What drill you use?

awishawash

I know there have been tons of posts on drills but the search wont work!
I'm using a cordless performance pro 18v hammer drill. Battery life is crap and the vibration from it is awful. Am I right in saying that using a cordless on masonry runs the battery down quickly? As a result I've decided to get a new corded drill for hammer action, and use my cordless for screwing. Thing is, I want one with very low vibration. What are the SDS drills like?

Corkey123

There are SDS drill for sale at approx €50-60 at the moment in all tool shops, however while the SDS bits are great these cheap drills vbirate like f*** and are very loud. So if you do go down the route of a SDS drill (which I highly recommend) besure and test it in the shop. You may have to go for the slightly dearer option to get a quieter and steadier model.

Personnally I'd go for the cheap and cheerful model unless of course you a professional.

beldin

The good things with SDS is that the go through walls like a knife through butter. Vibration isn't really a problem as you will drill a hole in seconds.
I bought the 60 euiro jcb version in Argos and it will do anything you want in a house. They won't last for ever but are cheap and do a great job.
Even today I used mine to take up all the tiles in our kitchen.

dubtom

A question, are the sds drill bits very expensive, can a normal drill bit be used in an sds drill?

davidoco

I also got that SDS drill in Argos for 55 euro. Got it three years ago and have given it hell since and it's still going strong. Its loud and vibrates like a fiat tipo going 110 but your getting the job done.

I had looked at the ryobi and other €400 sds drills but for the money the Argos one can't be beaten.

charlie@w.d

dubtom wrote:

A question, are the sds drill bits very expensive, can a normal drill bit be used in an sds drill?

naa they are alot cheaper then the hilti bits, but the standard of bit might'nt be great sometimes.
sds drills wont take an ordinary drill bit unless u get an adapter which tightens with a chuck key or just self tightens

FX Meister

Most of the self tighten chuck adaptors aren't recommended to be used with hammer action turned on. As for the original poster, if you want a cordless drill that drills concrete properly you need to spend a lot of money. I use a 24V Bosch drill but they cost about €600 here.

Sonnenblumen

davidoco wrote:

I also got that SDS drill in Argos for 55 euro. Got it three years ago and have given it hell since and it's still going strong. Its loud and vibrates like a fiat tipo going 110 but your getting the job done.

I had looked at the ryobi and other €400 sds drills but for the money the Argos one can't be beaten.

This is real nonsense and very misleading. Unless you only need to drill light walls,eg, Dry Liner cheap drills will be be found lacking when tackling robust masonry. Also no matter what drill you have, avoid Fools folly and buy quality bits.

For a standard M6 or M8 x 100mmm you'll get decent bits for € 10, sure there are cheaper SDS bits but not much of a working life and will only tackle Breeze block walling.

Perhaps the average DIYer doesn't need to spend €350-€ 400 on a decent SDS drill but that is different to saying a € 50 euro alternative is better is pure nonsense. Good pro SDS include Bosch(Blue), Hitachi and DeWalt.

squire1

Hitachi DV24DV. SDS Plus Hammer Action. 3Ah Battery. It's all you will ever need as far as battery drills are concerned. Fairly expensive.

If its just for DIY get a reasonably cheap battery drill 12V or 14V for screwing and a 220V for hammer action. Bosch, Makita, Hitachi, like sonnenblumen says you get what you pay for. For light use they should last for years and years.

tribesman

beldin wrote:

I bought the 60 euiro jcb version in Argos and it will do anything you want in a house.

I got an SDS JCB drill in Argos a few years ago. Luckily, I got the warranty also because it didn't last long. I got it replaced with another JCB which went the same way after a short time. I then decided that I wasn't having another JCB so I went for a Bosch (green). This never gave any trouble. It is also much lighter than the JCB (or the argos 55 euro models) but it is just as capable.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7105159.htm

I've had good experience for DIY work with the Challenge and Challenge Extreme ranges from Argos. I'd prefer the lighter weight of the Bosch but you wouldn't go far wrong going for one of these.....

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7110247/Trail/C%24cip%3D43220.DIY%2C%2Bgarden%2Band%2Bcar%3EC%24cip%3D43314.DIY%2Bpower%2Btools%3EC%24cip%3D43320.Power%2Bdrills.htm

You could always get the warranty with it which is good value if you're going to be hard on it.

sundula

I use a Dewalt DC988 XRP hammer action version - 18v - its the best piece of equipment i bought. They are price here but i got it on ebay - drill came from the US and the batteries and charger came from England. By some mistake in the US i ended up with 2 of the drills which was handy.

They have taken lots of abuse and even though its a standard chuck if you put in a SDS Plus bit and tighten it it works a dream. No comparison with some of those cheap junk drills

Pocari Sweat

Up at the higher quality end DeWalt are considered a bit wishy washy, even the Bosch range are better than DeWalt.

For the last few years I used an SDS Plus 24v Bosch, approx 600 euros, but the battery quality on most Bosch drills is a bit poor across the range. Their larger GBH monster SDS Max breaker hammer drills at 1,400 are quite good but bulky.

Both my Bosch's are now sat idle in their boxes, in a back room and have now been superceded by two Hiltis.

I got a Hilti 36 volt SDS Plus drill, at around 900 euros which puts the Bosch and all other battery drills to shame.

I also got a Hilti T76 SDS Max breaker hammer drill, only cost around 1,300 euros which also puts the Bosch GBH in the shade, with a smaller lighter easier build, but equal disposable KWatt power with torque control and ability to core drill at 6 inches quite easily.

For smaller drills like the wee 18 volt clueless chuck based hand drills you can't get much better than Makita, at say 430 euros you get a kit with 3 drills and decent power conversion, for light hammer, but mainly screwing and drilling.

DO NOT BUY JCB. They are total and utter shíte. If you want value for money at a low price definitely invest just a wee bit more and hunt down a Ryobi stockist. Ryobi are a Japanese heavy weight industrial manufacturer with a great track record in engineering, they make some of the best printing presses in the world, but do not like JCB, put their name on cheap drills.

Some of the Ryobi 14.4 volt cordless drills are the dandiest little rascals yet can get for your hard earned money, and they will last the DIY enthusiast a lifetime, unlike JCB. They are at least up there with DeWalt, but not in the Bosch level, and certainly not Makita or Hilti.

CJhaughey

I agree with Pocari sweat, Ryobi are a very good drill for the price, I had an 18v hammer drill and it was the business, however the trigger started to malfunction on it after a lot of dust found its way in.
I took it back and they gave me a 14.4v twin set with a 14.4 drill driver and a 14.4v drill, in exchange, I was actually happy with this as I had done all the real heavy drilling with the first drill.

davidoco

Sonnenblumen wrote:

This is real nonsense and very misleading. ........................... robust masonry.

Give me a week with my Challenge SDS hammer/drill and a handsaw and I will reduce your house to rubble (excluding the ground floor slab) in a week. The odd sledge hammer hit may be needed for the WOW effect.

If it is for DIY use spending €500+ on a drill is mad.

Robust masonry – the only robust masonry in my house is the concrete floor, the rest of it like plaster, blocks and lintels break up like butter with the hammer. It’s also a piece of piss drilling 8mm holes for hammer in fixings for battens on a concrete floor.

DIY user = budget drill Black&Decker, Challenge, Bosch
full time professional user = DeWalt/Ryobi/Hilti drill

FX Meister

Pocari Sweat wrote:

Up at the higher quality end DeWalt are considered a bit wishy washy, even the Bosch range are better than DeWalt.

I've heard the opposite from a lot of tradesman, most of them swear by the DeWalt DW005K. For me it was a toss up between that and the Bosch GBH 24V. Went for the Bosch in the end as I got it with a 14.4 volt drill in a package for a good price. Only downside compared to the DeWalt I found was the chisel action only found on the DeWalt. But I found this guy on ebay, http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Cordless-Power-and-Laser-Tools, whom I bought a chisel adapter from. I bought the 24v jigsaw from him too as it takes the same battery as my drill and it is a really good jigsaw. Paid €160 for the jigsaw and case as opposed to McQuillans who wanted over €300 for the jigsaw and no case.

Pocari Sweat

Of course there are hire shops to hire the professional tools like Hilti (mainly Hilti) and a few other proprietory brands, say Whacker for breakers, Kango etc.

But any drills you don't see in most hire shops, you can expect they are of less quality and will not stand up to the punishment that tool hire companies require. Such as Black and Decker. Undecided about DeWalt and Bosch for tool hire, haven't seen many?

po0k

{edit}I{/edit} use a Makita hammer drill (circa 1989-90), solid piece of kit that puts holes in things.

starman100

I bought a Parkside SDS drill in Aldi last year, goes through masonry like a bad curry through Victoria Beckham . I don't see any point in spending big money on SDS masonry drills unless you are in the trade.

I have a Ryobi corded drill for smaller jobs and a non-branded (CK Tools) but decent (circa €200) 18V cordless, however the NiCd batteries are showing signs of ageing (not holding charge for too long) so may be time to upgrade.

Unless you are going spending lots, better to not use a cordless for hammer action jobs.

Most of my power tools come from Aldi, etc. They'll brobably be knackared by the time I've finished the house... but then again I'm only building one house:D

beldin

One word of warning with these cheaper hammer drills. I have used the challenge and the jcb ones. The problem is when you are just using the hammer action for chiselling and the drill suddenly starts to spin.
The problem is the chisel end is usually trapped so that means the drill spins out of your hands and does its best to kill you.
My JCB one did that to me yesterday despite being only over a year and a half old and fairly lightly used. So I am moving up market to Bosch.

FrankGrimes

IMO unless you're a pro a cordless in around €100-€150 will go a long way and combine that with a corded SDS for masonry and you're laughing.

I bought a Ryobi 14.4 volt cordless online 18 months ago for €130 and it's a great cordless, not up there with the makita's etc, but significantly superior to the ROK's, challenge, jcb stuff. One battery got dropped off the roof, and the life in the other has really dropped lately. The use I give it would be far in excess of the average DIYer though. I decided to buy another cordless rather than pay almost €100 for 2 new batteries, mainly because I can do with the second cordless when getting someone to give me a hand with the large amount of slabbing I have coming up. I went with the MacAllister Pro from B&Q for €126 as I have had great experience with their range and have a feeling they may well be made by the same people that make Ryobi. It's an 18volt, and while battery life could be better, it's an absolute powerhouse of a cordless for that price, well happy with it so far.

Also 18 months ago I bought a Performance (not Pro) SDS drill from B&Q for €70. This thing has gotten some serious abuse and been thrown into very hardcore action very frequently and it's always been up to the task. It's a league above your ROK, challenge, JCB argos and woodies muck, so a serious DIYer would do well with it. They do a set of 13 bits including chisel bits for €23 I think, and these have given me absolutely no problems with the wide range of jobs asked of them.

For the record - I also have a Pro chop saw from them €193, which is excellent value and a solid tool especially when you upgrade the blade, a skill saw with laser guide for an unreal €36 including blade and a 9 inch angle grinder for €40, which is slow to start up but nothing wrong with it when it reaches full speed. As I've said here before, I'd stay away from B&Q's kitchen and sanitary ware as IMO it's cheap quality, but I'm very impressed with their power tool range which fills the gap between average joe DIY user and hardcore pro.

yop

I bought the 20 euro one in Aldi initally for the house but it last pissing time and has no real power for putting away long screws, for pictures and small DIY no problem with them.
I went and bought a 12V and 18V Dewalt on Ebay US and bought the chargers in the UK, got all landed for under 500 euro where they want 500 euro alone for the 18V!
BTW I have 2 18V new spare Dewalt batteries if anyone wants to buy them off me

squire1

Just a word about batteries on your power tools. If you are buying a battery tool pay attention to the battery that comes with it. They are rated in two ways by battery type and by Ah. The higher the Ah (normally 1Ah to 3Ah) the better the power and the longer the battery will last. Also pay attention to the type of battery as this will also determine the life and power of the battery. Li-ion is the best then Ni-MH and then Ni-cd. Most of the cheap power tools you see out there will have 1.2Ah Ni-cd battery as standard. The Li-ion ones also have no memory effect so there is no need to fully discharge before you recharge them.

This is the way I understand it so if anyone knows better please correct me.

yop

that is interesting Squire, never copped that before

eddiej

DeWalt 14.4v cordless hammer action bought it 4 years ago for £300 at the time (if the euro in longer then I have the drill longer). Got to agree with the other posters only really worth investing in expensive gear if you are going to use it. This baby has had plenty of work and no probs. Sure get a corded drill if always drilling masonary but for some of us that would mena havin to buy a jenny etc.

The one thing is a corded quality drill is not that expensive and is prob worth the extra bit of money. As regards makes its horses for courses find the dewalt cordless drills great but hate their trim saws have a savage makita that is my new best friend:D .

Eddie

sakigrant

Slabbed my whole house last year with a £19 cordless 12V Powerdevil from Powercity. Great little drill lasted 6 years but gave up the ghost at the end. Bought a 12 V DeWallt + 2 batts for £80 from UK website www.tooled-up.com/SubCategory.asp?MAN=Cordless-Drill-Drivers&CID=34&SCID=382 brilliant drill, great quality, done some serious work - 70m2 deck outside and a lot more internal work. They also sell the 18 V DeWallt + 2 batts for £150. Pretty good value for a quality tool. Also use a corded Hitachi Fdv16vb2 Rotary Impact Drill 16mm for heavier work.

joemc99

I no pro, so I got an argos 18v job. Used for 2 days putting up plaster board and drilling into word, gears broke!!! Total junk, got replaced and put extra cash to 18v ryobi, much better, lasted throughout the house refurb….spend the extra if doing any decent diy.

At the end of the day cheap tools are a bit of a lottery. All except one of the power tools are still going strong, the drill/driver that died gave up after only twenty screws:( ah...well.. win some lose some.

Best avoid the cheapest (and nastiest!) found at the flea markets and car boot sales.

JoeB-

Hi

Check out axminster.co.uk for good deals, should be able to get a high quality Makita cordless for about €140... I have one and have inserted thousands of screws, maybe 25,000 or more in the last year, and not a single problem.

It's also light, well balanced, torque settings are accurate and repeatable, even the 1.3Ah batteries last a few days at 100's of screws per day, it's short in length, trigger allows very slow speeds with high torque... i.e my opinion is that even for DIY use a good screwgun is worth having.

I also own a Makita 2450T SDS drill, absolutely brilliant, costs maybe €220 from Axminster, again it's worth it for a high quality tool.

Cheers
Joe

Custom furniture, Wicklow and Dublin, Ireland.

ircoha

Just a word or warning if u are offered powertools such as DeWalt etc for sale at say open markets or "boot" sales.
There is a hugh counterfeit industry and they are very difficult to spot.

There are also lots of vans visiting building sites with a mix of stolen and counterfeit tools. The last job I was on a quy came with a hugh merc van with loads of stuff, it looked a bit iffy so we delayed him while we got the boys in blue to set up survelience and follow him, he is now doing time.