My question is simple will a handdril work to bolt a route if so how gud does it work and any sugestions on wich on to buy thanx

Yeah it works Personally I use the Petzl Rock Pecker (not sure what else is out there).

All depends on what rock you're hammering into, and your enthusiasm for the job at hand - keep in mind that technique plays a big part as well, and trial and error should give you an idea of what works well and not.

8mm's are fairly simple, 10mm take a bit longer and 6mm are good for aiding on

And to answer your question: It depends how many bolts you want to drill, as it might just be easier to hire out a drill for the day, unless it's a bolt or two on a trad route.

Hand drills work just fine but you need a good weight hammer like the Chouinard Yosemite hammer. I have placed one standard full length 10mm bolt in hard quartzite. 30min hammering. Very, weight, time and cost effective for the odd bolt and yes the Petzl is fine.

Hi Raymond!!

Respect dude!!

I find bolting with the Bosch awkward enough!

I have a quote for you from an old book on mountaineering which reflects the hardcore ethics of the old school:

Re: hand drilling a bolt on the lead

"Maintain a relaxed, steadfast attitude and avoid procrastination. Resting and shifting positions are ususlly inefficient."

There you are. Get out and do it!

The only serious point I have is........shouldn't you use only bolts 10mm and above (and stainless steel bolt and accessories of course) to maintain the safety standard that it universally accepted today?

Good luck out there!

I think bolting a full sport route with a handdrill is not for the feinthearted! Where do you stay? Maybe there is somebody that can help you out. In my opinion you are wasting your time going the hand drill route. I bolted the first 4 bolts on my first sport route with a Petzl hand drill and then borrowed a drill to continue the business. I still use the handrill, but only if there are 2 or less bolts to be placed. As Snort says for a 90mm express anchor it would take about 30mins. The other advantage of getting somebody with a drill to help you is that they can give you some advice if you are new to bolting.

Thanx guys I live in Secunda and know of a few possible crags in the area how would I know if the rock is ready to be bolted or how do I test the rock to know if the rock is strong enough to climb. Even better do you know if some one gives caurses on bolting that I can take.

Well first off, if you can't judge whether or not the rock is safe to climb you shouldn't be bolting a route!

You really need to find someone who has experience in bolting, or do a whole lot more research to learn where and where not to place a bolt, how to tighten said bolt, etc.

Dude,

There's a lot on the internet:

http://tawkroc.org/category/route-building-101/
good overview

http://www.planetfear.com/articles/Going_Up_Rope_Ascending_Methods_499.html
you will need to able to go up and down your static line.

This is very useful:
http://climbargolis.com/Glue-inBoltDesign.htm

http://www.safercliffs.org/code/bolting_guide.html
good

http://www.safeclimbing.org/education.htm
great articles

Check out this lot and you should have a good idea of which rock is 'ready to be bolted'.