IRWINTools IRWIN WeldTec Auger Wood Drill Bit 1-1/2" X 17" (3043016)

Works as expected. Drilling out 100 to 150 holes to decompose tree stumps with potassium nitrate. Did 50 so far and I do drill aggressively.

Great auger bit - very tough. I have the 1/2" size. At that diameter it flexes and wanders a bit in hardwood but that's to be expected. I drilled a bunch of holes though 10" thick seasoned oak timbers using a corded drill and hit metal on one of the holes. The bit held up great after getting beat on all day.

I needed to go through about 9.5 inches of wood to run landscape wiring for decking lighting. This went through the wood quickly and without issues. Was able to run 14 gauge landscape wire through the holes without any snags or issues. Ran through for 12 posts, and still nice and sharp. Greate value for the money.

I purchased this to drill holes in a sweet gum tree stump about two feet high with a 2.5-foot circumference. Unfortunately, the tree surgeons couldn't cut it any lower because it had grown into a fence. In short, it was big, dense, and wet wood. The bit couldn't make much headway with our Craftsman cordless drill although it did manage some shallow holes, but once we borrowed a corded drill with some torque, it cut through the stump easily, and we were able to drill a dozen deep holes in a couple of hours. The bit is plenty sharp and sturdy and does its part, but it's unrealistic to use a big one like this without a powerful drill.I received absolutely no compensation for this review.

Used it to drill deep holes in a stump to help burn it out

I needed to replace a fence post that had broken off at ground level. Instead of digging out the old concrete footing, dispose of it, and then create a new footing with the new post, I decided to try reusing the old footing since it was still in great shape. The challenge of course, is removing the old post from it.I got one of these bits to bore out closely spaced holes in the old post, and then used a pry bar and large chisels to break off and remove the wood between them. It took about an hour going down a few inches at a time, but it worked out to be easier and faster vs. digging out the footing. As a nice side benefit, it also avoiding the environmental impact of disposing of the old footing and making 3-4 bags of concrete mix.This bit worked like a charm and it was steadily self-feeding once it reached solid wood, but the cutting edge was notably dulled by the end of the job. I would estimate that I drilled through the equivalent of 8-10 feet of pressure treated lumber (parallel to the grain). I will likely try to sharpen the edge with a Dremel tool to see if I can get additional life out of the bit.Overall, this bit worked well for my purposes, and the relatively short life of the cutting edge not a deal breaker given the price (especially if I can sharpen it and do a few more fence posts with it).

I'm using this drill bit with a tough hammer drill to burrow holes into freshly cut tree stumps. It would great depending on the type of wood. For example it had no problem drilling into maple tree stumps, but with a spruce stump was more difficult to drill. It's not the drill bit, spruce wood is tough. I do recommend this drill bit for overall good value.

Performs well and seems to remain sharp quite well