Christmas present to self may be a cordless hammer drill tough enough to drill 5/8" holes to set iron pins in VT. granite and like hardness stone. My research shows a wide range of prices. Manufacturer's descriptions use various terminology and it's hard to make a comparison. Still using the old hammer and star drill for the few occasions when it is necessary. I have to move a sheet metal building which is put together with self threading screws, so thought of getting a drill-driver that will run a socket wrench, one that is heavy enough to maybe hammer drill a few ledges later on. Any help would be appreciated.
Get one with a battery about the size of a car battery, or even bigger.
You are probably better off buying a Bosch. Go read the reviews on Amazon.com and you can get a pretty good idea as to which one works best for your needs. Good luck and happy shopping!
I have a Makita that works good, not great.
I have found that having quality bits makes a huge difference.
Scott
Cordless Screwdriver
Wendell bought this little Black & Pecker cordless screwdriver thing a ma-jig. I figured out how to use it finally. I LIKE it. :clap:
So far I have installed closet rods, shelves, hooks and built a few more things with it. I did it exactly like he told me to. I got a pencil, level, ruler, etc...and measured and leveled everything. He checked my "work" and said "wow, you DID get it level!" (I use to hang everything crooked!) 🙂
I bought a 24v Milwaukee hammer drill from CPO Outlet a couple of years ago and it has performed flawlessly. It came with a backup battery and I have used it for drilling, hammer drilling and for driving screws in wood and metal. Whatever you buy, I would recommend checking out the CPO Outlet site online for almost any make of power tool that can be found. They have good descriptions of all the tools, so it would be a good source of comparison and would give you an idea of the cost, whether you buy from them or not. They sell new or factory reconditioned tools, but I have only ever bought the factory reconditioned tools from them since the price is considerably lower than the new cost. I have never found even a scratch on any of the tools I have bought from them and can only figure that some of the factory reconditioned tools were actually over runs in production or close out items. Give them a look, they are good folks to deal with.
Willard:
We've had this in service now for 2 years - it has been excellent. You get what you pay for.
http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?pid=11536VSR
http://www.toolauthority.com/Bosch-11536VSR.html
dla
I bought a 18 volt Porter-Cable cordless hammer drill when I was building the MoDOT VRS for penetration masonry buildings and drilling into out concrete pillars....
It works fine for the money...it was half the price of the Bosch....
My 1/2 corded hammer drill is a Bosch....much better quality..
Buy once, cry once....
And Get The Bosch Masonry Drill Bits
More bucks than other bits but well worth it.
My most often used are Bosch, 1/2" by 14" and 5/8" x 16". Have yet to touch them up even.
Paul in PA
At CPO Outlet
Bosch 11536C-1 (1 battery) $399.99
Bosch 11536C-2 (2 batteries) $489.99
http://www.cpotools.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Bosch-Site/default/Search-Show?q=bosch%2011536
And Get The Bosch Masonry Drill Bits
'ya know come to think of it Paul, most of our bits are Bosch too; although those other carbides are Milwaukee and appear as durable.
When the truck is close enough (could string 100' of cord), the generator drives our 2" spline driven demolition hammer drill, an old B&D industrial from 1991 that just keeps 'agoing. Also use the Bosch 1" SDS corded from early '90s for PK pilot holes.
With the generator (electric start) and demo drill, we can start and chuck up a chisel bit and have a clean hole down to whatever while most are still fightn some damn hand tool. The demo hammer drill got the nickname "dick". The number of holes drilled and chiseled open since the winter of 1990-91....? It also comes in handy for pilot holes in frozen bit, or soil.
So, with that experience, when i discovered the Bosch 36V 1" SDS Plus Rotary Hammer and kept avoiding some work where that was the only production choice; it proved to be the best. And, all our existing 1" SDS bits from the corded setup were applicable.
The Bosch 36V is best in class.
dla
Cordless Screwdriver
there's a lady at work who claims to be the handy person in her family, she said her husband is all thumbs. She was asking the Surveyors for electrical advice; we were kind of cautioning her to be careful. She has an A/C plug that is 220 she wants to convert to 110 (I did that in my first house). She knows you take one of the hots and make it neutral but the plug is still dead. I said, first see if the breaker is tripped by turning it off then back on. Her idea is to run a new romex cable under the house so she's got gumption. Try to reset the breaker first, I said. She also has a Zinsco panel (the breakers, if you can find them, cost 75 bucks). I have the same thing. She said she needs that plug for lighting in the dining room. She's got about half the circuits turned off because they are knob and tube and she's already had a bad incident so no fooling with that.
Hammer Drill & impact wrench
Looks like a Bosch 36 volt rotary hammer would be the thing for drilling rock or concrete. Lighter 1/2" drive hammer drills don't seem to be getting good reviews for severe use. Maybe the thing would be to get an inexpensive light impact wrench or driver for the sheet metal work then later spend the big bucks for a good rotary hammer when business allows. Thanks to all for the info.
