There is a knack with the wider chisel where if you hold it at about a
45 degree angle, you can get it to skip along the wall shaving off a bit as it goes rather than digging in. It seems (on hard brick anyway) quite effective at getting a flat bottom to the hole.
You can get SDS scutch chisels in various widths.
Long before I purchased a SDS drill and associated chisels I used a scutch chisel and lump hammer. The points on the chisel bit went through hard brick a lot easier than when using a flat blade cold chisel.
A scutch chisel bit in a sds drill may actually work better than some of the wider SDS chisels as all the force from the hammer is concentrated on 4/6 narrow points
A trick I learnt some time back. Old plaster is no good for plastering but it goes off in minutes so if you mix it quickly in an recycled yogurt pot apply it to the back of the hole and then bed in the back-box it will remain firmly in place within 5 minutes.
However it's not worth keeping your left over half sack of plaster just in case it comes useful in the year to come.
+1. Same for dot and dab walls where you have to cross the dab. I suppose I could use a pad saw why would I?
Could well be. The problem with any chisel is the wider it is the harder the work. And SDS don't have unlimited power - especially a lightweight one more suited to this sort of job.
In old plaster a craft knife is often enough to make a nice neat job of it.
I think last time I had a half sack of bonding spare, I filled a spare
10L container with a snap on lid... ideal for such uses now.
Yup, not mass demolition or excavation tools, but they are great for cutting holes through hard stuff like tiles, glass, cast iron etc. e.g:
Prick.
We heard you the first time. Prick.
When putting in additional sockets behind the TV unit I used a multitool wi th curved carbide blade to good effect. I was installing sockets either sid e of the wall and wanted to limit the replastering to one side only. Behind the TV unit I needed three double sockets plate to plate in a row. The thr ee back boxes were held in line by riveting some straps to the back before setting them in place. I was then able to carve out a neat hole with the mu ltitool which did not require any filling admittedly the block work was the cinder type blocks and was quite easy to grind, scrape & chisel away. I al so managed to do the same for a couple more separate back boxes.
Richard
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