Aldi have a diamond core drill bit set for £25. I only need to drill 2 holes for extractors so they'd pay for themselves.
Thing is - I only have a hammer drill, and a cheap mains Lidl SDS. The packaging made some reference to 'clutch' required.
Are these bits likely to be any good, and is a specialist drill necessary?
Ideally a drill with a clutch would be best. However I have recently done a similar job drilling 125mm holes for a boiler flue and a kitchen vent with a 700w bosch DIY drill with the hammer switched off, in low gear and with the speed control limited to about 3 out of 5 maximum. This meant that on the odd occasion that the cutter jammed, the drill stalled and I could switch off immediately, clear the problem and re-start. Make sure you are standing firmly on a stable platform NOT on a ladder and take it steady - you should be ok.
You can drill 107 mm cores with a 700W (ish) SDS if you take it carefully.
The clutch however is a very good idea, since getting at least one snag is almost certain. Its possible to hang onto a drill with a decent side handle and stall it (the drill may not appreciate it mind), but you carry a risk of personal injury if it manages to slip your grip. Long side handle (or tube extension over a shorter one) will help keeping it safe.
Most "proper" SDS drills will have a clutch anyway. Core drills also have them, and typically they are set to slip at a higher torque (although in the case of some like the sparky - its not much more than a SDS)
Many thanks both, noted. Just checked the drill:
and no clutch. Pretty good otherwise, hasten to add.
I've drilled two extractor vents with a similar cheapy (identical to
Used a 100mm diamond core drill with a gentle hosepipe jet of water directed into the cut. Held the drill tight and braced myself for it to kickback. It occasionally jerked and juddered, but if you keep the pressure light and hold on tight I would say it's do-able. No worse than holding onto a 9" angle grinder or a chainsaw.
I've core drilled a number of 30 - 40mm holes through brick and breeze using a cheap SDS without a clutch, but doing a 100+mm one without a clutch scared the shit out of me.
Besides the lack of a clutch another problem with a number of the cheapy SDS drills is that the side handle is just a friction fit around a round collar on the drill body, so can slip, when it does, all the reaction force goes through the handle where the switch is situated and is held by your other hand.
As Dirty Harry would say
A nice safe drill with a clutch, or a drill without, with the potential of any or all of the following: broken jaw, smashed teeth, broken arm, broken wrist.
Ask yourself this question, do you feel lucky? Well do you punk?
No *mention* of a safety clutch. Copywriting luvvies often don't mention boring safety features. Frankly, given its German origins, I'd be surprised if there's genuinely no clutch.
ALDI HAVE/HAD a drill on special offer from 29/9. This one.
It was recommended by a poster, a heating installer, on another forum I fre quent. He'd had two and for the money, they were very good value, he said.
I don't use them, so couldn't possibly comment.
I have drilled holes through Smiths houses (pre-cast concrete and brick tiles) using
in a one+ battery drill.
Took three batteries a hole but it worked OK.
I have one like that, its very heavy. I use it as a concrete breaker not a drill. Assuming its the same as mine it has a clutch but it can still give a pretty big kick before it de-clutches.
I think I have one of these. I did try drilling a 100mm core with it but it was too just heavy to use sensibly in the awkward position I was in. Perhaps would have been OK if I could have supported it on something.
I was only using it because my DeWalt had just died a death. I've replaced the DeWalkt with a Makita (both with clutches) and would never use the Aldi one for core drilling in preference.
I've a Lidl SDS+ bought about 4 - 5years ago and it does have a clutch. Never had to test it as the biggest hole so far has been 25mm through brick.
I once went to drill a masonry hole with a core drill, and found something was faulty, one of the arbors I think. The short version is in the end I at tacked it with an ancient 270w B&D drill in one final desperate attempt to get it done on the day, only to find it powered the core drill no problem a t all.
NT
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