I thought I'd do this post for the benefit of diyers who have not used an SDS drill.
Like most people I have a rechargeable hammer drill. Mine's a middle-range one, 18V lithium, so can handle most jobs with relative ease. It is light and convenient so I always use it first.
Over the weekend I had to put something big up on a wall and needed to drill 10 holes for plugs. With my drill on hammer mode I did 7 of the holes with ease - a plaster layer over concrete block no problem. But not so for the other 3 holes - through the plaster layer and then no further. By inspection of the location (near a dormer window) it was clear that there is a joist just above this location so it made sense that there should be an engineering block where I was trying to drill.
Nevertheless I thought I'd have a go and see if I could drill through with my hammer drill. Maximum speed with a hefty amount of pressure for 30 seconds or so - I got a few mm deeper. So I continued for another 30 seconds or so - no deeper at all.
Oh well - time to get the SDS drill out. My reluctance was (as experienced readers know) the simple fact that in comparison to my light hammer drill, the SDS is a beast. Mine is 6kg, so using one-handed is simply not an option. Also it has a grease chamber (I assume they all do?) and some of this gets smeared on the bit, so I seem to always get some on my hands every time I use it.
So now to drilling those 3 holes. Done in seconds. The overused phrase "like a knife through butter" came to mind.
So if you are reading this post after searching about the benefit of an SDS drill over a standard hammer drill then be assured - if your hammer drill is struggling on a tough job - you need an SDS drill.
Like most people I have a rechargeable hammer drill. Mine's a middle-range one, 18V lithium, so can handle most jobs with relative ease. It is light and convenient so I always use it first.
Over the weekend I had to put something big up on a wall and needed to drill 10 holes for plugs. With my drill on hammer mode I did 7 of the holes with ease - a plaster layer over concrete block no problem. But not so for the other 3 holes - through the plaster layer and then no further. By inspection of the location (near a dormer window) it was clear that there is a joist just above this location so it made sense that there should be an engineering block where I was trying to drill.
Nevertheless I thought I'd have a go and see if I could drill through with my hammer drill. Maximum speed with a hefty amount of pressure for 30 seconds or so - I got a few mm deeper. So I continued for another 30 seconds or so - no deeper at all.
Oh well - time to get the SDS drill out. My reluctance was (as experienced readers know) the simple fact that in comparison to my light hammer drill, the SDS is a beast. Mine is 6kg, so using one-handed is simply not an option. Also it has a grease chamber (I assume they all do?) and some of this gets smeared on the bit, so I seem to always get some on my hands every time I use it.
So now to drilling those 3 holes. Done in seconds. The overused phrase "like a knife through butter" came to mind.
So if you are reading this post after searching about the benefit of an SDS drill over a standard hammer drill then be assured - if your hammer drill is struggling on a tough job - you need an SDS drill.
