What is an SDS Drill

[ksm]

I have some holes to drill into concrete lintels. Can anyone please tell me how an SDS Drill is different to a normal Masonary drill? Does SDS refer to the hammer action or the just the drill bit?

[Chris Oates]

(S)lotted (D)rive (S)ystem

bit gets battered much better

[PoP]

Your average "home" drill has a hammer setting which is a bit like a device for drilling holes in puff pastry. An SDS drill has a serious mechanical design that wallops the drill bit into the brickwork.

I was converted to SDS several months ago, having used a B&Q 650W drill for my holes in walls for many years. I bought a cheap SDS drill, pointed it at the wall (which had some hard bricks in it) and a couple of seconds later I had the holes I wanted.

You'll never use a regular home drill again for bashing holes in walls.

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.

[Grunff]

Or not. Spannung Durch System (Special Direct System).

[John Rouse]

In article , PoP writes

I have to agree. I had a Bosch hammer drill, and it failed after 12 months. Bosch repaired it, and it lasted another six months or so. Then I went and bought an SDS drill from Wickes. I've used it on stone, engineering brick and quarry tiles (proper inch thick ones, not the pansy ones you get these days). I've also used it as a concrete breaker.

John

[BIGEYE]

It may be worth noting that you also get SDS Max drills. Typically these are the larger drill sizes and will not fit into a standard SDS chuck.

[Michael McNeil]

The 240v stuff can be had cheaply these days. They work on pneumatic pressure (I think) with the motor powering a piston. Ordinary drills use a ratchet system.

Prices start at about £25 quid. You can even get battery versions start price is about £85.

I have no idea of their quality.

Bear in mind that most modern housing uses high insulation stuff these days and that aero block is best drilled with a low power drill using ordinary wood bits. For brown plugs use a bit just a little narrower than the plug. Drill as deep as possible without the hammer action and just hammer the fixing in.

A bit OT but I thought a little caution worth mentioning.

[G&M]

Unfortunately the same happened with by Bosch SDS drill after it's first repair. An old PB240 which isn't available any more. Fabulous action but probably totally worn out by a life of misuse. Bought a DeWalt 566 which whirrs away like a Scalextric toy and sort of does the job but nowhere near as effectively as the old Bosch.

[Parish]

Does an SDS get round the problem of the bit being deflected by very hard pieces of aggregate (especially on, or just below, the surface) in concrete "breeze" blocks as happens with an ordinary hammer drill so you end up with the hole in the wrong place and a slot rather than a nice round hole in the surface plaster/plasterboard?

[PoP]

It can still be affected by that, but I've found is less prone to do so - especially if you drill a small hole first (say 5mm).

The SDS drill bit is being "punched" into the hole, whereas a regular hammer drill is just adding a bit of vibration and creating a noise to make you feel it is actually doing something useful (it is - it is creating extra sales for regular hammer drill sales because it knackers the drill).

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.

[John Rouse]

In article , PoP writes

One thing I really can't get used to with the SDS drill is that the less you lean on it the faster it goes in. Hot knife and butter are the words that spring to mind for most jobs - even concrete.

John

[Lobster]

Oh I think that's a tad unfair on hammer drills! Have to say I've never actually used an SDS (one of these days; it's on my wishlist!) but have you never found yourself using a hammer drill, wondering why the hell it isn't working, then finding the hammer action disengaged? The difference is massive.

David

[Parish]

Thanks. It'll probably be worth me buying a cheap one then. I've only got one problem wall; I asked for a block wall instead of a studded partition in our extension as we have some wall mounted furniture to hang. I expect them to use Aircrete/Thermalite rather than breeze.

[Chris Oates]

Woolies £29.99 5 year warranty for a tryout

Not as massive as the leap to an SDS you can knock down walls with them can you remove tiles with a hammer drill ? No

[Dave Plowman]

Are you trying to drill something outside its stated capacity? I've found the 566 makes light work of anything I've drilled. If using it to break up concrete etc a heavier/more powerful device would probably be better, but a chore to use for normal drilling, etc.

[Dave Plowman]

Try drilling something like a concrete lintel. A hammer drill will make lots of noise, but little progress. An SDS will go straight through. A hammer drill is ok for most household bricks etc, but useless for anything harder. You really have to try an SDS to be totally converted.

[Andrew Mawson]

...mmmm - but it's not the fact that it's an SDS drill that makes the difference - that just describes how the bit is held. It's the fact that the impact / percussion process is better designed on the professional drills - often using an air piston driven by a crank. The cylinder surrounding the piston is free to move up and down and it is that that causes the impact. (Says he who has pulled a few Hiltis apart when they've died !)

Andrew Mawson

[Grunff]

No, the whole point od the slotted bit holder is that rather than holding the bit in a chuck and hammering the chuck, you hammer the bit directly. With the first setup, the impact you can impart to the bit is limited by how strongly the chuck can hold the bit. With SDS the impact isn't limited because the bit is hammered directly.

[Dave Plowman]

But the SDS part is integral to the performance overall - a normal chuck would simply slip slightly.

[PoP]

You will be reporting back here shortly - "why the hell didn't I buy one of these earlier????". :)

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.