JCB 24v SDS - Review

[The Medway Handyman]

Been lusting after a cordless SDS for some time, but the price has put me off.

My mate wot helps me build decks is a bit of an Arthur Daly character & buys pallets of catalogue returns, never knows exactly whets on them. Lot of the stuff is brand new, never been opened.

Last pallet he bought had a JCB 24v cordless SDS which I purchased for the princely sum of 20 (used notes). Plainly never been used. Obviously Chinese, but worth a punt.

So, a review. I've no experience of other makes so I cant compare it with a top brand.

Its bloody heavy for a start, mainly due to the battery which is the size of half a housebrick. It comes with two (2 a/h) & a huge 1 hour charger in a decent blow moulded case. The case is also huge, I don't know where its going to fit into the van yet - may just carry the drill & battery.

It works, drills holes in bricks that defeat percussion drills, but its slow compared to my Wickes & Ryobi mains SDS. Not sure if all cordless SDS are slower than mains? Can't find any specs for impacts per min or impact energy.

Not sure I'd be happy drilling lots of holes working off a ladder because of the weight & relatively slow drilling speed - you would need arms like Arnold S. 'Boxed weight' is 12kg.

Looks tacky though. Finished in the JCB orange/black but with a couple of 'chrome' trims at the side & top that make it look cheap.

Am I happy for a score? Yes. Would I be happy at 100+? I don't think so.

I wonder if cheap Chinese power tools are based on old or discontinued European/American tools? Bit like when they sell off the rights & tooling to make cars?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd say so - or have a very short battery life. It's one of these things that would be useful for someone like a satellite rigger who would otherwise have to run a cable and only needs to drill a few holes - but for most the extra weight outweighs any convenience.

However at 20 quid you can't go wrong.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "The Medway Handyman" saying something like:

My 12V Bosch definitely is, even when it had newish batteries. It wasn't rubbish though, just a bit slower and would happily drill several 12mm holes per charge. It was ex-BT, so had proven its worth up the side of many houses, I've no doubt.