Rant: Had to pick between a hand auger and a power auger for a rocky job site

I was putting in a 200-foot fence line near Boulder last week and the ground was full of rocks. My buddy said go with the hand auger to feel out the obstacles, but I went with the power auger thinking it'd save time. Big mistake - I snapped a blade on the third hole and lost two hours messing with repairs. The hand auger would have been slower but way less headache. Has anyone else dealt with power auger failures on rocky ground?

2 comments

2 Comments

stone.simon24d ago

Did you try sharpening the blade before you started? I had a similar thing happen with a post hole digger in Montana. My neighbor swore by dousing the blade in water every few holes but I was too stubborn to try it. Ended up having to chisel out half the rocks by hand anyway while he finished his whole row with a hand auger. Now I keep a spare blade in my truck but never actually remember to swap it when I should.

thea_chen24d ago

Water actually makes the blade rust faster. Dry is better.