Drill recommendation

[badders]

I'm looking to purchase a drill for the IT support dept and haven't a clue what to go for. Ideally we need cordless with two batteries and the ability to drill through metre thick walls if needed. Can anybody recommend any that they've used? Not too bothered by price, but would probably go upto £300 max.

[Chris_in_notts]

this ones a good price same as the one I borrow from my girlfriends dad who is a joiner when I need one, 18 volts loads of power

 

DeWalt XRP DC988L1 18V Li-Ion Cordless Combi Drill - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys

 

id stick with dewalt or makita

[broc]

Look for one which uses Lithium Ion batteries, I would also add Bosch Professional (blue) to the list provided by Chris_in_notts

[saundersmatt]

I'd definately +1 for the Dewalt. We have a DC945 that we got from screwfix a few years ago, 2 batteries - fast charger. Completely kicks the arse off the Black and Decker I have at home.

[dayzd]

Makita all the way! -Makita UK-

One of our site staff guys swears by them and I use one in my occasional weekend job at a local theatre for putting sets together and stuff and have never had a problem with them

[pete]

The Bosch professional range is pretty good (there's a cordless here that can drive a 3cm diameter bit through granite-faced walls) - that and Makita are what we borrow from the site guys.

[djm968]

Another +1 for the Dewalt.

[WOW_freak]

If you are going through metre thick walls you will need something with serious power (As a sparky I have gone through a few 18 & 24v cordless drills this way!). Forget 18V altogether, they will burn out too quickly. I currently have a 36V Lithium Ion Bosch.Bosch Cordless Rotary Hammer GBH 36 VF-LI Discount Building Supplies Ltd It's as capable as a mains powered 2KG Hammer drill. But its not cheap, I got a deal on mine for £350 off ebay, but it should be around £550. If you can manage with a mains powered, go for a 3KG+ Hammer Drill (loads in screwfix or toolstation). They are much cheaper.

As a side note, dont buy metre drill bits from main suppliers. Go to Ebay. I used to pay £80 for a decent metre drill bit, now I pay a tenner! They wont last as long, but mine has lasted 2 years of serious abuse so far.

Hope this helps :-)

[dhicks]

I'm going to be sorting out my girlfiend's flat in a few weeks - fitting shelves, and a wardrobe, and possibly drilling some holes to put Cat5 cable through. I currently have a rather sissy little drill I got for about £20 which I never seem to be able to drill anything with - it goes through plasterboard, but that's about it. What sort of drill do I need to fit, say, shelves to a wall in such a way that they won't fall off again? Do I really need a more powerful drill, or am I simply not pushing hard enough or something? How do I tell what I'm drilling in to - what is likely to be behind plasterboard, for instance? Would people recommend one of those metal-detector devices that can tell you where wires are in the wall?

 

--

David Hicks

[john]

We've just got one of these on the Site Team - Hitachi DH24DVA 4.1kg SDS Plus Drill - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys its to replace a ~7 year old Bosch Pro Blue drill (like the one I had Badders) so the Bosch had certainly done its time for the College including nearly completely re-cabling the entire building, numerous shelves, holes in floors, walls, ceilings, a full CCTV system and many many more jobs that I can guess it was used for, but they are all over £300 new from the big names. I got mine from a dealer on eBay as it was the previous years model before they changed the battery system so they were selling them off cheap, but it has been worth every penny of its costs.

 

Hitachi DH24DVC 4kg Cordless SDS Plus Hammer Drill 24V - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys Is a cheaper model of the one we have just got and fits your price range so should be a good drill, you certainly want an SDS drill though not a normal one and a pair of batterys are a blessing I wouldn't be without mine and I've even got a 3rd for it now (and a second charger!)

 

I would also suggest making sure you get a good set of bits for the drill - http://www.screwfix.com/prods/92406/Drill-Bits/SDS-Plus/SDS-Plus-Sets/Bosch-8pc-SDS-Brute-Tough-Box are good general purpose ones for general every day stuff, as for the walls, depends how much your doing you could get a small set of 1 meter+ length bits, I've got a set of 4 sizes and they were about £30 from the local DIY store or just buy the right size but for big name bits you can be paying £30+ for one which is very steep. If you've got a good few holes to do its worth investing in diamond core bits, we have a few sizes and they are a blessing, much easier than standard SDS bits to get through walls for cabling

Edited July 19, 2010 by john

[Simcfc73]

I have a corded SDS drill which I got from Screwfix, I know I am not supposed to have one in school but I do it in secret. Cost me about £60... need it at my school as the walls are about a metre think and very hard.

[WOW_freak]

@DHICKS

 

A Standard 18v 1.8ah Cordless is more than adequate for that, I would always go for SDS now. Use plasterboard screws for securing it though. Like Metal RediDrivas 35mm Pack of 100 - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys. Unlike rawplugs, these will not slide out of the wall as soon as you place a book on your shelf :-) Don't expect a plasterboard fixing to hold heavy items though, its ok for books and CD's, etc but not for TV's and the like. For that you need to be drilling into masonary and using rawplugs.

As for whats behind your plasterboard, dont drill above, below or horizontally either side of sockets or switches. Cables will generally run in those directions. I would invest in a cable detector though, as I recently found a 10mm shower cable running diagonally accross a wall with my now very bent drill bit. (Oh the joys of no RCD's or breakers and a fuse that been modified with a generous winding of fuse wire). It melted the drill bit and gave everyone a lovely fireworks show :-)

Makita, Bosch and DeWalt drills have never seen me wrong. Hope that helps.

[K.C.Leblanc]

As people have said for meter thick walls you need something substantial, which will then be OTT for normal use and driving screws.

 

Get a sensible recharable driver drill for all the normal stuff, moutning wall boxes and APs. Then get a big mains powered bugger for your meter thick walls (or if it's only something you're going to do once hire one).

 

We've got a couple of Ryobis here that arn't bad, I've also got a Hitachi at home which is good.

 

If you want something dirt cheap my dad has a Clarke drill, which considering what it cost wasn't bad. I'm thinking of getting one to replace my Metabo. Why replace the Metabo, well it's older then me and my dad's loonatic landlord fixed it with brushes from a blender.

[creese]

I'm going to be sorting out my girlfiend's flat in a few weeks - fitting shelves, and a wardrobe, and possibly drilling some holes to put Cat5 cable through. I currently have a rather sissy little drill I got for about £20 which I never seem to be able to drill anything with - it goes through plasterboard, but that's about it. What sort of drill do I need to fit, say, shelves to a wall in such a way that they won't fall off again? Do I really need a more powerful drill, or am I simply not pushing hard enough or something? How do I tell what I'm drilling in to - what is likely to be behind plasterboard, for instance? Would people recommend one of those metal-detector devices that can tell you where wires are in the wall?

 

--

David Hicks

 

Aldi are doing a battery hammer drill, I got one Sunday. If your drill comes out of the wall red, it's brick and can be difficult to drill into. If it is block (most likely with plasterboard) then most drills will drill into that.

 

Have you thought about hidden shelving. Basically a frame on the wall with a bit of mdf top and bottom, great for recesses. Don't go overboard with the screw depth but don't rely on plasterboard to support a shelf.

[ICT_GUY]

You will need a sds drill to drill that deep, once you have used one you will never go back.

[torledo]

does anyone have any recommendations for a drill bit set like the one john posted, but non-SDS.

In the 5mm through to 10mm diameters but the longer 160mm [or thereabouts] variety even for the smaller diameters of bit ?

 

Or is there a way to use those SDS bits in a non-SDS 18-24v cordless.

 

I've been able to buy individual 'long' drill bits before but not a small set with the most common sizes.

[plexer]

For cordless SDS I'd say Bosch, for a general purpose driver nad non masonary drilling I'd say a 14.4v Bosch Pro drill best drill Iv'e ever owned and better than an 18v Makita.

 

Ben

[plexer]

does anyone have any recommendations for a drill bit set like the one john posted, but non-SDS.

In the 5mm through to 10mm diameters but the longer 160mm [or thereabouts] variety even for the smaller diameters of bit ?

 

Or is there a way to use those SDS bits in a non-SDS 18-24v cordless.

 

I've been able to buy individual 'long' drill bits before but not a small set with the most common sizes.

 

Yeah you just chuck em as normal in your drill.

 

Ben

[Andrew_C]

+another one for a cheap SDS and a reasonable cordless (Bosch, Makita, Hitachi). I have a blue Bosch 14.4, and it is fine for everything except 1m walls. And it gets LOTS of abuse!

 

Yu won't get on well using SDS in a Jacobs chuck. They just don't grip due to the cutouts.

[dhicks]

If your drill comes out of the wall red, it's brick and can be difficult to drill into.

 

That's the problem - I can't seem to drill in to whatever is behind the plasterboard, so I have no idea what it is that's behind there. This is a flat in a brand-new block, steel-frame construction, so for all I know I could be trying to drill in to a girder. I'm only trying to fit a towel rail in the bathroom!

 

--

David Hicks

[Andrew_C]

That's the problem - I can't seem to drill in to whatever is behind the plasterboard,

So don't; use these instead. Simple and very effective.

 

Screwfix

[maniac]

So don't; use these instead. Simple and very effective.

 

Screwfix

 

Aye - they're fine for lightweight stuff, or you can get the wall anchors which are better for heavier stuff.

 

My house was built in 1880, so nice solid bricks! I've got a 14.4v Bosch cordless drill I brought the week I moved in, and it's the best thing I ever brought, it even drives a 14mm bit through two layers of brick with ease - although it does drain the battery quite quick. Generally speaking you get what you pay for with powertools, buy a cheap drill and that's all it'll ever be.

[glennda]

I would say Makita, I have a Corded Makita drill plus also a set of two cordless Makita drills, never had a problem with any of them will drill into almost anything!