Auger Attachments for Skid Steers: A Helpful [High-Level] Guide

We’ve previously covered the versatility of auger attachments at length in our blog. These attachments are hardworking and dependable, and since they are much more specialized and adapted to digging straight-walled holes than trenchers and excavators, have some unique applications.

For those of you that don’t have an auger attachment for your skid steer yet and are coasting by with a backhoe or trencher, but are considering getting an auger attachment, here’s what you need to know about the different types of skid steer auger bits we sell here at Spartan Equipment.

HDF Style Bits (Normal Digging)

After you choose an auger drive unit for your skid steer, you’ll need to pair it with the proper auger bits needed for the applications at hand.

HDF-style bits are optimized for normal digging conditions through ground that is not too tough or rocky.

These skid steer auger bits are available in widths ranging from 4” to 36” in 4-foot overall lengths and are compatible with round (2-9/16”) or hex (2”) collars.

They are made with fabricated boring heads with ½” thick plates and with ⅝” carriage bolts and nuts to retain bolt-on teeth. Gage teeth (outside) and wisdom teeth (inside) are hardened (as is the 3 ½” diameter fishtail) for extra strength, increased performance, and to extend wear life.

These HDF-style auger bits are perfect for light to moderate conditions, including but not limited to sand, loam, and other light soil with minimal stony or woody impediments.

HDC Style Bits (Harder Digging)

The next step up in terms of suitability for harder earth are our HDC-style bits, which are better for moderately difficult ground conditions. If you need to bore deep, straight-walled holes through heavily compacted earth, clay-heavy soils, frozen earth, or even asphalt or fractural stone, these are the bits you’ll want.

Like the HDF-style bits, they are made with hardened standard wear components (gage and wisdom teeth, as well as a hardened fishtail) and are available with either 2” hex or 2-9/16” round collars.

However, these auger bits are made with heavy-duty cast steel boring heads that feature individual tooth pockets that accept drive-in teeth with rubber lock retainments. They are available in 6” to 48” diameters in 4 overall lengths.

Rock Style Bits (Hardest Digging)

Those that need to wrangle with the most extreme digging conditions should choose our rock-style auger bits, which are the toughest and strongest of all.

These are available in diameters of 6”, 9”, 12”, 18”, 24”, 30”, and 36” and come with either 2” hex or 2.56” round collars.

These are designed for the most extreme digging applications and are suitable for solid rock, frozen ground, hard clay, and extremely heavily compacted earth, boasting numerous features that render them ideal for these most demanding applications.

These auger bits feature a heavy-duty single-flighted fabricated ¾” boring head with bullet-style teeth, as well as a hard-faced outer edge and a replaceable nose cone. These features make these rock-style bits uniquely suited to digging through the hardest earth - even solid rock.

They’re the sort of bits that when paired with our auger attachments for skid steers really embody our motto: Never surrender.

HTF Style Bits (Tree Planting)

While our rock-style auger bits are useful for digging through the hardest rock and earth, there are many other useful specialized applications of skid steer augers: notably, planting trees.

We offer a separate line of auger bits for our skid steer auger attachments that are uniquely suited to planting, and can substantially save you time, money and effort when you have a whole grove of saplings to plant.

Our HTF-style bits (tree-planting bits) are available in 6 diameters, either 18”, 24”, 30”, 36”, 42” or 48”, and like our HDF-style bits, are made with hardened gage and wisdom teeth as well as a hardened 3-½” fishtail.

These are the bits you need if you have a grove of trees that need planting, as they can save you substantially on the cost of labor and can dig holes for a large number of trees effortlessly and in a shorter window of time.

Stump Planer Bits

Finally, we have stump planer auger bits, which are available with either round (2.56”) or hex (2”) collars, in diameters of either 10” or 14”.

These highly specialized auger bits are designed for one specific purpose: to grind and remove tough, gnarly stumps, returning them to the soil.

These stump planer bits are made with 3 tool steel cutters as well as a starter tip, all of which can either be sharpened or replaced as necessary.

These auger bits are an easy way to remove troublesome stumps. Simply position the bit over the stump (not at an angle) and let the auger attachment do the work. The pilot tip feeds the auger through the stump and helps prevent it from getting stuck, and the length of our stump planers enables deeper drilling - so you can remove the entire stump, something most dedicated stump grinders just can’t do.

It’s interesting to note that there are some additional benefits to grinding stumps in situ instead of ripping them out; stumps contain nutrients that they took from the soil, and allowing the ground stump to biodegrade in place will both enrich the soil with nutrients and microbial flora and fungi. Plus, grinding them won’t leave a big void that needs to be backfilled.

Spartan Equipment Auger Attachments for Skid Steers: Never Surrender

When you make the investment in equipment for your home, farm, or business, invest in equipment like Spartan Equipment skid steer attachments that will Never Surrender and will exhibit true American grit.

Our auger attachments for skid steers, as well as our auger bits, are made in America from high-quality American-made steel. Don’t trust questionable imported equipment when you can buy American-made excellence that has been proven time and time again tough enough for whatever job you can throw at them. In addition to that, we offer free ground shipping and many of our auger bits are covered by 1-year warranties.

If you have any questions about our heavy-duty auger attachments or auger bits, feel free to contact us at 1-888-888-1085.