Would I find an SDS drill and bits useful........?

[Daniel B]

Hello all,

sorry for the slightly random question

I currently have a mostly decent and not that old standard corded JCB drill, it has hammer action, and I have probably about 20 bits to use with it, including wood, metal and masonry.

I have a garage roof to change out, which will involve a fair bit of drilling, and I also want to drill the concrete floor, firstly for some holes for some standard bolts - to help secure the up and over metal front door, and also to knock out a bit more as I want to put some ground anchors in to help secure some bicycles, and then concrete them in.

Other jobs I have coming up are removing a 50's fireplace, and I will need to remove tiles in both the bathroom and kitchen.

Now the drill and accessories that have caught my eye are these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000NC0JH4/ref=pd_luc_mri?_encoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

This that has glowing reviews:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-PBH-2...ef=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=diy&qid=1266828683&sr=1-2

And either this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-SDS-Plus-Adapter-Drill-Chuck/dp/B0009W873Q/ref=pd_cp_diy_1

Or this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001KIT64W/ref=pd_luc_arr_02_02

I am thinking the latter two as I gather this enables you to use your original drill bits with the SDS fitment.

The only thing that concerns me a bit is that I read somewhere that if you use one of the adaptors such as the two above, you then have no hammer option available - is that true??

Anyway, sorry for such a vague post, just trying to work out whether this would be £80 or so well spent or not.

Cheers

Dan

 

[Burnerman]

Hi Daniel
Whichever drill you choose, if you are going to use it as a breaker (chiselling action) then it must have whats known as a roto stop...i.e the hammer action continues but the chuck doesn't turn.
Usually chucks, whether Jacobs or quick release, withstand hammer action unless the instructions say otherwise.
An SDS drill bit is much better for heavy masonry drilling rather than a parallel shank, as the bit can't spin in the chuck.
John

 

[Daniel B]

Hi John,

reading through the glowing reviews, it would seem it does have rotary stop, as one chap used it to remove tiles, and another was on about chanelling walls.

Ah ok, so I should hopefully still be able to use the hammer action of the SDS drill with normal drill bits and via the adaptor.

Do you have any opinion on that Bosch at all?

Cheers

Dan

 

[Burnerman]

I have to say it looks like a decent bit of kit, certainly suitable for occasional DIY stuff - and Bosch is supposed to be a good make I believe.
Personally I prefer a slower revolving drill for heavy work (I have an ancient Hilti T12 for this) but they can be hugely expensive.
At that sort of price I don't think you can go far wrong.
John

 

[Daniel B]

Thanks John - duly ordered!

I went for the bosch adapter in the end, thought it was worth the extra £6 to have the same make part.

Cheers once again!

Dan

 

[crank39]

Ah ok, so I should hopefully still be able to use the hammer action of the SDS drill with normal drill bits and via the adaptor.

I had one of this type once, bought it maybe 12 years ago and its still going strong, albeit in my brothers hands now as it wasn't 110v.

http://www.londonpowertools.com/uploader/gbh2-26dfr_600x358.jpg

The reason i got the type with the quick realese chuck as opposed to the common chuck adaptor was that the tool shop told me that the standard 3 jaw chuck would eventually fail if used with the SDS hammer action, where as the quick release chuck was a heavy duty version and designed to be used with the SDS action, albeit with standard masonary bits though.

Never had a single issue with the drill or chuck and would reccomend bosch along with all the others the trade use

 

[Daniel B]

Hi Crank 39,

thanks for that - I strugled to find it, but tooledup have it, but it's £55, which is the cost of the drill

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=135862

I think I will either not use it at all for hammer with the original drill bits, or use it sparingly.

I still have the JCB drill to use as required.

Cheers

Dan

 

[Monkeh]

I think you'll find a good Jacobs chuck will handle quite a beating. I wouldn't put one on an SDS much more powerful than that, though.

They're quite cheap on ebay if it ever needs replacing (I picked up several 13mm ones for a fiver a piece recently).

 

[Daniel B]

I think you'll find a good Jacobs chuck will handle quite a beating. I wouldn't put one on an SDS much more powerful than that, though.

They're quite cheap on ebay if it ever needs replacing (I picked up several 13mm ones for a fiver a piece recently).

*goes to have a look*

Are they quick release monkeh?

One of these?: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JACOBS-USA-KE...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM?hash=item3a5802b8b3

Dan

 

[Monkeh]

I think you'll find a good Jacobs chuck will handle quite a beating. I wouldn't put one on an SDS much more powerful than that, though.

They're quite cheap on ebay if it ever needs replacing (I picked up several 13mm ones for a fiver a piece recently).

*goes to have a look*

Are they quick release monkeh?

Dan

No, normal keyed chucks, like the one you bought.

 

[crank39]

Hi Crank 39,

thanks for that - I strugled to find it, but tooledup have it, but it's £55, which is the cost of the drill

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=135862

I think I will either not use it at all for hammer with the original drill bits, or use it sparingly.

I still have the JCB drill to use as required.

Cheers

Dan

Dan, the drill i had you physically removed the SDS chuck leaving some sort of quick release mechanism sticking out of the end, then you just clipped on the 3 jaw keyless chuck, it was this 3 jaw chuck that was supposedly designed for the SDS hammer action, admittedly the 3 jaw chuck you supplied the link too looks like the same chuck but mine didn't have the SDS arbour fitted to it that clipped into a SDS chuck so im 99% certain it'll stand up to the rigours of being used with the SDS hammer action.

As for the jacobs chucks then i'll agree with monkeh, they are probably one of the best chucks in the world, wouldn't suprise me one bit if they made chucks for the other manufacturers

 

[joinerjohn]

Hi John,

reading through the glowing reviews, it would seem it does have rotary stop, as one chap used it to remove tiles, and another was on about chanelling walls.

Ah ok, so I should hopefully still be able to use the hammer action of the SDS drill with normal drill bits and via the adaptor.

Do you have any opinion on that Bosch at all?

Cheers

Dan

Whatever you do, don't use the chuck adaptor with the hammer action of the sds+ drill. If you need to use the hammer action then just put the appropriate sized sds+ drillbit straight into the drill

 

[Monkeh]

Hi Crank 39,

thanks for that - I strugled to find it, but tooledup have it, but it's £55, which is the cost of the drill

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=135862

I think I will either not use it at all for hammer with the original drill bits, or use it sparingly.

I still have the JCB drill to use as required.

Cheers

Dan

Dan, the drill i had you physically removed the SDS chuck leaving some sort of quick release mechanism sticking out of the end, then you just clipped on the 3 jaw keyless chuck, it was this 3 jaw chuck that was supposedly designed for the SDS hammer action, admittedly the 3 jaw chuck you supplied the link too looks like the same chuck but mine didn't have the SDS arbour fitted to it that clipped into a SDS chuck so im 99% certain it'll stand up to the rigours of being used with the SDS hammer action.

As for the jacobs chucks then i'll agree with monkeh, they are probably one of the best chucks in the world, wouldn't suprise me one bit if they made chucks for the other manufacturers

Bosch, Dewalt, and other large names use Jacobs keyed and keyless chucks. They also use Rohm chucks (mostly keyless, the ones with the big nut on the end).

Whatever you do, don't use the chuck adaptor with the hammer action of the sds+ drill.

Can you explain further? The chucks are made for hammer action (although not SDS specifically), and the adapter is a rather solid piece of steel, I don't see it being a problem for occasional use.

 

[crank39]

Hi Crank 39,

thanks for that - I strugled to find it, but tooledup have it, but it's £55, which is the cost of the drill

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=135862

I think I will either not use it at all for hammer with the original drill bits, or use it sparingly.

I still have the JCB drill to use as required.

Cheers

Dan

Dan, the drill i had you physically removed the SDS chuck leaving some sort of quick release mechanism sticking out of the end, then you just clipped on the 3 jaw keyless chuck, it was this 3 jaw chuck that was supposedly designed for the SDS hammer action, admittedly the 3 jaw chuck you supplied the link too looks like the same chuck but mine didn't have the SDS arbour fitted to it that clipped into a SDS chuck so im 99% certain it'll stand up to the rigours of being used with the SDS hammer action.

As for the jacobs chucks then i'll agree with monkeh, they are probably one of the best chucks in the world, wouldn't suprise me one bit if they made chucks for the other manufacturers

Bosch, Dewalt, and other large names use Jacobs keyed and keyless chucks. They also use Rohm chucks (mostly keyless, the ones with the big nut on the end).

Whatever you do, don't use the chuck adaptor with the hammer action of the sds+ drill.

Can you explain further? The chucks are made for hammer action (although not SDS specifically), and the adapter is a rather solid piece of steel, I don't see it being a problem for occasional use.

I think joinerjohn meant what i meant too, that the internal workings of a chuck adaptor aren't up to it if you use the SDS hammer action. I am only relaying what my local tool shop told me and its that the clip on 3 jaw chuck would eventually fall apart hence why i went for the better version with the purpose designed 3 jaw chuck suitable for SDS hammer action although this meant it was a quick release type chuck like this.....

http://i8.ebayimg.com/08/i/000/bc/e7/800c_1_bo.JPG

And the SDS chuck....

http://www.adshires.co.uk/filedirectory/powertools/quick change chuck.jpg

 

[Monkeh]

I don't see a decent keyed chuck 'falling apart' by being used on a 1.5 or 2J SDS drill. Considering similar chucks have lasted decades on normal hammer drills, they're not just going to fly apart by being used on a low end SDS a bit.