Drill recommendation please

[John Rumm]

Cordless I take it?

[Andy F Batter]

This has to be the best place to ask...

I need a reliable drill for spinning winches, ie, we put a hook in the chuck, slot that into the winch and spin it... It beats hand winding!

We once had a Krell drill which lasted 5 years, the last three drills (while having similar specs on paper) have lasted about a fortnight each. We are looking for something powerful, but it's the torque and gearing which are most important. Somethng which can be set to spin in either direction steadily at 300 rpm with lots of power would be brilliant. Any recommendations welcome, both for the drill and the best place to buy...

TIA

Andy

[Andy F Batter]

No, 240v is fine.

Andy

[John Rumm]

In which case it may be worth looking at the drill either designed for mixing or core boring since you need low speed, high torque, and endurance. It is also the sort of continous use that will tend to kill drills that do not have effective cooling at low speeds.

Perhaps:

?ts=79642&id=17702 you don't need the impact capability, SDS drills tend to be slower speed anyway. A good variable speed control witha safety clutch could work:

for a core drill:

?pf_id=22639&recno=3

[zymurgy]

direction

Well, it's not a 'pro' drill, but my Bosch SDS drill has lasted well, and I use it for light chiselling and power driving screws regularly.

Bosch do a pro version with ruggedised gears but it's about =A3160-170. Worth paying out if you want something that'll last.

Or go for the 110V version. Most of these are already ruggedised for site use ...

Cheers,

Paul.

[mike]

This Kress model is in the latest Wickes catalogue for £100.

although mention of Kress in this newsgroup usually results in a heated debate.

Mike

[Rob Morley]

Something like this?

[Andy F Batter]

That was all very very useful, thank you.

Thanks too to all others who responded. An order hasn't been placed just yet, but I'd be surprised if I opt for something which hasn't been suggested here.

Andy

[Andy Dingley]

If 240V is OK, then look for a "slow drill", as used by plasterers for mixing, or by timber framers for drilling large holes. Wickes sell one for 99 quid that's cheap, but uninspiring to handle. The one that the framers use because it doesn't die is the Makita (not cheap, Axminster have them).

For cordless, try the red Milwaukee stuff (new to the UK, Isaac Lord have them). Read last month's Fine Woodworking mag for a multi-review on good cordless drills and why they differ.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

300 rpm is way below any standard mains drill speed. And a vary-speed one isn't going to be happy with prolonged high torque use. You'd need to look at something suitable for mixing plaster, etc.

[Andy F Batter]

I went for this one in the end... (thanks John)

for the affirmation that a slow drill is what I needed.

I like the idea that it's a set speed, as I occasionally let contractors do the winching, and they invariable twiddle with anything that can be adjusted, set it to 20,000rpm, and then tell me that it's started to smoke when being used.

Andy

[Mark]

I almost posted a link to one, but none (that I know of) do reverse ;-(

[Andy Dingley]

Just shows you shouldn't believe all the rubbish that's on the net ! I've never used a Makita slow drill - don't even know if they make one. What I should have written was Hitachi - the green ones.

Fortunately that seems to be the one you've gone for anyway.

[Mike]

Sounds like one of the 110volt Makita units with the hammer in chucks would be idea. Torque is enormous !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[John Rumm]

The closest match to the Hitachi would be:

are some others: ?PID=112024

[Mike]

They do but not sure of the number - I hire it regularly. Excellent device which will slowly but surely bore through anything. I expect there was one on the channel tunnel drills :-)