially. When I tried them out, I almost broke my wrist as the bit tried to run away. I was totally unprepared for the grab! (My corded drill has variable speed, but no speed selector. I have to hold the trigger in a set position, and it is so easy to press that bit more when you shouldn't!)

I plan to mount my drill in the plunge mechanism from an old Bosch upright 1/4" router. Hopefully, there will be enough travel to go through 4 inches of Southern Yellow Pine.

So I will make a note. These bits might be much better. If not, I will be back with the hand-brace. So glad I kept it... Lots of trial holes in offcuts then...



John

 

[ondablade]

To describe some frustrating experiences with Amazon.co.uk relating to an order i placed with them for a set of these Irwin augers back in mid April, and to raise the question of whether or not others have experienced anything like it.

I may be mistaken, but my best recollection is that when i placed the order the sales page showed the six item set as being in stock. Yet when the order summary was mailed back to me shortly afterwards it said that they had no delivery date available yet for the augers, but that they would contact me when they had.

My recollection is that i logged straight back on to the sales page to find that they were still listed as being in stock. Thinking that the absence of a delivery date in the summary was probably a glitch, and that they had stock (plus i could afford to wait a while if they didn't) i let the order run. I of course hold no record of what the order confirmation page said about availability when i placed the order.

I ended up cancelling the order after roughly five weeks had passed with no contact and no delivery date forthcoming.

Thinking that this had been a one off glitch of some sort i tried to order the same augers again tonight, again from Amazon UK - having been reminded of them when this thread came up here again.

No luck this time either, but a similar and far from satisfactory story played out which seems to confirm what i describe above.

The sales page still has them as available from stock at £29.95 with free mailing , and as being sold by Amazon.co.uk. Having entered the order and OK ed the card details, but just before clicking to finalise the order i checked through the order summary.

Hmmmmm - all sorts of magical happenings. (a) the price had increased to £30.84 (not a big deal), (b) the message 'order now and we'll notify you via e-mail when we have an estimated delivery date for this item' had popped up in the lower half of the page, and (c) the the seller is now listed as Amazon UK at the top of the page, but Amazon EU Sarl at the bottom.

A little more reading showed up a spiel in the bumph after the order which in effect says that no contract exists (presumably to supply as well as to buy) until an e-mail confirming despatch has been sent.

I deleted the order at this stage as i wasn't getting into another five weeks and more of waiting. It looks likely that i missed similar last minute changes the last time round.

Checking my order history tonight (it may again be my mistake) there seems to be no record of my having cancelled the original order, or of the order itself - it seems to have been deleted from the system.

Can anybody shed any light from experience as to what may possibly be happening here? It's bad enough to be left in the dark for five weeks approx with no contact and no delivery date, but more fundamentally is this possibly a one off glitch, or could there be any possibility that there might be more behind it?

Is anybody thinking of ordering these augers, or even something else that could report how they get on?

What sort of level of service do Amazon UK normally provide on tool and equipment sales? - i'd really not be keen on ordering anything else if this is typical.

Nor would i be keen to do so (from any website) if it's regarded as acceptable for multiple changes to pop up in data entered and/or presented for checking earlier in the ordering process, or for the order summary page to bring up different data to that on the sales page....

 

[Benchwayze]

I know Amazon sell all sorts of stuff these days and I have had no problems with books DVDs and one or two cooking utensils.
I noticed that lately, the order confirmation isn't being sent. The first contact they have with me now is an email advising me of despatch. Fortunately they don't take anything from a card until they have despatched. So far I have always received my stuff.

But I recently ordered two books which they said were in stock, but which have a delivery date of the 27th of this month. Now that's unusual. So I will wait and see. If the books don't arrive, I will cancel and see if I have the same problem Ian.

Regards
John