SDS drill

[Ron Lowe]

Hi, all.

I'm looking to buy an SDS drill, and looking for reccomendations.

The immediate job in hand is to drill 16mm holes in hard-as-hell fyfestone masonry, to accept some M10 anchor bolts ( Freesat installation ).

Last time I did this ( aerial T-K bracket installation ) it took a Long Time and nearly killed my regular hammer drill. I've been told that an SDS would have made much lighter work of it.

I generally prefer decent tools, and don't mind spending a reasonable sum for a quality item.

Would I need to get a new masonry drill bit to fit the SDS chuck, or would my existing 16mm masonry bit ( with reduced-diameter section of shank to fit in regular chuck ) do the job?

[Harry Bloomfield]

Ron Lowe pretended :

I bought one of the Aldi SDS drills a few years ago, the larger ones for about £30. It has done all I have asked of it, including a 1m x

20mm hole through solid concrete.

Mine came with chuck adaptor SDS to straight shank bit, but they are only good for rotary drilling not impact. You need a proper SDS drill for the job - again Aldi often do an SDS drill bit set for about £7 - that is if none of the supplied with the SDS drill bits will do.

Difference between rotary impact drilling and SDS drilling is amazing. Knife through butter and you can use it for chiselling concrete too.

[Owain]

You need a Hilti :-)

Yes.

You can get chuck adapters to use ordinary bits in an SDS, or often pull off the SDS chuck and fit an ordinary one, but why would you want to? Get new SDS bits to go with the drill.

Bill Wright on uk.tech.digital-tv or his website wrightsaerials (google) is a mine of useful information and amusing anecdotes

Owain

[John]

I got this one

(link goes to ebay) about two years ago and it's been brilliant. Very highly recommended.

John

[John]

Should also have said that IMHO at least, you need the proper SDS bits to do a proper job.

[Doctor Drivel]

Wickes SDS at £99. Full pro drill made by Kress in Germany and 3 year Guarantee.

[Dave Liquorice]

Define "decent tools" and "reasonable sum". B-)

Features to look for:

Hammer stop, for drilling whne you don't need the hammer action. Rotary stop, can then use it to chisel/chase small breaker. Chuck locked when in hammer stop to prevet a chisel bit rotating in use. Safety clutch, SDS drills have a lot of torque and the bits can bind without warning.

You will need proper SDS bits.

[George]

How much did you pay? Wickes are doing it for £99.99

[The Medway Handyman]

Screwfix have the blue Bosch GBH2-18 SDS+ Hammer Drill on offer at £60

with 6 bits. You aint gonna go wrong with that.

[A.Lee]

If you are local to Leicester, I have a Dewalt mains SDS drill for sale. Bought as a package from Screwfix with 12v drill/driver for £100. Used once for less than 5 minutes. I'll chuck in some drill bits as well for the £50 I want for it. Alan.

[Doctor Drivel]

Wickes sell the 800W version at £95, with no del;ivery charge and available at the store. Good buy.

[Doctor Drivel]

> Comes with 6 bits. You aint gonna go wrong with that.

At £56. It is only 550w, so you get what you pay for. The Hitchai is 800w. Both 1 year guarantees. The Hitchai is the best.

Wickes have a 700w Kress - 3 year guarantee for £109. the £99 Wickes/Kress is 620w - 3 year guarantee.

of mind? The Wickes/Kress with the 3 year guarantee.

[John]

Well, as I said, it was about two years ago but if I recall correctly, it was about £85 plus £10 postage, so £95 in all.

John

[Doctor Drivel]

Are you selling the drill/driver too? If so a good deal. Must still be under guarantee. Is it?

[Doctor Drivel]

700 to 100w

Best use SDS bits.

[George]

Most odd? somethings go down in price over two years,not up in price.

[Steve Firth]

Do they make SDS drills that small?

[Doctor Drivel]

Oh look! A plantpot.

[Steve Firth]

You made a mistake and made yourself look (more) stupid. Get over it.

[Andy Hall]

The brands to consider for a quality purchase are Bosch, Makita, Metabo and DeWalt.

You will need SDS bits unless you go for a product with changeable chuck. However, it is better to get the proper SDS bits.