Semi-Pro Drill - Advice Please

[lord_seagrave]

Hello all,

I put up some shelves recently in a shop, and lord knows what the bricks were (part of an old chimney breast, I think) but neither my masonry bits nor my drill itself were really up to the job.

 

I’ll be doing a bit more drilling on a semi-professional basis (started offering myself as a gardener locally) and so I want to get myself a good drill and attendant quality bits.

 

What is the best (i.e. powerful and reliable) drill on the market for about a ton?

Do I go SDS?

I don’t need it to be cordless, but would prefer it to run off a domestic supply.

I’ve got to attach trellis and fencing to brickwork and paving and so need a bit of heft for masonry work.

(I don’t need it to be a screwdriver)

All help (as ever) gratefully received.

 

LS

[Zapp]

Is this in the place you'e bought near me?  If so it will be Bedfordshire brick which is like iron.

I'll be getting a SDS soon for exactly that reason as normal drills won't touch it.

[lord_seagrave]

5 minutes ago, Zapp said:

Is this in the place you'e bought near me?  If so it will be Bedfordshire brick which is like iron.

I'll be getting a SDS soon for exactly that reason as normal drills won't touch it.

The shop is in Stony Stratford, but you’re quite right about the brickwork in your neck of the woods. Incidentally, Lady Seagrave went back to work in MK, so we ended up (very reluctantly) selling the cottage less than a year after we’d bought it, and moving to MK :( 

Anyway, back on topic - if SDS is the way forward, I can’t help thinking I’d be wrong to buy at the cheaper end of the SDS price bracket. However, I am certainly open to correction!

 

LS

[12gauge82]

Sds is defiantly the way forwards, I would stick to the known brands I.e Makita, dewalt ect, there's cracking cordless drills out now that can keep up with corded drills but they'll cost you and the only pro is convenience, if you buy cheap you buy twice, especially if you plan on giving the tools a bit of stick.

[Mungler]

Take a big breath, dig deep and get a Makita bundle.

The good news is that you'll only need 2 of the batteries and they'll fit everything else.

 

This  ought to do it

And don't go getting any cheap drill bits made out of Chinese putty

[Teal]

I have to say recently I have hired some kit from local hire shop (angle grinder and a diamond core cutter). Depending on the work you are doing if you can work out what you need to do and then hire for a half or a day accordingly I was amazed at how cheap it was. Maybe an option if not n ongoing need.

[eddoakley]

We go through quite a lot of SDS drills and bits but they do get a lot of stick.

Sds is a must. Those horrible whiney hammer drills are just awful.

Most of my guys use dewalt, Makita or milwaukee all of which are good but if you are not going to be using every day for heavy tasks then just get something from screwfix. We use them quite a lot as they are cheap, fairly robust and best of all come with a 12 month warranty.

Just return it every 11 months and start again.

 

Edd

 

[Winston72]

EDD i am surprised at you, what if somebody did that with one of your Guns

this is as good as you will get for the 240/diy range

https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gbh-2000-corded-sds-plus-drill-240v/87453

 

 

 

[eddoakley]

7 minutes ago, Winston72 said:

EDD i am surprised at you, what if somebody did that with one of your Guns

this is as good as you will get for the 240/diy range

https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gbh-2000-corded-sds-plus-drill-240v/87453

 

 

 

Haha. I don't take them back and say they don't work when they do!

They are almost always warn out well before the warranty expires but only because they work so hard.

 

The link you added would be a very decent bit of kit. More than capable 

 

Edd

 

[matone]

Personally I would go corded SDS for whatb you`re going to do.The Bosch looks fine.

Run Makita cordless & Dewalt corded  but find the batteries die on cordless if you`re not working them regularly !

Hth.

[haynes]

Im with winston72. My Bosch sds is 10yrs old and still going strong. Im a chippy and my cordless sds is really handy for the odd hole but the corded one always comes out for the big holes. If you want a cheap but ok cordless drill/ screwdriver then screwfix erbauer drill has taken a surprising amount of stick. Ie. 2inch core drill through brick and block. Not very refined but excellent value. 

[Winston72]

Its as good as you will get at the price quoted, however power isn't always available outdoors, personally i would never go back to corded apart from drilling lots of 25mm + holes in masonary, if that happens i usually hire something to protect my cordless, if you want to go cordless sds this is a decnet bit of kit, i would go for the battery upgrade though https://www.powertoolsuk.co.uk/bosch-gbh36v-eccp-sds-plus-hammer-drill.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0b6Vs__I2AIVKpPtCh0tigPiEAQYASABEgJu1PD_BwE

What can i say guys, I like to handle a powerful tool 

5 minutes ago, haynes said:

Im with winston72. My Bosch sds is 10yrs old and still going strong. Im a chippy and my cordless sds is really handy for the odd hole but the corded one always comes out for the big holes. If you want a cheap but ok cordless drill/ screwdriver then screwfix erbauer drill has taken a surprising amount of stick. Ie. 2inch core drill through brick and block. Not very refined but excellent value. 

Have you got the Bosch ghb 24v? i had one and it took masses of stick best drill i ever owned!! nearly cried when i couldnt get another, 

[haynes]

No mines the makita 18v only cus most of my other cordless stuff is makita. Its great but eats batteries. 

[silver pigeon69]

1 hour ago, Winston72 said:

EDD i am surprised at you, what if somebody did that with one of your Guns

this is as good as you will get for the 240/diy range

https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gbh-2000-corded-sds-plus-drill-240v/87453

 

 

 

I have this and have given it some stick. It comes out when the Makita 18V is struggling. If you do get one, invest in decent drill bits or this will eat them. It makes drilling holes in concrete etc easy.

[Rst1990]

Here you go a makita sds for under £100 with 3 years warrenty. You can’t go wrong.

https://www.fastfix.co.uk/makita-hr2230-sds-plus-rotary-hammer-drill.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_6nAyo3J2AIVbL7tCh0rTAw1EAQYCyABEgKFFPD_BwE

[silver pigeon69]

48 minutes ago, Rst1990 said:

Here you go a makita sds for under £100 with 3 years warrenty. You can’t go wrong.

https://www.fastfix.co.uk/makita-hr2230-sds-plus-rotary-hammer-drill.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_6nAyo3J2AIVbL7tCh0rTAw1EAQYCyABEgKFFPD_BwE

Good drill but the bosch has chisel option

[Dougy]

I have a Matabo SDS (or interchangeable) rotary, hammer, impact jobby. If the drill bits ain't up to it you could always use the drill to bash the wall down. Built like tanks. 

[Mice!]

my best mate works for Hilti so if I have a job that needs proper mans tools, I make a phone call ? 

[silver pigeon69]

12 minutes ago, Mice! said:

my best mate works for Hilti so if I have a job that needs proper mans tools, I make a phone call ? 

Hope your misses doesn't have his number!

[Fisheruk]

3 hours ago, haynes said:

Im with winston72. My Bosch sds is 10yrs old and still going strong. Im a chippy and my cordless sds is really handy for the odd hole but the corded one always comes out for the big holes. If you want a cheap but ok cordless drill/ screwdriver then screwfix erbauer drill has taken a surprising amount of stick. Ie. 2inch core drill through brick and block. Not very refined but excellent value. 

+1 unless your are doing it every day the Erbauer will do real fine. Remember De Walt is basically Black and Decker now I believe.

[Rst1990]

1 hour ago, silver pigeon69 said:

Good drill but the bosch has chisel option

For the op needs the makita wins hands down really with a 710w motor and 2.3 joules with a 3 year warrenty. There’s a reason why you see a lot of makita on building sites.

[Winston72]

id still go bosch, 2.3 Joules or not, lets be right the Festool airstream is the best there is and its only 1.8

[grrclark]

If you are going to give it serious amounts of use then I would say as above go for a Makita, but if it is only an occasional use then I would also say take a look at Ryobi.  They have a 2 year warranty and well up to enthusiastic DIY/semi trade use.

I have a plug in Ryobi SDS drill that has seen a good bit of use and it is excellent.

I would also say that the quality of the bit is more important than the drill.

[mick miller]

15 hours ago, eddoakley said:

We go through quite a lot of SDS drills and bits but they do get a lot of stick.

Sds is a must. Those horrible whiney hammer drills are just awful.

Most of my guys use dewalt, Makita or milwaukee all of which are good but if you are not going to be using every day for heavy tasks then just get something from screwfix. We use them quite a lot as they are cheap, fairly robust and best of all come with a 12 month warranty.

Just return it every 11 months and start again.

 

Edd

 

I bought a Titan SDS/ Breaker from screwfix to remove a lump of fence post concrete that was too large to break with a sledgehammer. Although it's unwieldy and massively fugly it did the business for under £80.

Zero point spending hundreds on a Makita SDS unless you're thinking of taking up building professionally. 

Incidentally, on the subject of tools, my aldi multi tool and craft drill have both outlasted the branded equivalents despite being given loads more stick. You don't always  get what you pay for. 

[Wiggum]

16 hours ago, Winston72 said:

Its as good as you will get at the price quoted, however power isn't always available outdoors, personally i would never go back to corded apart from drilling lots of 25mm + holes in masonary, if that happens i usually hire something to protect my cordless, if you want to go cordless sds this is a decnet bit of kit, i would go for the battery upgrade though https://www.powertoolsuk.co.uk/bosch-gbh36v-eccp-sds-plus-hammer-drill.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0b6Vs__I2AIVKpPtCh0tigPiEAQYASABEgJu1PD_BwE

What can i say guys, I like to handle a powerful tool 

Have you got the Bosch ghb 24v? i had one and it took masses of stick best drill i ever owned!! nearly cried when i couldnt get another, 

I’ve got a 24v Bosch GHB in the garage that I no longer use as I swapped over to makita, would probably need new batteries but I could be persuaded to part with it ?