# Tap-con Tips - learnin the hard way



## Rincon (Feb 28, 2008)

I am using Tap cons to hang furring strips in my basement to get ready to hang my drywall.  Well what I thought wouldn't be that big a job has turned out to be quite the little chore.  The Tap cons work greeat, its just drilling the pilot holes I wasn't ready for.  If you are going to be drilling a lot of holes make sure to double up on drill bits.  The expensive ones don't last much longer than the cheaper ones.  I have just begun and have drilled about 30-35 pilot holes and am on my 4th drill bit.  The small diameter bits just can't take the pounding that a larger one can.   I am drilling into regular 8 inch concrete block.  Anyway, thought I would pass my experience along so that others can try and prepare ahead of time.  Maybe 10 pilot holes per bit is average, but to me it seems a bit low before the bit dulls (or breaks).


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## MinConst (Feb 28, 2008)

Are you using a hammer drill? or standard. I have very good luck with Milwaukee bits. They last the longest for me. Much longer in a good hammer drill as they don't heat up as much in hammer mode.

  Also I have found that tap cons are not the best in block only in cement. I use lead inserts in block walls as the cement block allows the holes to oversize.


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## guyod (Feb 28, 2008)

I had the same problem but i wasnt even getting 6 holes. I blame it on the hammer drill though i think it spun to fast and hammered to fast. The tips would be completely smooth and have that over heated oil slick look to it. Who would of thought i would be having that problem from a cheap black and decker firestorm. I never had this problem with my hitachi hammer drill that went missing.


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## MinConst (Feb 29, 2008)

guyod said:


> I had the same problem but i wasnt even getting 6 holes. I blame it on the hammer drill though i think it spun to fast and hammered to fast. The tips would be completely smooth and have that over heated oil slick look to it. Who would of thought i would be having that problem from a cheap black and decker firestorm. I never had this problem with my hitachi hammer drill that went missing.



Ya know Black and Decker was my first hammer drill. It burned up the bits just like you said. When I went to Milwaukee HD everything changed.


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## Rincon (Feb 29, 2008)

Yeah, using a hammer drill.  However I am ruinning into the same issue as guyod.  I am using a Makita HD.  It really does seem to be spinning fast I can't really tell if the hammer is hammerin either.  Anyway I am going to plug away at it until finished.  Thanks for the insert suggestion MintConst.


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## guyod (Feb 29, 2008)

There should be a button to push in that turns the hammer on an off. That might help you out a little if its not in the hammer mode


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## LanceM (Mar 1, 2008)

Rincon said:


> I am using Tap cons to hang furring strips in my basement to get ready to hang my drywall.  Well what I thought wouldn't be that big a job has turned out to be quite the little chore.  The Tap cons work greeat, its just drilling the pilot holes I wasn't ready for.  If you are going to be drilling a lot of holes make sure to double up on drill bits.  The expensive ones don't last much longer than the cheaper ones.  I have just begun and have drilled about 30-35 pilot holes and am on my 4th drill bit.  The small diameter bits just can't take the pounding that a larger one can.   I am drilling into regular 8 inch concrete block.  Anyway, thought I would pass my experience along so that others can try and prepare ahead of time.  Maybe 10 pilot holes per bit is average, but to me it seems a bit low before the bit dulls (or breaks).



I had a different problem.  The furring strips went fine.  I was getting through a whole box of 50 TapCons with the one bit provided and was getting a good 'bite' into the blocks.  Moving to the floor to drill holes for the sill plates though I couldn't drive a hole past a quarter inch with my Milwaukee hammer drill.  It sounds like there is a big variation in masonry hardness from one house to the next, or even within the same house for that matter.
LanceM


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## inspectorD (Mar 2, 2008)

The older the home..usually the harder the concrete..it's still curing.
The Hoover dam is still curing. It also depends on how much aggregate you try to drill into...those darn stones below the surface. 
If you are not in the hammer drill function, you will wear out to soon, your burning the bit. 
1,000,000,000 tapcons and a few bits and drills....and counting.


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## handyguys (Mar 3, 2008)

The handyguys just recorded a podcast on drills. We did tests of 7 different drills, two hammer drills. Some old, some new, some cordless, some small, some large. You get the idea. It was a lot of fun. That episode should be online March  13th at about 5PM. 

The Handyguys
http://www.handyguyspodcast.com


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## Rincon (Mar 4, 2008)

LanceM, I am have experienced the same exact problem.  The bottom of the wall is like I am drilling in to steel while above the first block everything is really beginning to go smoothly.  I have varied away from my original plan of inserting 3 tapcons on each stud to only on in the midle and attaching at sill plate and top plate with my framing gun.  At first I was attaching the sill plate and then the top plate then going back to attach the studs.  I have since changed to the traditional method of building the wall on the floor, standing it up, then fastening it to the wall.  This is going much faster also.  I am also using liquid nail behind the studs and top and bottom plate.  For a little added security.  Maybe its overkill, but ..................

Thanks everyone for the input.


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