Drill Advice

TheBlueWolf · July 2016

I'm planning to buy a drill in the next few days so I've been looking around on t'inferwebz.

It's mostly going to be for DIY and assorted jobs around the the house. I've noticed a hammer drill is literally a couple of quid cheaper but, not having a clue what a hammer drill is or what it does, do I need one? A hammer drill that is

Advice much appreciated thank you please

Sporky · July 2016

Hammer drills pulse the bit in and out as it goes 'round; this is useful for drilling into brick and stone.

Good bits in a mediocre drill will get you much further than mediocre bits in the best drill in the world.

Nitefly · July 2016

Depends what you're going to drill into - if ypu're going into masonry (brick or blockwork) you need a hammer drill.

Basically it "hammers" the drill bit into the material at the same time as drilling.

For occasional use such as you decsribe you'll be fine with the usual Black & Decker / Bosch / Makita rechargeable stuff.

Have a look at Screwfix and Axminster Tools - they quite often have deals on. I got a nice Bosch set for £65 from Axminster, power-driver and hammer drill in a case.

Nitefly · July 2016

Bah - out-sporked again!

TheBlueWolf · July 2016

Ah that's gonna be handy should I decide to drill into my walls. Decent drill bits have been added to my shopping list!

professorben · July 2016

In all honesty there not much between, Makita, Bosch and DeWalt.
The main choice you have is Batt or mains.

Sambostar · July 2016

Get a Makita DHT458 bare unit and a DTD146 bare unit. Get a 3.0 or 4.0 Ah battery and a charger and a spare battery or two when you can afford it. Work it out from ebay sellers, it's usually cheaper, the bare units are around £60 each, fast charger as low as £34 and a 4.0 Ah battery around £50

professorben · July 2016

You can get nice Drill/Driver and Impact driver sets these days for good money from the main brands.
Thr only thing I'd say is steer clear of the Own Brand drills from the DIY stores.

Sambostar · July 2016

The torque on the Makita 458 will tear your arms off. If you need an SDS drill to go through 1940's concrete, get a cheap Titan one from Screwfix or something and use it until it breaks, much better and cheaper than a hammer drill..

ThorpyFX · July 2016

What's your budget? I found that I bought cheap drills in the past only to have them break within a year and have to rebuy. I spent marginally more on a Bosch professional cordless without lithium batteries and haven't looked back. Two batteries is very useful too.

One like this actually.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-18-2-li-plus-18v-4-0ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/7434k

paul_c2 · July 2016

If you're looking around the £100 range then the likes od DeWalt, Makita etc do models but they're not the same as their £400 models!!! Hammer action is definitely worth having for masonry/brick but when cordless is handy and its too small a job to justify an SDS drill etc. 2 batteries is definitely worthwhile - charge one while you use the other, no need to stop working. And go for Lithium battery not Ni-Cad. Also 2 speed is handy.

I bought a Hitachi which has all the above for £100 (including 2 Lithium batteries) and its still going strong.

boogieman · July 2016

I've had one of these for a couple of years, pretty happy with it.http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcd776c2-gb-18v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill-xr/17648

If you go cordless, definitely get something with two batteries, Sod's law says the battery will always die at a crucial moment.

Chalky · July 2016

Bosch 18v cordless hammer drill/screwdriver has never let me down.

TheBlueWolf · July 2016

I'm thinking £100 to £150 in terms of budget. It's tempting to get a cheap own brand but I'm wary of them being unreliable and needing to be replaced in which case I'd rather get a decent drill up front.

I'd prefer a cordless drill so I'm not arseing around with leads in which case I'll have a spare, charged, battery handy.

Cheers for the tips guys, I'm going to check out the linkage that's been offered

Sporky · July 2016

This looks a decent bet:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gsb-18-2-li-cordless-combi-drill-18v-2-0ah-101787

chrispy108 · July 2016

I can't see the point of cordless for DIY. I can't be more than 10m from a plug socket in my own house, so why add the hassle of charging batteries and then dealing with them going flat etc?

I'd get an impact driver: https://www.howetools.co.uk/makita-td0101f-240v-impact-driver-6-5mm-hex
then a decent sized drill.

Drill for holes, impact driver for screws.

boogieman · July 2016

chrispy108 said:

I can't see the point of cordless for DIY. I can't be more than 10m from a plug socket in my own house, so why add the hassle of charging batteries and then dealing with them going flat etc?

I'd get an impact driver: https://www.howetools.co.uk/makita-td0101f-240v-impact-driver-6-5mm-hex
then a decent sized drill.

Drill for holes, impact driver for screws.

The lead always seems to get in the way or drag with a corded drill, it also adds weight. Drilling above your head is enough of a PITA without a lead in the way.

randella · July 2016

boogieman said:

chrispy108 said:

I can't see the point of cordless for DIY. I can't be more than 10m from a plug socket in my own house, so why add the hassle of charging batteries and then dealing with them going flat etc?

I'd get an impact driver: https://www.howetools.co.uk/makita-td0101f-240v-impact-driver-6-5mm-hex
then a decent sized drill.

Drill for holes, impact driver for screws.

The lead always seems to get in the way or drag with a corded drill, it also adds weight. Drilling above your head is enough of a PITA without a lead in the way.

It depends on what you're drilling. My house's outer walls were built from brick that more closely resembles cut diamond, I can't tell you how many (decent-quality) masonry bits I've been through. I've killed 3x 18v cordless drill batteries and counting; only a corded drill is any use if you need more than two holes without recharging.

The inner skin, however, is made from blockwork the texture and hardness of Cadbury's Wispa. I cut a recess for a dimmer switch pattress box in ten minutes with a cordless drill and an old, blunt wood chisel. Go figure.

Sporky · July 2016

randella said:

It depends on what you're drilling. My house's outer walls were built from brick that more closely resembles cut diamond, I can't tell you how many (decent-quality) masonry bits I've been through. I've killed 3x 18v cordless drill batteries and counting; only a corded drill is any use if you need more than two holes without recharging.

Depends on the drill and the bits.

I have a full-sized SDS mains drill; it cuts slower than the cordless 18v SDS Bosch with the same bit, and the Bosch is smaller and lighter. The Bosch did 30-odd holes in brick and concrete (and it's 50s brick and concrete which is like granite) on a single battery, with charge remaining.

One of these - http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gsr18v-ec-fc2-set-combi-4-attachments-18v-4-0ah-102121

Marvellous bit of kit.

randella · July 2016

Sporky said:

randella said:

It depends on what you're drilling. My house's outer walls were built from brick that more closely resembles cut diamond, I can't tell you how many (decent-quality) masonry bits I've been through. I've killed 3x 18v cordless drill batteries and counting; only a corded drill is any use if you need more than two holes without recharging.

Depends on the drill and the bits.

I have a full-sized SDS mains drill; it cuts slower than the cordless 18v SDS Bosch with the same bit, and the Bosch is smaller and lighter. The Bosch did 30-odd holes in brick and concrete (and it's 50s brick and concrete which is like granite) on a single battery, with charge remaining.

One of these - http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gsr18v-ec-fc2-set-combi-4-attachments-18v-4-0ah-102121

Marvellous bit of kit.

At four times the price of my cordless drill, I would hope it is!

In seriousness, the way I see it is cheap corded drill + minor inconvenience = more money for overdrive boxes and beer.

TheBlueWolf · July 2016

The block I live in has been around since the early 70's, possibly longer. I can't see myself doing a *lot* of drilling into the concrete walls, apart from a few places to hang guitars and I share the sentiments of @boogieman in not wanting to be bogged down with cords

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