Tapping with Impact drill?

[delta757and767pilot]

Can you tap with a impact drill?? Might it be better?

[markct]

i dont think it would do the tree any good, just kinda beat the heck outa the fibers rather than cut a nice smooth clean hole like we want for max production, i dont recall ever seeing a hammer drill that didnt have the option to turn off the impact and just rotate, asside from the larger ones, but not something you would likely use to tap a tree

[jdgordon]

I agree there is no reason for a hammer drill for tapping. Don't forget there is no substitute for a SHARP bit.

[3rdgen.maple]

Yes you can and I did for a couple seasons. You have to remember the impact action does not take effect until there is extreme torq on the drill head, at that point it starts the hammer operation. If you use a sharp bit the impact feature never takes effect. Atleast it never did for me. I wasnt going to go out and buy another cordless drill at the time when I had 2 already so I used the impact and a helper used the other regular drill. If yours starts chattering either your bit is dull or it just hammers all the time which I have never seen on an impact drill driver.

[KenWP]

I am going to try a rifle pretty soon has to be fast.

[adk1]

I have a dewalt Lithium Ion 18v cordless hammer drill. It can be used as either a regular drill or with the hammer feature. Never thought about using the hammer feature for tapping, done think I would need to. This drill is a beast.

[DrTimPerkins]

I am going to try a rifle pretty soon has to be fast.

Just be sure to use food-grade bullets. :D

[Greenwich Maple Man]

Just be sure to use food-grade bullets. :D

I once heard from a very large producer in New Eangland that one day he believed that you would be able to "shoot" the tap into the tree with a special kind of "tapper-gun". Again I heard this a long time ago but you never know what they wil come up with next. I bet the old timers never thought there would be a machine that could take alot of the water out of sap. Only time will tell. It could be scary to see.

[SeanD]

I heard about maple trees exploding all over the northeast a few years ago. I saw a report on it. At the time they thought it was a sap pressure build up, but now I'm wondering if people weren't trying out that shooting tap idea. Kind of like a pin hitting a balloon.

Sean

[Brent]

Just be sure to use food-grade bullets. :D


You can get them from the seals. Eat this Bin Laden !!

[DrTimPerkins]

I heard about maple trees exploding all over the northeast a few years ago. I saw a report on it. At the time they thought it was a sap pressure build up, ...

That was a funny story. It was an April Fool's Day story on Vermont Public Radio. We got a few calls because of it.

[SeanD]

People seriously called? That makes it even better.