Right-angle drills

[Limp Arbor]

I looked online at Milwaukee and Dewalt and was surpsrised the the specs didn't show the distance from the tip of the chuck to the back of the drill.

I stopped at Lowes last night and measured the Milwaukee and it is about 5 1/2" with the chuck jaws fully retracted to the back of the angle. Not nearly as small as I would like, anybody make one that can get into tighter spots?

I need a 'real' drill not some right angle screwdriver from B&D since I will be using this to drill into concrete. Yeah I know an impact drill should be used but those things are gigantic.

[Lowell Holmes]

I have a Dewalt right angle drill that is more than screwdriver, but it is battery powered and is not an impact tool. IIRC, Milwaukee has a corded right angle drill that is a drill, but again it is not an impact tool. I suspect you may have a problem. The big box stores are not a good place to look for unusual tools. I'm sure you must have googled right angle drills by now.

[Lowell Holmes]

snip

Your in luck. Google had this site at the top of the list.

[mac davis]

I bought a (corded) Milwaukee knock off on Ebay a couple of years ago on Ebay.. They called it a "close quarter" drill and it is, sorta..

I figured it might last for a few months and be a throwaway.. Only paid $30 w/shipping... Damn thing has sanded maybe 100 or so bowls and still running like new.. The only thing I'd like is a keyless chuck, but I don't think the Milwaukee is either, is it?

AFAIK, the Milwaukee is about the smallest real angle drill..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[Scott Townsend]

I have both of the following... We bought the hammer drill after the hole hawg (right angle) We started using the Right angle to drill into a concrete slab, but it was not cutting it. Too low of torque or something, we switched to another Milwaukee corded drill.

When we wanted to add stairs and needed to bolt anchored to the concrete I bought the Bosch Hammer Drill. Talk about belting the concrete like butter... Its a world of Difference... Though make sure you get the Hammer Drill bits... we just used it with some cheap bit and it tore it up...

The Bosch Hammer Drill is not a monster like the big boy rotary hammer drills. Its pretty much the size of a normal corded drill.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Milwaukee Hole Hawg, though its not made to drill concrete. We use it mostly with Self-fed bits for boring holes in studs, top plates, etc. Its great also for mixing concrete, grout, drywall texture, etc...

[EXT]

I have a Bosch 1132VSR right angle corded drill. It is about 3" from the tip of the chuck to the back of the housing with much of the chuck recessed into the metal housing. It would be hard to find any other with smaller measurements.

[Peter Huebner]

I'd go with this over the Bosch:

tend to be more reliable and consistent with their hammer drills in my experience. I've managed to wear a couple out, but it's taken me 20-30 years in both cases. And I used to drill plenty of concrete with them.

-P.

[Wayne Whitney]

Hello again. As I posted previously, there are at least two companies that make a right angle attachment for their rotary hammers: Hilti's TE-AC angle chuck or Bosch's 1618580000 right angle attachment. Hilti says their chuck is 5" tall. For a drilling into concrete, a regular drill is useless, a hammer drill will progress slowly, and a rotary hammer will progress well.

Cheers, Wayne

[Pete C.]

Hilti TE5 right angle rotary hammer - not cheap, but can't beat it with a stick. May be able to rent one.

[Lobby Dosser]

A regular drill with a concrete bit will do fine, if you are only drilling a few holes. I've done it.

[Lowell Holmes]

I agree if it is small diameter holes. If you are going to drill 1" or larger holes, it gets tough, especially if you have to go deep. I have a PC

1/2" right angle drill (electricians use them) that will certainly handle the job. but the bits might be a weak part of the equation. The web site I posted earlier talks about both concrete and wood drilling. The concrete part preceded the right angle wood discussion.

As one poster mentioned, it sounds like a good time to rent a tool.

[Lobby Dosser]

Or a good excuse to buy one. :)

As I was only planning to drill two holes for cane bolts and a couple more for fasteners, I thought buying a new drill might seem like wretched excess.

[Lowell Holmes]

There is no such thing to wood workers. :-)

[Rocky]

I have the Milwaukee and it has plenty of power. Just be advised, you MUST unplug this drill before inserting or changing bits. The trigger mechanism is very easy to push while you crank the chuck key to tighten the chuck. Result: the motor starts and the key comes around and gets caught under the plastic housing. Besides being dangerous, it's a pain to get the key unstuck. Of course this did not happen to me, someone told me.

Rocky

[Limp Arbor]

So close. I should have mentioned I'm drilling 1/2 holes in lightweight concrete, so I need a 1/2 chuck. Stopped at the local rental place they had what looked like a PC (no lables) and it was about 6" from chuck face to back. The Hilti's were all monsters.

I figure I will spend more on bits than anything else in this project. I will have to go about 5" deep so I will probably need three different length bits since I can only go ~1 1/2" deep at a time with the Milwaukee. I *only* need to drill about 10 holes this way so if it takes a long time and burns up a bit or two I can deal with it. I'm just surprised that the MW r-angle drill is so big and nobody seems to make a smaller one.

[Limp Arbor]

Yeah, I also 'know a guy' who wrapped the cord around his arm when changing a drill bit. Now that guy has all the chuck keys attached to the cord near the plug...

[Lee Michaels]

"Limp Arbor" wrote

Yeah, I also 'know a guy' who wrapped the cord around his arm when changing a drill bit. Now that guy has all the chuck keys attached to the cord near the plug...

duct tape the chuck keyholder near the plug. Sometimes the sliding holder can cause a big surprise otherwise.

I had a friend who used to do some irritating things in the shop. One of the tihings he did was to duct tape the chuck key holder the exact distance from the drill that it would hang up on the bench top and prevent you from using it.

[J. Clarke]

No, you don't. Get reduced shank bits. Mcmaster has them with drilling depths as low as 2 inches (look at the hex shank hammer bits for that length with a 3/8 shank).

If you go with a 3/8 drill you can get a lower profile. Half inch angle drills are designed for torque, not compactness. Also, take a look at air drills.

If you're working in a confined space with an angle drill then you might want to consider drilling undersized then reboring with larger bits--if you can't get any force behind it a half inch masonry bit in a non-hammer drill is going to be very slow going.

[mac davis]

and it stays on a rare earth magnet on the lathe, next to the key for the tail stock chuck.. Not a good solution if you use the drill in different places, but works well for my application.. I do the same with the drill press chuck key..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[Bob Kirkpatrick]

Makita DA3000R

This is a real 3/8" variable speed right angle drill that is 3-1/2" from the chuck tip to the back of the drill. I have one and it works great.