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Cases One drill to rule them all, looking to need reviews

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by MSHunter, 18 Nov 2013.

  1. MSHunter

    MSHunter Minimodder

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    Hi Guys

    I am looking to buy a drill for DIY and moding so I need one that can do it all Concrete (hammer drill), wood and Metal. So needs to be veri speed and able to turn off hammering and still have the RPM to drill metal. I am having trouble finding any webpage that does in depth tech reviews of this type of tools. Can some one point me in the right direction?

    Budget is around £100 pounds but only for a high quality unit with at least 2 year warranty.
     
  2. KayinBlack

    KayinBlack Unrepentant Savage

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    My drill is the one that will pierce the heavens?
     
  3. Modsbywoz

    Modsbywoz Multimodder

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    Makita Cordless.

    Had mine for 3 years now and it's never skipped a beat. Used it throughout a whole house refurbishment. Driven through lintels, masonry and more.
     
  4. MSHunter

    MSHunter Minimodder

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    As far as I have read cordless drills do not have the power to drill through "proper" concrete and/or metal. Also which model would that be? they have a large range of drills ;)
     
  5. Modsbywoz

    Modsbywoz Multimodder

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    I have the one that sells for £99.99 on Screwfix with ni-cd batteries.

    I find it's less the drill and more the bit that allows you to drill through things in all honesty.
     
  6. Mister_Tad

    Mister_Tad Will work for nuts Super Moderator

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    I've had no issues with my 18v Makita on concrete or metal, but I would recommend having 2 batteries on the go when drilling "proper" materials en-masse.

    However, with a budget of £100, you'll get more grunt with a corded drill.
     
  7. MSHunter

    MSHunter Minimodder

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    IC could you find out which model you use? Which batteries does it use? NiMH or the older ones, Ni-CD? (I heat those always killed them when they made AA batteries with that junk so much memory effect.)


    Does anyone know of a good place to find tech reviews on DIY tools?

    Would some thing like this be good:
    Bosch Pro: Impact Drill GSB 16RE 240V
     
    Last edited: 18 Nov 2013
  8. PauloWhysalli

    PauloWhysalli Confused.com

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    Wickes have got an offer on a Makita for £79.99 but it may not have enough grunt for you.

    Otherwise I would recommend a Bosch (we use these on site for drilling into steel purlins, concrete blocks and timber trusses) probably this one from Amazon would be a reasonable choice with two batteries or this one.

    To be honest cordless will never do the same job as a corded hammer drill but for flexibility the above are still the best option.
     
  9. asura

    asura jack of all trades

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    If you're going to be doing lots of concrete/masonry/stone then look for a SDS-plus/max drill rather than a normal chuck - it'll eat through at almost twice the speed. If you're only doing the odd bit of heavy stuff like that then a conventional chuck'll be better - you do get drills where you can swap over, but that can be a bit of a faff as you tend to have to sacrifice hammer action when using the normal chuck.

    If you're going to be using it a lot, and punishing it then yea something like that Bosch, or a DeWalt Makita, Milwaukee, or Metabo. I love that they all have different colours to differentiate themselves - the above are blue, yellow, teal, red, green.

    What sort or thickness of what sort of metal will you be doing? Modern cordless's will pop dozens (hundreds?) of 5mm holes through 3mm aluminium; and if you've got two batteries (always a must) then the charge time is usually less than the drain time...
     
    PocketDemon likes this.
  10. PauloWhysalli

    PauloWhysalli Confused.com

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    Also worth noting that for more "delicate" jobs a hammer drill is not ideal. There is a lack of control with them. Personally I bought a Wickes corded hammer drill and cordless drill driver and have used them all over my house renovation with no problems at all.
     
  11. PauloWhysalli

    PauloWhysalli Confused.com

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    ^This

    As an earlier poster has stated good quality bits make a huge difference as well. Don't buy the cheap ones as they just don't last.
     
  12. Teelzebub

    Teelzebub Up yours GOD,Whats best served cold

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  13. asura

    asura jack of all trades

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    Ohhh and if you're going cordless, don't just look at the drill, have a think about your future needs and the rest of the cordless ecology from whichever brand; they're all good, but some are better than others, and a second set of batteries+charger is just a pain in the whatsit! Bosch make the best jigsaws by a mile though!
     
  14. MSHunter

    MSHunter Minimodder

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    Thanks guys for all the info so far But sadly I am still not sure what to get.

    TBH:

    I will be doing very little work with metal (mostly just PC case mods and the of bit of DIY)

    Mostly will use for house work brick and mortar but I have lived in Highrises where the hard concrete put cordless drills and some corded drills to shame. Seeing as I might be moving this year to a new house (better school catchment area) I may have to deal with the hard concrete again.

    I tend to prefer paying a little more to get tools that will last the ages (3+ years)
    - Defiantly ni Ni-CD batteries

    -Li are ok and NiMH are ok

    Are cordless drills reall advanced that much in the past 3 years that they can handle a bit of metal and concrete work?

    - I am a perfectionist so I need something that I can get the hole in the correct place. I Always drill a small hole first and then use the correct bit to make sure its spot on ;)

    I hope this helps to clear things up.
     
  15. Pookie

    Pookie Illegitimi non carborundum

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    Bosch are alway my first choice for power tools. The PBH 2100 re should be fine for what you need.
     
  16. Fishlock

    Fishlock .o0o.

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    For that price, with what you're saying above, you need to get a corded SDS+ drill. Short of spending £350+ you're not going to get a cordless capable of regularly tearing through hard concrete, regardless of what bits you buy.

    I have this drill, and it's quite capable. It's also just light enough to use for more regular things. It also comes with a very long cord. This is the newer version of my cordless. A very good drill for general use but it won't go through concrete in a hurry.
     
  17. PocketDemon

    PocketDemon Modder

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    +1

    Personally i use both a corded SDS+ Kango drill (with chuck for non-hammering goodness) & a cordless 18V Dewalt w. hammer function (DeWalt DC100 @ ~£100).


    Whilst Dewalt's great for most stuff & is my normal go to drill, it's really not man enough, imho, for drilling into brick/concrete or for odd tasks like drilling out screws.

    That said, it's not that i was buying thinking that i was only going to be drilling a couple of holes in brick/concrete ever & i so i bought the Kango, 2nd hand, first as there's only so much money at times - so it 'may' be that for lighter usage a cheaper cordless might be good enough for the odd hole.

    [NB originally Kango was a London based brand who made a variety of drills, but they got bought out by Milwaukee & is used as a product type - so it's not what would be termed a Kango drill now.]​


    Yeah, it's all about the budget that you've got at the time though, as naturally you can buy SDS cordless ones, though for something decent then you're talking about spending a fair amount...


    Oh, & there are also size & handling advantages to having both - a small cordless will obviously fit into tighter spaces, can be used more accurately one-handed (saves having to clamp stuff) &, in my experience, there's more finesse possible (for example when using counter sink wood bits)...

    ...whereas a decent SDS drill, whether cordless or corded, will be much larger & heavier but is vastly superior for certain tasks - i'd say that twice the speed for brick/concrete is a serious under estimate.
     
  18. MSHunter

    MSHunter Minimodder

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    Last edited: 19 Nov 2013
  19. asura

    asura jack of all trades

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    Snap (almost, I got the three mode version - looking again, they've got pictures from two different drills up... cheeky?)! Great minds think alike! Though I'm on 110V.

    Looks like a decent cordless, it comes with a 3Ah battery (which is what you want) though only one... A little less torque-ie than some of the competition but is priced competitively - how much are their batteries... £55, not bad either, a tenner cheaper than Makita ones.

    Though from what you've said (lots of concrete) I'd be more inclined to go for a mid range corded drill and a low/mid cordless combi rather than just a high end cordless combi.

    Ebay?
     
    Last edited: 19 Nov 2013
  20. PocketDemon

    PocketDemon Modder

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    Whilst higher Ah value batteries are certainly useful if you're going to be working away from a power supply for a more extended period (though you'd still have charged spares in the van/on site), within the OP's home environment then only having a single battery means that if it runs out/esp if they've forgotten to recharge it then they've got to wait for 45/75mins for a recharge.

    (whilst at the top it mentions 45mins, both the specs at the bottom & one of the reviewers says that it's 75 mins)

    Now, naturally there's also long term advantages to li-ion vs ni cad batteries... Albeit that for this type of equipment on a non-professional usage then it's not as pronounced with decent enough gear if you follow the instructions.

    For example, with the Dewalt mentioned, basically you need to recharge them for 10 hours periodically - it 'can' be less than weekly if you're using the drill very heavily & have been doing numerous 1hr quick recharges, but you're not exactly going to be drilling 24/7 for weeks on end - & also if you're going to not be using it for some time.


    So it's really be whether paying an extra £50 is worth having a single battery that will last far longer (is the OP doing *that* much drilling in one go with no access to a power socket) vs £100 for something like the Dewalt with a pair of batteries that will last for a shorter time between them but they can be recharging one battery whilst using the other?


    imho then, unless there was shed loads of non-masonry drilling to be done on a regular basis (with no access to a power supply for recharging), once you add on the cost for a 2nd battery for the Bosch to cover yourself for it running out in the middle of a job, you'd not be far off the money it would need to get both the cheaper cordless & something like the Makita SDS+ that Fishlock mentioned.

    & you'd then have a both a decent enough small cordless & something branded that will happily go through concrete.


    That said, i do wonder whether the OP really needs a £150 SDS+ hammer drill?

    Well, too cheap a cordless will simply be shonky (i've tried ~£50-60 ones before & they're a complete waste of space), but unless they're after drilling all the holes in the world (which sounds unlikely in a flat) then looking at one of the cheaper drills on Screwfix might well be good enough for their needs.

    Okay, the much lower priced ones certainly aren't professional drills & they're a lot heavier, but Screwfix are known for having decent customer service if there's issues.

    Yeah, it's still looking at being over the OP's £100 budget, but a sensible enough pair of drills could be gotten for <£200 - vs the ~£300 for the Bosch & Matika combo.
     

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