SDS drill for general DIY?

[G&M]

I think they've dropped the 'Power' bit. The mitre saw box behind me merely says 'Performance Pro'.

I presume any mention of 'Power' might infringe the Trade Descriptions Act.

[G&M]

What diameter is the NuTool, how long a travel does it have and what's the rough cost ?

Haven't seen it around, though I do have a passable small router from them. But as the PPro one is going to have to go back (again) shortly I may look elsewhere.

[Grunff]

They don't seem to have on the B&Q website:

I can accept that they develop power, in converting the stored chemical energy into kinetic energy and heat. I have a lot more trouble with the performance aspect...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

But your only experience is PPPro...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've got an older 18 volt, and it's ok - or rather is now with some decent cells in the battery and a proper charger. Almost like the broom and handle...

[Andy Hall]

They are nice :-)

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Andy Hall]

For routers I think that you can save yourself a lot of trouble by not bothering with anything under about £150 (for a 12.7mm model).

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Grunff]

This was my main problem with it - the batteries lasted about 1/3 as long as they did on the Erbauer I had before it. Also, the speed control was almost on/off.

[Grunff]

It's a 10", and it'll cut 10" wide board in one pass. It was £140. The blade that came with it was truly crap, and was replaced with screwfix

11204 pretty soon after purchasing - makes a *huge* difference.

It came from a small local tool shop. TBH the quality isn't much better than PPPoo stuff - but if you only want it for rough cuts it's great.

Apart from the poor blade, the rear cutting guide was quite poorly attached to the table, so a couple of extra screws and some threadlock were in order.

[N. Thornton]

snip enormously long thread about the various issues with SDS drills.

I can only conclude SDS arent worth the bother. What a huge amount of dicking about just for a drill! The job is being done by hand, and so far its proving far quicker than trying to get relevant information out of the stupid sellers.

Thanks to all for the help, I guess this conclusion was unexpected.

Regards, NT

[Steve Firth]

Huh? Got to Wickes, buy their own-brand 500W drill and you have one of the best SDS drills on the market. Rugged, lightweight and good for any job.

[Grunff]

Odd conclusion to reach. SDS drills are a huge time saver, and worth every penny. Like most tools, you can get awful low end ones, middleish ones and good quality ones.

Given the small price differential, SDS drills are one tool where it's worth getting a good one, and that means a blue Bosch, a DeWalt or a Makita, all starting at around £100.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The control of the starting torque was vastly improved with some decent cells that could deliver reasonable current. Not in the Makita class, but not too bad.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd not be without mine - it drills through concrete etc that anything else just barfs at. If all you ever need to drill is soft bricks, then perhaps not.

However, the bits also last far longer than ordinary ones, and these days aren't that much more expensive.

[Grunff]

Yes, that would make sense.

[Grunff]

Yeah, isn't that great? I used to get through reasonably good quality masonry bits at quite a rate before I got my SDS. Since then, I've only had to replace the bit set once in two years.

[IMM]

Learning at last. Encouraging.

[IMM]

Yes.

[IMM]

What did it say about the Kress?

[G&M]

Hardly use one. It's a sliding mitre saw I need and the Makita at over £500 hurts.