SDS Drill recommendation please

[andrew]

Several years ago I did some freelance work installing biomass boilers for a firm bases in Montrose.

We had a domestic job local to me in Surrey and the boss came down with all the bits and tools necessary to do the job except he left his SDS drill at home, so we bought a massive cheap one from B&Q for 38quid. It worked and at the end he gave it me as a keepsake.

Since then it has been knocked about a bit, used for demolition and general fixing by the brickie at work and though it weeps a bit of grease and he has lost various bits it's still going strong.

AJH

[Skipweasel]

Ain't happened here in the eight years or so I've had it. And it's been lent out to various friend in that time and they ain't killed it either.

[Skipweasel]

I keep topping up the gearbox on mine. I have no idea where it's going - there's no sign of it coming out anywhere, but it keeps going in.

Perhaps it's secretly a Tardis.

[The Medway Handyman]

I wouldn't disagree with that. Better to have a cheap, bulky SDS than none at all. First one I bought was a monster but OK for DIY.

As soon as I could justify & afford a 'top brand' I got one. Since I use it 2 or 3 times a week its worth laying out the extra & it is a true joy to use. If it sat in the garage with 6 months between jobs it wouldn't be viable.

[John Rumm]

Much depends on what you are doing with it. Any SDS will drill holes effectively, and if the alternative is a normal hammer drill, then the crappiest SDS is vastly preferable if you need to drill hard masonry.

Any three function machine will chisel - and if you need to break up something, then again pretty much any SDS will do the job.

There are however significant differences that in some cases do matter, and they are hard to get round without going up market:.

A single fixed speed SDS (or ham fisted operator with any SDS drill) will make nasty exit wounds on brickwork.

Delicate chiselling (say cutting through the top coat on friable plaster) requires a decent speed control. Accurate and neat chases / socket backbox cutouts require a chisel that at least stays locked in one position of rotation.

Prolonged use without excess fatigue will for most people mean not having to support 5kg all day etc.

If you are going to be doing stuff like drilling with a core drill, then you will risk injury without a clutch.

[Skipweasel]

Mine's four-function. Drill, hammer, hammer-drill and the ever useful "make a lot of noise and do nothing"!

[John Rumm]

You can get some with automatic function switching... that used to be a favourite of the early newtool ones - you start chiselling and at some random moment it engaged rotation for you ;-)

[Mark]

Not at all. Often a more expensive tool will allow you to do a better job and they are usually easier to use. Whenever I have bought a cheap tool I've always regretted it afterwards.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember [e-mail] (Steve Firth) saying something like:

Indeed, and when such tools as the Makita mentioned above are selling for around a hundred quid, it's daft to skimp. Even my old green Bosch SDS stayed the course for nearly ten years of pro use and abuse. Not every day, admittedly, but it had a hard life before finally expiring with a commutator short.