atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Hole making options....

I would think that generally you would be drilling holes much closer to the floor anyway.

Not necessarily. There is no standard or code regarding receptacle height above finished floor. They can be located anywhere from in the baseboard on up. 12, 16, 18, 24 inches are common. If you are installing jacks you need to match the height of the electrical receptacles adjacent to it on that wall or it's going to look like a hack job.

-Hal

Unless it's a two story house or something the way I've always drilled through plates it up from the basement, not down from the top. That thing with a bend in it to get it going is going to whip the crap out of something.

54" won't be long enough for the average height of a wall mount tel jack so if your doing any of those you should consider a 6'

I have used them for both alarm and phone installation. There is a SHARP learning curve for getting the "feel" of where the bit is going. Be prepared to do a lot of patching.

I agree Brian. I have heard from maybe one person who has used them successfully, most give up after a few tries, including myself.

Bill, I was going to mention that too. If you have access to the bottom of the partition from below you are always better off drilling up. Same with the top. There are various ways of locating where to drill.

-Hal

I prefer the screw tip lead-in, spin the drill motor slow until you know it is biting, then spin away. They do come in handy if you run into horizontal bracing in a taller wall, or for getting to a basement/attic from a single main floor.

If you are dealing with metal studs, forget it completely.

As others have stated, you MUST be real sure your bit is as close to center as you can get it. It is not uncommon for the bit to wander or be on an odd angle, and show up outside the sheetrock wall. Nothing sucks more than having to repair the sheetrock you didn't want to cut in the first place.

The "right angle helper" they sell is a useless device. If you do use it, have a can of silicone lube around to cut the friction it adds to the bit's shank.

The bit, on a 1-9 rating, is a 4, the helper is a 0.

I just got back from ADI. They had all kinds of bits like this. Must be because those alarm guys are so good at making holes in walls

Must be because those alarm guys are so good at making holes in walls

I have to admit that I've been impressed by some of the ways the beanie boys get wiring around. Mostly the old timers though. Also a lot of times these bits work for them because they are drilling straight up or down. You rarely see a beanie boy installing jacks in a wall like this.

-Hal

I have had many of these, from 48" to 72". Both the massonary and wood. Have used them many of times. Mostly as a temporary glow rod to fish a wall, or as nfcphoneman mentioned, to poke something through a smale hole. :rofl:

We also have several of them in all different types. We use the masonry ones in very old row houses in DC where there may be up to 36" of brick foundation between units. Many times, there is dead space in between two brick walls. I can't imagine what is inside those 200 year-old voids; probably antique Bud bottles from the construction crew! :shhh: :shhh: :shhh:

True, they aren't meant for deep drilling through solid masonry, but they do a pretty good job in these instances where a customer may occupy two adjacent row houses.

Aside from fire stops in walls, we don't really use them much. Even with fire stops, I find that locating the fire stop and then drilling up/down through a single hole in the wall surface is sufficient. A finger full of painter's patch is usually sufficient to destroy the evidence when we are dealing with a simple cable or two.