Wonder if anyone could offer some advice on some cordless drills out there.
When they advertise as being a combi drill what do they actually mean, just that it can be used as a drill and a driver?
Can any of the 14v range put a hole in concrete or do you need a more heavy duty job with hammer action.
What are people views on the follwing bosch bearing in mind I can get it locally for =A380.
The message from "Gogs" contains these words:
Personally I'd never use a "domestic" battery drill on any sort of stone/brick.
Horses for courses - an adequate cordless for drilling holes in wood and screwdriving, a cheap SDS drill for masonry. You might also want a mains drill for doing things like loads of large holes in wood with a flat bit, which battery drills can do but not for long.
Of all my drills I use my cordless most, the SDS next, then the mains drill - which hardly ever gets out these days. The exception being when it's in the drill press for doing accurate vertical holes in stuff too big to go in the big bench drill.
Hi there,
I'm not a tradesman so its not as if it will be getting used a huge amount, I have some work to do in the brickwork in the garage, but my main reason for wanting a cordless (already have old mains one) is I have some work to do on the outside of the house and rather be up the ladder with no wires.
Makita seem to do a 14v range that claim to make 10mm in masonry, whereas this Bosch claims 15mm I think, mind you the Makita can be had with 3 batterys for a similar price.
I have little experience in using cordless tools as usually always buy power ones so not sure how well they perform, obviously not as good as mains powered but on some things you have to comprimise.
So anyone recommend a half decent cordless drill that can do a reasonable job in masonry
Totally agree - do not consider a battery hammer drill. The only time I might have used one was when I was fitting guttering to an old sandstone barn - the stone was pretty soft anyway but the freedom from cables when up a ladder would have been a bonus ..... but that's a pretty rare scenario.
Unless you are going to use the drill heavily - ie professional/ semi-professional usage, I would go with the cheapest you can find on the basis that =A330 every 2 years is cheaper than =A390 over 4, and make sure you get 2 batteris and a proper 1 hr charger - ie it switches off when the battery is fully charged. Look for 2 speeds and reverse - the latter particularly is useful for undoing screws.=20
Rob
It means one with hammer action... the alternative is a drill/driver which is a bit smaller and lighter but has no hammer.
Given a good drill bit, all of them will eventually. Having said that the hammer will not be as convincing as that on a mains powered hammer drill, and way short of what you would get from a SDS drill (mains or battery)
chippies it seems. Not tried the green one so can't comment directly. I know someone with a 14V Makita combi and that is ok on hammer but not stunning. I have a 18V Makita combi that is probably the equal of a ordinary mains hammer drill for concrete drilling. It is my most used drill, followed by the SDS. The mains powered bosh hammer drill I have almost never gets used these days.
This is one of the occasions where a combi is worth having. A standard drill/driver will be in effect useless on harder masonry. A combi also makes the drill a more general purpose tool, in the sense that the hammer is usually good enough even on the smaller voltage tools to give extra assistance in lots of cases where you are not dealing with really hard concrete etc. (i.e. holes in the interior walls of many places). The price you pay for it is the extra weight and purchase price. The ideal situation for cordless operation would probably be a good drill/driver and a battery SDS!
I find the "n mm hole in masonry" claims are all pointless really since it depends on the particular details each time. Most hammer drills should be able to drill a 16mm hole though.
When you get up to the pro level 18V tools, then they are comparable to mains tools for performance in most cases (although I would not use one for driving a wire brush for hours on end!)
Well any of the pro level 18V tools if you can stand the price, and accept that "half decent" will mean no better than your bog standard mains B&D hammer drill.
Combi usually means driver/drill/hammer action.
You won't put a hole in concrete with any hammer action drill mains or battery. You need a pneumatic hammer commonly known as SDS. 14:4v OK for brick etc.
includes 2 x 1:5 a/h batteries and not just 1 x 1:3 a/h so you compare like for like,
I've recently bought the Wickes 14:4v grey range combi for £80. Has 2 x 2 a/h batteries and a 3 year warranty. Very impressive tool.
It's a risk being up a ladder and drilling at the same time but most of us have done it. I'd suggest you just use your mains drill on an extension lead. That Bosch cordless and many more expensive models won't be as good as a mains drill, IMO. Cordless drills are handy but don't buy one just for drilling concrete.
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Certanily not and expect it to work!
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Thanks for all the advice and opinions.
The =A380 price is with 1 x 1:5 a/h battery, carry case and 1hr charger.
Would this be the one to go for then you reckon, cant be a bad deal at that, although Lawson HIS seem to be doing a pretty good deal on the Makita - 8280DWPE - 14.4 volt Combination Drill with MAKITA 102pc Drill and Screwdriver Set at =A3105
Saying that Makita stuff seems to be pretty good, I bought a sander and a circular saw and you can feel the quality of the saw.
Such a wide range of views on the site, I asked for advice on straight cutting laminate worktop before and again wide (different) range of views and do's and donts.
For the record I managed to make several straight cuts with the Makita saw using the supplied blade which only has around 12-16 teeth and it was absolutely perfect with no chipping whatsoever, never even needed to break out the 40 tooth blade or hire/buy a router ;)
If you get a cordless SDS it will work just fine.
The message from John Rumm contains these words:
I was under the impression there was some sort of budget to be worked to!
Of course you will. It just takes longer. I've drilled 25mm holes in concrete with a mains hammer drill (after a pilot hole was drilled).
Albeit slowly.
....compared to a mains one (even a cheap one, within the budget).
The message from Chris Bacon contains these words:
That depends very much on the conrete. I've had concrete you can drill holes in - and concrete you can't. The stuff here is impervious to ordinary hammer drills even with posh bits and pilot holes - I took five hours, with breaks, to drill five holes for my TV bracket. SDS does it in a few seconds.
So what did you drill the holes with, if you couldn't drill it with a hammer drill? An old Rawlplug thing?
"It's quicker." - see above.
The message from Chris Bacon contains these words:
Exactly. Still got it, somewhere.
Not necessarily. The maximum oomph depends on the maximum current the battery can supply and the motor of course. And cheap cells can't supply anywhere near the same maximiumum current as decent ones. The only thing more volts gives you - like for like - is a longer battery life, at the expense of a larger, heavier, and more expensive tool.
12-18 volts is more than enough for a hobby cordless drill. Spend the difference on a mains SDS for difficult masonry and a basic mains drill for prolonged use.
Cobblers. A hammer action drill will simply not drill into concrete. If they did SDS wouldn't have been invented would it?
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