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HDD Bore Path Calculator

Plan one bore from entry to exit.

Field guide: Read a proposed HDD bore path and rod schedule
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Draw a proposed path beneath level ground: straight entry, circular turn to level, level crossing, circular turn upward and straight exit. Enter measured geometry and published rod limits to review the path and complete rod schedule.

Pro Tip: Check whether the source means radius, quadrant length, degrees per rod or percentage points per rod. Overall rod length can include tool joints; enter actual in-ground advance. Keep the exact specification with the plan.

Read the geometry, source illustrations and rod rows.

Read a proposed bore plan →

Review the separate excavation task.

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How It Works

  1. Enter level-ground geometry

    Choose feet or meters and degrees or percent pitch. Enter positive entry and exit magnitudes, requested radius, target center depth and exit horizontal station. No equipment rating or clearance is prefilled.

  2. Supply published constraints

    Enter actual in-ground rod advance and required straight entry lead. Supply minimum radius, pitch change per full rod or both. Both mode selects the tighter criterion and retains your requested radius; single modes refuse an undersized radius.

  3. Measure the crossing intervals

    Enter up to two names, start and end stations, bottom depths and required gaps. The entire interval must lie on the level part. The envelope diameter enters the gap arithmetic; no uncertainty or utility position is inferred.

  4. Review and keep the proposed plan

    Read the governing limit, setbacks, five breakpoints and full or partial rod advances. Revise refused inputs. Save or share the browser plan, or export free branded PDF, complete CSV and browser print. These are proposed geometry records.

Built For

  • Compare entered exit locations or angles and their resulting setbacks.
  • Compare explicit radius and pitch-change constraints with unchanged depth and station.
  • Record a complete position and pitch schedule for a proposed-plan discussion.
  • Check the arithmetic gap beneath one or two measured crossing intervals.
  • Keep feet/meter plans with their entered limits, date and result revision.

Features & Capabilities

Five analytic phases

One two-dimensional level-ground model with circular curves, separate entry and exit angles and path-distance rod positions.

Feet or meters Percent pitch or degrees

Explicit constraints

Radius-only and pitch-only modes refuse undersized requests. Both mode uses the largest of requested, minimum and distributed pitch radius, with governing criterion and hypothetical single-limit comparisons.

No rating database or preset No automatic depth or station change

Complete rod schedule

Datum row, every advanced rod, path interval, actual advance, position, start/end pitch, traversed phases and proportional pitch allowance. Partial final rods remain labeled.

Up to 1000 advanced rods All five breakpoints

Measured crossing arithmetic

Zero to two named constant-bottom intervals on the level segment, with entered envelope diameter, gap and computed margin.

Explicit zero gap allowed Utility locations unchecked

Dated proposed-plan exports

Free branded Letter/A4 PDF, CSV and browser print, with complete schedule, repeated units and a fitted schematic. Edits invalidate the report; failed exports show an alert and can be retried.

Schematic, not to scale Date and result revision

Frequently Asked Questions

The two setbacks do not determine the intervening level run. That missing length determines total path distance and rod count.
No. Grade is 100 times the tangent of angle. Select a measure explicitly; schedule pitch is signed negative entering and positive exiting.
Radius, quarter-arc length, degrees per rod and percentage points per rod differ. Use the exact specification and units for the rod and installed product. Overall length does not establish in-ground advance. No maker rating preset is supplied.
The plan uses the largest of requested radius, minimum radius and derived distributed pitch radius. It shows the governing criterion and what each criterion alone would allow. The JT20 107 ft and 9.4 points per 10 ft illustration at 18% grade needs about 109.830 ft for the pitch criterion; 107 ft alone permits about 9.649 points per rod. The unchanged depth and station must still fit.
This release requires target depth throughout each measured interval. It does not solve obstacle clearance on entering or exiting curves.
It supplies one explicit five-phase proposed path. It has no utility locating, rig telemetry, as-built logging, multi-bore projects, equipment database or machine/CAD/state-format export. A passing arithmetic constraint does not validate field drilling.
Disclaimer: Proposed two-dimensional geometry beneath level ground using your measurements and entered bend and gap limits. Equipment or installed-product suitability, buried utilities, local requirements, soil behavior and actual steering are unchecked. Passing arithmetic does not establish that a real bore can be drilled or that a utility conflict is resolved.

Guides for this job

Shops & Outbuildings

Read a proposed HDD bore path and rod schedule

Read level-ground bore geometry, radius and pitch limits, path-distance rods, measured crossing gaps and proposed plan exports.

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