All-round SDS+ drill recommendations

[olo]

Hi folks,

Looking to buy my first SDS drill for a serious DIY use. Budget ~100 quid or less. Requirements:

- safety clutch

- chiseling mode

- not too heavy

- occasional core drilling may be required (say once per 6 months up to 100mm core)

I know people recommend dedicated core drills, but on the other hand some had successes with powerful SDS with safety clutch. Can you confirm that this is right thinking ?

So which "powerful" SDS drill might be up (not frequently though) for it also providing good drilling/chiselling service on the regular basis? What parameters to look at:

- wattage (which one input/output/else)

- no load speed

- impact energy

- torque

- drilling capacity

I was pondering about this SPARKY drill:

help much appreciated.

[gna03633]

drill:

> any help much appreciated.

Have a search back in the groups, there are plenty of suggestions.

I just bought a Makita HR2450X

intial impressions are a great bit of kit, weight is good and the control on the trigger is brilliant. Chissel is excellent. I opted to spend a few quid more to get some bits (though they can be poor bundled) as I had none.

[dom]

That looks an excellent deal. The interchangeable sds and keyless chucks is an extra well worth having.

I've use this for years:

has similar interchangeable chucks.

You may be able to find the Bosch gbh2-24dfr discounted as I believe it's a discontinued model.

[A.Lee]

The only one I'd be looking at is this Dewalt SDS corded drill and 12v cordless drill at £100 from Screwfix:

I cant see a downside to that deal - the 12v drill on its own is £80ish. Alan.

[John Rumm]

Sounds like a pretty straightforward choice then... one of the more powerful 2kg machines...

any reports either so it is a bit of an unknown quantity. I do have one Sparky machine (wall chaser) which is certainly ok, although I would not put it in the Makita/Blue Bosch/Hitachi quality bracket.

I use the Makita 2450 and rate it very highly. The Hitachi in the same class is also very good.

is a new Bosch GBH26 range one that would do nicely - but that is a bit over your price bracket. The older GBH24 is also very good, but is only a 620W machine and may not be up to the core drilling (the 780W only just hacks it with a 107mm core - I have cut enough with it in different materials to almost wear out the first core bit!)

[John Rumm]

The only obvious one is it probably does not have the power for doing the larger core sizes. Otherwise, it is a very good deal.

(Not sure about the 3 speed bit in the ad either)

[F]

I got that one around 18 months ago when they were selling it for ~£75. Delighted with it! It's not three speed though, it's variable speed.

[Andy Hall]

That one is pretty much an unknown brand so one would have to ask the questions about spares and service.

Bosch, Makita and DeWalt all have products around this price point which are known to be good.

[Doctor Drivel]

Great deal. And I would go for that.

[olo]

thanks to all who replied - especially to gna for the Makita 2450 link and to John for confirming it's "OK" with 107mm cores (from time to time)

this is exactly what I'm after - occasional bathroom/kitchen vent or boiler flue, but mostly sds drilling and chiselling

agreed, excellent deal but ... I already own cordless drill/driver which I am happy with and I am slightly worried that 650W DeWalt may not be up to 107mm core

cheers

[tony sayer]

In article , olo scribeth thus

Makita 2450

Excellent bit of kit, best drill I've bought:))

[Malcolm Race]

Look at the Wickes professional range. I have had the smaller of the two, a 650W, 2Kg drill for about 5 years and find it very good. I have only drilled one 110 mm core and it coped, with care. The drill is made by Kress and sreviced by Draper. When the mains lead failed (out of warranty) I took it to their depot in Chandlers Ford (Hants) and they courriered it back to me. I have yet to be charged!

Price is arround £100

Malcolm

[Lobster]

not a 100-quid one. For that money you could go for a decent recognised brand name like Makita/Bosch/DeWalt or whatever - why wouldn't you?

David

[Lobster]

Duh, always read any other replies before posting or it can make you look a bit of a prat...

[The Medway Handyman]

I have 2 Makita drill drivers, an impact drive, a router, a jigsaw & a circular saw. All do exactly what it says on the tin. Can faullt any of them, they all punch well above their weight.

My SDS however is a Wickes/Kress. When I bought it the Makita was a fair bit more expensive. I can't fault the Wickes mahine either, excellent machine in all respects, but if they were of similar price I'd buy the Mak.

As you may spot, I'm a big Makita fan.

[Andy Hall]

I knew you'd get there eventually.

Now after the Nigerian lady pays...... you will be able to invest in Festool and increase your prices substantially.

[Piers James]

A bit above your budget, but I can recommend this

came with a bunch of chisels and bits when I bought it as well as the chuck adaptor, but it's still a good price.

[The Medway Handyman]

The Nigerian lady has already paid - I don't do credit. Festool? I'd have to win the lottery :-)

In two minds about prices - like all small business's I worry that if I increase prices I'll lose work. Having said that I'm fully booked til the end of Oct with jobs coming in every day.

[Andy Hall]

Very good. It sounded like an entertaining set of jobs.

I can safely say that I stand zero chance of that, never ever having bought a ticket. I pay quite enough in taxes without supporting a voluntary version that puts some of its money into projects that either normal tax should be funding or which aren't worth doing and gives the rest to people who really don't know how to use it properly.

There is also the thing about having a published price list. I suppose that for the short jobs aspect, people find it helpful to know roughly what they are going to be in for before making contact. Perhaps you could increase prices for the quoted work, although I suppose that that can't be more than the timed rate....

[Lobster]

I've bought one ticket, once - the first day of the lottery. Didn't win, so that was enough for me ;-)

Though my beef with it is more based on the fact that it targets the members of society who can least afford it, and who genuinely think they have a chance of winning.

Like the little old lady in front of me in the queue at the corner shop, with a shopping basket containing one tin of cat food, a small loaf of bread and a potato or whatever, paying for it by counting out the last change in her purse, but still adding in a quid for a bloody lotto ticket.

David