Normal drill or SDS?

[RossiT]

Hello

Not a huge DIY fan but I need a new drill, I've been trying to drill in breeze blocks but getting nowhere with my old corded drill.

Am I better off getting a new cordless drill or a mains SDS (Can't afford cordless SDS).

Don't really want to pay more than £150.

Thanks

[PH5121]

For drilling masonry you are definately better off with a corded SDS drill. For your budget of £150 you will be able to get a decent machine - Makita / Bosch / Dewalt.
In fact looking in the Screwfix book you can get any of the above branded machines for under £120.00.

Edited by PH5121 on Monday 26th October 10:53

[jas xjr]

PH5121 said:

For drilling masonry you are definately better off with SDS. For your budget of £150 you will be able to get a decent machine - Makita / Bosch / Dewalt.
Looking in the Screwfix book you can get any of the above branded machines for under £120.00.

no need to say anymore other than try toolstation too, they can occasionally be cheaper than screwfix

[Simpo Two]

Breezeblocks are very soft; a normal hammer drill, even cordless, wil make short work of them - are the bits OK? Are you using hammer action?

SDS drills are far more heavyweight and whilst they will chomp through brickwork like cheese, are too heavy and cumbersome for light duties.

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 26th October 11:49

[Ferg]

Depends what you are calling 'breezeblocks'.
Certainly you can dril thermalite or celcon with virtually anything, but denser blocks(some clinker or concrete) are much harder.

[Ricky_M]

I paid £80 for a Hitachi SDS mains drill about a year ago, can't fault it, use it to drill 24mm holes through walls and its small enough to drill 5.5mm holes neatly, the only thing it doesn't have is hammer only function.

[matty_doh]

Buy a used corded SDS drill off a market or something - looking about £40-50 for a not-too-abused Dewalt one that will last an age. At least that was what we used to charge.

Save the rest for beer money or get a decent cordless to boot.

Edited by matty_doh on Monday 26th October 21:14

[Lefty Guns]

I bought a Makita SDS corded drill from screwfix a few months back and it's amazing. It was £150.

Concrete and brick no problem. Granite too (just takes a bit longer).

[Lefty Guns]

matty_doh said:

Buy a used corded SDS drill off a market or something - looking about £40-50 for a not-too-abused Dewalt one that will last an age. At least that was what we used to charge.

Save the rest for beer money or get a decent cordless to boot.

Edited by matty_doh on Monday 26th October 21:14

I've been told by a few tradesmen that Dewalt are pretty cack - overpriced for what they are. No better than B&Q power tools but priced at pro level.

Blue Bosch, Panasonic or Makita seem to be the preferred brands by most of the tradesmen I know.

[lewes]

I bought one of these last year with no trouble at all. I actually bought off of ebay.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/99908/Power-Tools/SD...


Used to use Blue Bosch when I was associated with the building industry and very robust and would recommend.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/73560/Power-Tools/SD...

[Simpo Two]

Lefty Guns said:

I've been told by a few tradesmen that Dewalt are pretty cack - overpriced for what they are. No better than B&Q power tools but priced at pro level.

O/T but I rather went off them when they sponsored the TVR Le Mans effort - six laps IIRC and then it went bang - is there a similarity there perhaps?!

[Lefty Guns]

[bazking69]

If it is for just a one job use can you not borrow one?

[King Herald]

Lefty Guns said:

I bought a Makita SDS corded drill from screwfix a few months back and it's amazing. It was £150.

Concrete and brick no problem. Granite too (just takes a bit longer).

I bought an SDS drill from screwfix for £39 about three years ago, and it works great. It's big and sturdy, but probably not the tool a tradesman would buy. Anyway, it has worked well for me, demolishing walls, chiselling concrete, even drilling homes. It came with a selection of bits.

Edited by King Herald on Thursday 29th October 00:33

[headcase]

Dont forget about your bits, many people say they cant drill to a decent depth but are only using the multipacked B&Q bits, get yourself a few 'real' carbide tipped drill bits and you will find you can go through most things without the need of a drill upgrade.
If you do go for a new drill then SDS is good at blasting its way through things but that is exactly what they do, if your not good at drilling in the first place then an SDS may proove to destructive, also you cant use them for screwing
Edit to add, i use a Dewalt 18v XRP for 99% of things (with carbide bits)and have a Bosch SDS for any really hard stuff i come across.

Edited by headcase on Thursday 29th October 22:37

[Lefty Two Drams]

Screwfix have got a blue bosch 2kg sds drill for £75 at the moment. Good value!

[thinfourth2]

Simpo Two said:

Lefty Guns said:

I've been told by a few tradesmen that Dewalt are pretty cack - overpriced for what they are. No better than B&Q power tools but priced at pro level.

O/T but I rather went off them when they sponsored the TVR Le Mans effort - six laps IIRC and then it went bang - is there a similarity there perhaps?!

Many years ago i went to a practice day for the BTCC and at that time Dewalt were sponsoring someone so they had a large stand showing their wares. But being practice day they were setting it up before the punters arrived. And the guys who had as many Dewalt tools as they could want were using a nice Makita cordless drill

[smifffymoto]

Also with an SDS they are fantastic screwdrivers as they have alot more torque than a normal drill

[Incredible Sulk]

Lefty Guns said:

matty_doh said:

Buy a used corded SDS drill off a market or something - looking about £40-50 for a not-too-abused Dewalt one that will last an age. At least that was what we used to charge.

Save the rest for beer money or get a decent cordless to boot.

Edited by matty_doh on Monday 26th October 21:14

I've been told by a few tradesmen that Dewalt are pretty cack - overpriced for what they are. No better than B&Q power tools but priced at pro level.

Blue Bosch, Panasonic or Makita seem to be the preferred brands by most of the tradesmen I know.

Is that dewalt everything, or just the SDS stuff?

I have a DeWalt 18V cordless SDS, and i must admit I'm impressed by it. With decent bits, it batters its way through anything I've decided to bore a hole in. Battery life with the 2.6A/hr packs is pretty good. Quality wise, it's up to the standard of the rest of the 18V stuff I have (saws, drills, etc etc). I've never had a problem with any of their stuff. And it's not too expensive if you shop around. I use http://www.itslondon.co.uk/ if I need any new stuff. Their prices seem to be competitive.

[Lefty Two Drams]

The opinion seems to be that Dewalt kit is fine for DIY jobs but for heavy duty, sustained use they don't have the reliability or build quality. And they're not much cheaper than some of the other "trade" brands.