Is it worthwhile repairing an SDS drill? My venerable Wickes (Kress) SDS has died. It makes hammering noises but no longer impacts the bit. In the bumf there is detail about servicing and repair.
It has been a brilliant buy, recommended here and bought back in 1997 I think. Since then it has demolished several walls, thee concrete floors and stripped tiles off four kitchens and been used on farm outbuildings, on loan to relatives and generally had a hard working life.
Repair or replace?
Trouble is always guessing how long it will last after any repair. It's a right pain when you put the effort/cash in to fix something which then itself dies irretrievably shortly afterwards.
Sixteen years is a fair life, IMHO.
I'd get a new one and consider tinkering around with the old one - and if it works again, reserving it for the worst/dirtiest treatment to keep the new one in best condition.
Mine must be a similar age and has stripped render, knocked down walls and re-opened fire places.
When it developed an intermittent switch problem a few years ago, I called the service agent (the one up north -- I think there was a southern and a northern UK agent) and asked for a quote, and he told me how to fix it myself over the phone.
I also emailed Kress in Germany at some point (I forget why now) and got a very helpful reply direct from one of the family members.
So based on that limited experience, I would investigate the repair possibilities first.
Worth taking apart and giving a clean and lube I would have thought. Could simply be jammed/seized.
Can you get spares for it? I have a Wicks cordless drill made by Kress, and lots of Googling failed to find spare batteries for it. Which I'd guess would be the most common spare part needed. (I had it re-celled in the end)
I'd strip it down and see what has failed, though.
+1
If that fails . . . it doesn't really owe you a lot!
I have one of those, of similar vintage. Quite a few years back (8?) mine failed in the same way after I'd abused it somewhat breaking some holes in concrete for fence panels.
I took it to a little tool repair place in Chatham that kress recommended (I think, it might have been wickes - I rang the number in the box) and when I explained what I'd been doing he instantly said he knew what it would be and that it'd be about 45 quid IIRC.
One of the gears breaks IIRC, and it was fixed the next day. By the amount of parcels on the floor I imagined this place did a lot of mail order repairs.
No idea what it was called, it was opposite the Toys'r'us in Chatham and has since shut down/moved. If it has moved, Medway Handy man might know where it went as it's his stomping ground.
Given it was a few years ago it cost that sort of money to repair, I think I'd personally bin it and by a nice Makita when it appears on offer next.
Take it apart and see if the broken bit is obvious?
Darren
thanks for the responses (all). I'll try to look at it sometime. I think in the meantime I'll buy another Kress if only because the new ones are orange.
I have a B&D SDS and a NuTool in different locations, I had to buy the NuTool to finish the jobs started with the Kress. It's all they sell at the local hardware shop in Italy. The NuTool is predictably s**te. The B&D works, but despite being same form factor as the Kress it feels weak and doesn't punch into materials like the Kress.
In an ideal world, I'd probably have two. A lightweight like my deWalt for chasing into walls and hole drilling, and a heavy more powerful one for breaking up concrete.
I must live in a better than ideal world:-)
I have three.
Yehbut you don't use them just for DIY. ;-)
Me too :-)
1 x Titan as a breaker, 1 x Makita mains for outside, 1 x Hitachi 36v for inside.
I 'think' Draper Tools do a lot of parts & repairs for Wickes.
,
Alas that place closed down years ago. Shame, it was bloody brilliant
Awww, that's a shame. I was hoping you could tell me it's had moved to bigger and better premises :-(
Darren
I recall posting something about this.... hang on....
ah yes:
no idea if those contacts are still valid mind.
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