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As above - how? It's a fence post that holds up some chain link on my boundary and is one of those old style tough ones. Will a special bit on my mains powered b&d hammer drill do it or do I need specialist machinery?
Hammer drill and masonery bit will be fine. You might hit a reinforcing rod though?
A decent sds drill bit will do it. Make sure you regularly pull out the drill whilst still powered to clear the grit n dust.
^^What he said - biggest problem will be reinforcing rods inside the post.
They normally have four steel rods in them, towards the corners, so if you drill fairly central should might miss them all.
How old is the post? How big is it across? I'd worry about it cracking across therefore wouldn't use the hammer function, still a masonry bit but no hammer. Regular in out but no hammer
what's the hole for?
I'd be looking to bolt a bracket around it if at all possible.
Perfectly fine with the hammer on. You'll be there for a very long time without it.....
don't try it with an sds drill, you'll shatter the post. just use any basic hammer drill, cordless even, but use a blue Bosch multi construction bit. Probably cost you about 3 quid but will go though anything, brick, concrete, even stainless steel and good quality porcelain tiles
try a decent drill bit before you try a bigger, fancier drill. I get good result with the [url= http://www.toolstop.co.uk/bosch-2607010522-4-piece-robust-line-multi-purpose-drill-bit-set-multi-constructi-p16278?gclid=COOuwcKi9bUCFUfMtAod5gMAug ]bosch multipurpose ones[/url] which are capable drilling steel (slowly) also. They probably wouldn't cope well with the rebar if you hit it, but they'll survive hitting it and live to drill another day.
EDIT great minds thing a like (and fools seldom differ)
I always have a set of the bosch bits to hand, and even though I've got an SDS drill I generally use them in a cordless just for peace and convenience.
I fitted a ladder rack on mine. Drilled six holes with a Dewalt SDS on Hammer setting and Dewalt 12mm masonry bit.
It was nice and easy and drilled nice clean holes. No shattering or other problems.
I did have a broken post to see where the rods were though, which helped as I knew where to avoid drilling.
Drill pilots first start at 5mm and open up to size up you need ,avoids cracking and will help guide past re-bar.
use a blue Bosch multi construction bit
That is exactly what I was I was going to say to use. Picked one up from screwfix for those awkward jobs and keep it in my cordless drill box.
If it's an old rough post it won't shatter, the new ones are made of glass though.
I'd try the usual drill first, keep the speed down and dip the drill bit in water regularly, heat is what kills drill bits.
Drill in the centre line of the post, only drill as deep as you need, and let the tool do the work, no need to lean your entire body weight into it.
Ps I often use the SDS percussion drill as the old posts are really hard, and haven't cracked one yet.
It amazes me how many people suggest piloting masonry, its just not good practice and often results in bits snagging.
It won't snag if you let the drill do the work,if you try forcing it before the drill works course you will make it snag