Seeking advice on the right drill

[JustBrowsing]

Hi gang,

DIY newbie here, hope I'm posting this in the right place.

I'm currently in the process of working out which drill is the right one for me. This'll likely be an easy one for you lot! I'm basically after a drill that will pull enough of a hole in the wall as to allow an ethernet cable to pass through. I have no idea what the diameter of the drillbit would need to be, but I imagine it'd need to be a wee bit on the chunky side.

I really like the look of the Bosch PSB 750 RCE Impact Drill. I just don't fully understand what it (or other hammers in this price range) are cable of. Will they accept drillbits that are of the size that would allow me to drill holes large enough to accommodate such relatively chubby cables? Please excuse my ignorance, I'm just struggling to get my head around all this, especially when different 'experts' are telling me different things.

The wall that I intend to drill through is part of my new conservatory and is made of, well, nothing especially rock-solid, and is only about 7-10 inches wide (haven't yet measured). There are no wires or pipes underneath, so I'm not worried about drilling through something unpleasant and dangerous.

Thanks for any and all help. I'm really very much looking forward to investing in the best possible drill and getting stuck into put holes in my new conservatory!

 

[Deleted member 174758]

If you want to invest in the best possible drill for drilling long holes through masonry, concrete, etc then you really have to consider an SDS hammer drill rather than an impact drill. They are designed for that task, and if you get a rotation stop model they can also be used for light chiselling and chasing channels, etc in concrete and masonry. With the right attachments they can remove quarry tiles almost "welded" onto floor, remove bricks and rake out mortar, sink square electrical boxes into masonry walls, etc. There are even special SDS drills designed for the task you want to undertake, like this Armeg cable drive drill bit. What they don't do too well is drill metal, plastics of wood because they are just to big and too slow

If you do go that way I'd recommend looking at the Bosch blue range (GBH) or Makita. Expect to pay £80 to £100 for a lower end industrial model, or slightly less for a Ryobi

 

[ntb]

Are the plugs already on the ethernet cable? If so, I'd guess you will need about a 13mm diameter bit - suggest you measure to be sure. That drill you linked will be fine for masonry bits up to 14mm in one pass and you can go bigger by piloting with a smaller bit and then using a bigger one so yes, it's up to the job.

As JobAndKnock says, there are many other options but you sound inexperienced so this drill for masonry in combination with a half decent cordless for drilling wood and screwing will probably cover anything you will feel comfortable tackling for your first few years of DIYing.

 

[IJWS15]

If it is only a couple of holes get a cheap SDS, I have one from Screwfix that cost me £20 five years ago - looks identical to the one Toolstation have now for around £50 (Item 17425).

Does a neighbour have one you could borrow?

As has been mentioned SDS are the best for masonry - I have a hammer drill which is never used now, the SDS drill makes light work of concrete and is so much more controllable.

 

[cajar]

Get a crimping tool and put the plug on AFTER you run the cable, like everyone else does.... then you can drill a 6mm hole instead of a 13mm one!