Re: Tricky Heck!

[Woodspoiler]

I got an SDS recently too. One of the first jobs I did with it was sink an electrical socket in the inner leaf of a cavity wall. Using my old hammer drill, I would first pepper the area with holes and then excavate with a bolster. I've got used to the look and feel of this operation, so I no longer use a depth stop for the drilling.

With the SDS, this was the first and only time I've so far used it as a drill rather than as a chiseling tool. So I drilled my hole as usual, and after a few moments all resistance disappeared.

Oops - I'd drilled right through to the cavity, which is way, way deeper than you need to go through plaster into breeze block. And this was with a great big fat bit too.

W.

[Graeme]

In message , Andrew McKay writes

OK, OK, I'm convinced :-)

Since moving to NE Scotland, where our walls are solid granite, drilling a hole with a standard B&D hammer drill is a joke. Presumably an SDS drill would cope, without problems?

I see that Argos list two, a Bosch PBH2200RE SDS Drill, and Challenge Pro SDS Rotary Hammer Drill Kit. Prices UKP 100 and 25 respectively. Who are Challenge? Cheap and nasty?

[Tony Collins]

I spend a happy half hour when I got my SDS drill, turning a stone from the rockery into swiss cheese. It was just so much fun to have somthing that goes through ANYTHING.

-- Tony Collins

[Andrew Gabriel]

I always start with hammer off. If you hit mortar (particularly lime mortar) with SDS hammer on, you end up with a hole 3 times broader and 10 times deeper than you intended in less than a millisecond ;-)

Also, I've had the occasional soft brick which drills fine without hammer, but shatters to a thousand pieces if an SDS hammer drill bit touches it.

[BigWallop]

Steer well clear of Challenge Graeme, it isn't worth even the price they want for it. A friend got one just about a month ago and it's broken already, I think the chuck has lost its grip, and the guarantee states that, literally, it shouldn't be used to drill hard masonry. So that should tell you a bit about it.

[Andrew McKay]

Well I can't give you a definite "yes" to that question, but believe me, the bricks on our house were hard baked, and then apparently put back in the oven with some extra hardener added.

With my B&D 650w "domestic" hammer drill, which I thought was the bees leg joints with respect to drilling holes, it would take absolutely 'kin ages to drill even a small sized hole.

With my trusty new SDS 850w drill (which I admit I bought from a local Homebase shed because I needed a drill fast - cost £79) it seems that all I have to do is make sure the bit is positioned on the right mark on the wall, squeeze the trigger for a maximum of 3 seconds, and I've got me a hole into which a rawlplug fits. And the drill bit didn't appear to wander as it made the hole either.

Now I have to admit this experience to which I relate equates to the drilling of two separate holes in the same brick. Just maybe I've picked the one brick in the whole damn house which was made of brick coloured swiss cheese - but I don't think so. The pile of brick sawdust which appeared on the floor sure as heck looked authentic to me.

Andrew

Do you need a handyman service? Check out our web site at

[Andrew McKay]

Good advice - thanks.

Andrew

Do you need a handyman service? Check out our web site at

[BigWallop]

The price you paid for it is about right Andrew, for a good one around the house, and should last you a good long while. We picked up two, 110v DeWalt SDS guns and I think I'd have been better with my B&Q one for the job they did. DeWalt are living on past reputation in my opinion, and they should get back to what they were good at. We ended up throwing them away and paying good money for two Bosch makes which have gone on now for the past two years, with a bit TLC and drink and a meal now and again. "You gets wot' ya pays fir" I suppose.

[ignored]

In message , Tony Collins writes

I keep reading all these mentions of SDS drills and I still don't know how an SDS drill is different from my elderly B&D Hammer thingy. Can someone please enlighten me of the ways in which SDS differs...

[Gnube]

Actually, you've just made me wonder if on buying an SDS, might it be better off using the old hammer first, and switch to SDS when the going gets too tough for it. The thought I'm having is that you'd get it started gentler and possibly more accurate based on your comment above, and presumably conserve the life of both tools a little better too. Granted it'd be a bit more messing about to do it though.

Not been SDS route yet, so it's only a guess.

Take Care, Gnube

[dmc]

I know two people who have bought the Challenge one - both returned it.

I have (well, my dad has on near permenant loan at the mo :-) the Wickes small pneumatic one and it is brilliant. Only 500w but plenty powerful enough for everything we have thrown at it which includes some concrete breaking that was pretty tough :-)

Its a rebadged Kress and is just over 100 quid I think. Dunno if this is good value now - it certainly wasn't bad a few years back!

Darren

[Dave Plowman]

An SDS drill won't engage the 'hammer' action without pressure. So if you're unsure how hard the masonry is, start with gentle pressure. If the drill goes in as it will in soft material it won't damage anything.

[Dave Plowman]

I've had a DW 566 for some time now - and paid much more than the current price - and it's as near perfect as any power tool I possess. Perhaps they've reduced the quality as well as the price?

[Christian McArdle]

SDS bits have channels in the side. You insert the bit into the drill by simple pushing it into the chuck while holding a collar back. The channels hold the drill very firmly so it doesn't slip. However, the bit is able to slide up and down in the chuck a fair amount, even if it can't slip sideways. The hammer action works by literally hammering the end of the bit, which is very effective because the sliding action means that the chuck can remain firmly attached to the motor whilst the bit flies forwards and backwards. A traditional "hammer" drill can't do this because the bit is firmly attached to the chuck, so it just wobbles it a bit from side to side, which is totally pants in comparison.

Because the hammer action really does hammer the bit (quite hard if you push it) and is independent of the rotation action, it is usally possible to turn rotation off and put a chisel bit it. This produces a very useful demolition and chasing device!

Christian.

[BigWallop]

I think they have reduced everything Dave. The older ones we've had were great, really lived up to their reputation, that's why we went back for more after the years that the first ones lasted, but the ones we got last year were really poor in their power output. The build quality didn't feel right for an old style DeWalt, and they just sucked, really poor results with them.

[BigWallop]

I like the Kress make. I've had plenty of shots with them and they do "do the job" They don't cost as much as the better known brands, but they should be given what's due for their quality. Really good buy one of those.

[ignored]

In message , Christian McArdle writes

Many thanks Christian.

[Ben Edgington]

My brand new Hitachi DH24PC is sitting on the desk next to me as I write 8^)

Probably overkill for my needs, but the juicy staff-discount was too good to resist. Can't wait to get home and find something to drill/demolish!

Ben

[jerrybuilt]

The bit in a hammer drill should not wobble from side to side. Yours sounds broken, or worn out.

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[dmc]

The Wickes ones are even better buy - Kress quality at even less-than-Kress prices. Certainly doesn't seem any cuts made to hit the lower price...

Darren