Sds drills at B&Q

[Peter smith]

I was after a new SDS recently and went to B&Q and found a sds + drill called the macallister 950watt sds drill, about 4kg at a guess, not overly heavy and easy to use, chisels with hammer, drills, drills with hammer and just drills modes, blwo moulded case, 13mm standard drill chuck and key all for £79.99p

I was going to go with the Ryobi 6y50 watt one for the same price, but after holding one of these and having a play it felt built to last, and more importantly drilled beautyfully and effortlessly. I put up a sat dish today, effortless and mounted a ceiling hook for a punch bag for my teenage son who thinks hes rocky this month, effortless.

So far day one gets the thumbs up from me, and for £79.99 a bargain I'd say. Although I have never heard of the brand, so took a chance. Chap in B&Q said there good, but thats the sales bod who no doubt doesn;t know what day of the week it is.

Also comes with a 3 year guraentee.

Anyone any thoughts on this drill or macalister products ?

I'll have a little google of them now I think. But very impressed with weigth and drilling capabilities, really is top notch.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Macalister is the 'new' B&Q brand. Replaces Performance Power.

[Tim S]

Peter smith coughed up some electrons that declared:

I wouldn't touch the macalister with a bargepole. Rather have an ALDI special...

I can vouch for Hitachi - a 2kg multifunction with a surprisingly useful range of usefulness (it's light but efficient in its operation which means it *seems* more powerful than it looks), if limited duty cycle (you'll fry it pounding concrete for 30 minutes non stop) can be had for around 120 quid.

"Core" drills with a TCT core cutter upto 70mm (well that's what I've tried - it might manage more) without any trouble in brick, concrete with some trouble and probably will do larger in light block.

Cheers

Tim

[Peter smith]

Out of interest why is that Tim, the drills seems pretty good to me. Actually I did try and get a lidle special the other day with no joy, so off to b&q I went.

[The Medway Handyman]

Macallister is B&Q's own brand, like Cooke & Lewis kitchens & stuff.

In general full of unecessary bells & whistles at the expense of basic components.

Any SDS drill is a godsend. Enjoy.

[Peter smith]

Ahhhh, the sds 950watt drill seems very good for £80 does all I ask and more :) ... I would have loved a mikita or dewalt sds but I could not justify the cost for the occasional use. This seemed like a cost budget buy.

[Peter smith]

I struggled and nearly killed my arm lol using my bosch hammer drill to get some fittings into the kitchen wall. Taking near an hour to drill 3 fittings!!! Today I used the above drill took me 3 mins with little effort. So thats me happy, and in the wifes good books :)

My first sds always wanted one, and decided to get one as I had a few jobs to do at home.

[Andy Burns]

Seems that despite limited SDS stock, Lidl are doing their bit to revitalise the economy ...

[Tim S]

Peter smith coughed up some electrons that declared:

I looked at some of the MacAlister stuff and it seemed crappy to me. I also suspected it was a new "own brand" and I have a PP drill set. The drills are passable, but definately on the shitty end of passable. I suspected this and bought it more for the case and having one size of every drill as a starter pack. As expected, the useful sizes have either broken or blunted and are gradually being replaced with DeWalt or Bosch.

Cheers

Tim

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Only comment I'd make is that one is rather heavy. Won't matter for the occasional hole - but it will be very tiring if used for chasing into walls, etc.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If they're HSS drills Lidl have just done a set from 0.5 - 10mm in a flip out steel case. Excellent drills - but worth the price for the case alone. My local store had lots left yesterday.

[John Rumm]

Was this the first time you have used a SDS? (Most people find their first SDS experience quite enlightening!)

What is the speed control like?

Can you lock the chisel off in any position of your choosing?

What is the lubrication regime?

Often marketing for "no spares or support" ;-)

[PeterC]

and 'post it back to us at more than it's worth' so that you just throw it away.

[Doctor Drivel]

The Ryobi is better.

[Steve Firth]

It's pot luck with them. Some of the PP power tools were Ryobi tools rebadged. Sadly they also changed the form of the battery packs so that they are not interchangeable.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Wouldn't it be nice if all makers used the same design of battery so they could be interchanged - if the same voltage? After all the cells inside are standard sizes.