Div Arty.
How deep did you bore it?
Tracy and Mike,
Do you tool guys have any suggestion for boring large diameter (3" to 5") in wood?
Zulu
Yes, I think we can offer a suggestion that may work for you in drilling deep, large, end-grain holes in wood. Although the largest hole we ever drilled in wood, end-grain was a 1.5" dia. hole, 30" long in white oak using a gundrill that we made for lathe use, I think we figured out what type of drill you need. Let's face it, a gundrill in the 5" dia. size would weigh at least 35 pounds, not good for your drill press motor!! A light-weight auger, maybe? They don't exist in the dia. needed. A modified Forstner? Can't find in size needed. So what about those hole saws the electricians use. Diameter, yes; depth of cut, NO! Except for one company. Under wood drills, large diameter, deep hole, we found this company:
http://www.advantage-drillbits.com/auger.html They make all sorts of drills, but they are the only one we found which make these in all sizes and long lengths:
Carbide Tip Wood Core Drills
For large deep hole wood drilling!
1/2" to 24" diameters any depth!
When you need to core either samples or for inspection
of timbers. Best for cutting seawalls, frames, footers,
bridge inspections. Installation of braces and more.
The carbide tip design ensures clean smooth holes in the toughest wood.
Powered by a full size drill press or a large lathe, this type of bit could do the job for you , we believe, in a
through-hole situation. You certainly can't break off the end-grain core if you're trying to cut a blind hole. We have no experience with this company, but the people they sell to have some pretty severe requirements, so their drills are probably pretty good. They might be expensive too, but we don't know that.
Hope that helps you out as we really like your wood cannons a lot, and don't want you to beat yourself up boring those bores!
Good luck,
Mike and Tracy