Drill procedure opinions please!

[ironhat]

Well, I got the sheet-goods handling project done. It's not nearly as stable as I had hoped, by a long shot. I got the floating shelves done, made of 3.5" MDF moulding. That's some pretty brittle stuff. Luckily it's a painted project so the sins are hidden. The blanket hanger project for a turn of the century, lindsey-woolsey blanket that my grandmother made from scratch (My mother had cut some pieces out of it for rags!?!?!) is almost done. Now, with spring approaching I'm eyeing up a 'Z' shaped sapling for a pole lamp project. The question is about getting the lamp cord through this thing. I'm going to have to invest in some reeealy long lamp auger but what about the dog-leg junction? Drill in from one side until I reach the vertical channel from the floor up and then drill the one from the top down? Any hints on what diameter auger to use? Is an electrical supply house the best bet for these long augers? Any advice of fishing the cord through this labyrinth? Sorry 'bout the long post!
TIA,
Chiz

[mschrank]

Since I can't see the 'Z' shaped piece, I'm not sure this would work:
-Rip the piece in half. Again, can't see the piece and don't know how big it is...so don't know what tool to recommend for ripping: bandsaw, handsaw/coping saw?)
-Rout a groove in one half
-thread the wire through
-Glue & clamp the pieces back together.

If you can make a clean cut, it probably wouldn't be horribly visible when you reassemble.

I would think using an auger bit might be tricky; I'd be afraid of propping out the side if your alignment isn't perfect.

[ironhat]

Yea, I'm concerned about the auger coming out the side. On the other hand, I don't think I want to try to split an entire sapling - like, 4' long. The 'Z' is lazy and on it's side if you can envision that.
Later,
Chiz

[Tequila]

How big (diameter) is the sapling? I'd probably go around 3/8" dia for the auger bit to run lamp cord. You can find the long bits at HD & Lowes in the electrical section for around $40 each.

Once you get the holes drilled, you might be able to just push the cord though. If not, one of the best tools I've found for fishing wire is a long piece of pull-chain for lamps or ceiling fans. You can put one end in the hole at the top and let gravity do the rest. If it needs some convincing, a strong magnet will usually do the trick. Once that's in, you can just tape it to the cord and pull it through.