Hammer drill recommendations?

Richard · Apr 12, 2005

Seems I need a hammerdrill to drill/set a bunch of screws in concrete.

I know some brands *might* be manufactured on our side of any pond (Milwaukee??)

I'm not concerned about price but I might be swayed on corded/cordless.

One reason I might like cordless is I'll soon be resetting all new planks on the dock and we have NO electricity down there so a cordless will be handy.

On the other hand, when I work on the dock, I'll also need jigsaw & mitre saw both which I currently own, both of which are corded. Meaning, I'll probably have a generator at the dock ANYWAY so I don't know that a cordless hammerdrill does that much for me over a corded version.

As an aside, I've never owned anything cordless, so I'm in my own state of bliss with my corded stuff.

Ok...

Milwaukee?
Dewalt?
Bosch?
other??

My first preference is to get a high quality unit. My second preference is to get one that somehow supports a US worker moreso than a foreign worker. My third preference is to try to stay away from made in China

Any preferences and why?

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

EddieWalker · Apr 12, 2005

I have a Bosch hammer drill that does what I want it to. It requires a cord to operate, but the power on it is amazing. I use if for cement and my bigger holes requireing the larger chuck.

Freds · Apr 12, 2005

Cordless is handy, but when any "real" work needs done and you don't want to be changing batteries all the time, not to mention the added weight of a cordless tool, I always go with electric.

That being said, I think the Cadillac of hammer drills is the Hilti TE 10. It has a true hammering action and drills holes like a knife going through butter. I've used a lot of different makes and own a Bosch too, but when I have a bunch of anchors to put in I grab the Hilti.
They are based in OK, but the tool says made in Liechtenstein.
I normally go to a contractor's supply house to buy my odds and ends and don't know if you can pick up the bits for a Hilti at a Home Depot or such... I know the local hardware store doesn't carry them. They have a notched shank that fits and locks in the tool. I just looked and I have bits made by Dewalt, Hilti and Bosch, so it's not like you can only get them from Hilti.

timb · Apr 12, 2005

I have a set of Milwaukee cordless (18V) tools - and they are very handy for doing work in/around an outbuilding that doesn't have power, and nice even for quick jobs where there is power but you don't want to grab an extension cord. However, they do use up the batteries under heavy load. The 1/2" "hammer drill" would probably run all day just drilling smallish holes in wood, but the sawzall will go through a battery pretty quick cutting 1/4" or 3/8" steel bar or angles.

As far as brand choices, I used to be a dyed-in-the-wool Milwaukee and Porter Cable fan, but I know of too many people experiencing too many problems with newer tools to give either a blanket recommendation. That said, I've had zero problems with any of my Milwaukee or P-C stuff so far, but I don't use them commercially.

The lower-end 'hammer drills' like you'll find in the typical Bosch, DeWalt, or Milwaukee (I also have a corded 1/2" Milwaukee hammer drill) are just modified standard drills, and not up to the level of the big commercial stuff like a Hilty. However, even with just this type of drill, the difference in drilling through concrete or block is night-and-day over regular drilling. If you really just need a good heavy-duty drill and have the occaional need to run a reasonably small hole into concrete I think you'll be fine. How many and how big are the holes you have to run for the dock? You might be better off renting a big Hilty or the like if you don't anticipate much need for heavy concrete drilling after this project.

Richard · Apr 12, 2005

Hmmm... I just looked at the hilti site (still in process of looking)

Perhaps I should mention that my current "need" for this is to drill some holes in my concrete floor in basement so I can anchor down some treated 2x4's. As far as number of boards, I'm probably going to need 6 on floor and then let's say 20 on block walls for my studs.

I had no idea the pricing might go up as quickly as it had /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

This WILL be for home use and other than the bolts into the floor/blocks, I don't forsee a LOT of need for hammerdrill in the afterlife of this job.

Hmm... I hate it when I try to step up to the plate and wiff 3 strikes.

My guess on seeing just how heavy duty the Hilti is, is that a "regular" brand might very well suffice my needs??

Does that bring me to the Dewalt/Milwaukee/Bosch arena again? (which is fine by me, I've nothing against them at ALL, in fact, own all the above)

NY_Yankees_Fan · Apr 12, 2005

If it was me given how much use you will have with it, I would go with a Harbor Freight unit, for $40 or even the $25 unit.

$40 unit

$25 unit

Junkman · Apr 12, 2005

Have you considered using a powered anchor gun to shoot nails into the concrete through the lumber? This might be the best solution to the problem. Why drill holes and bolt anchors in when you can shoot them in quicker???? For the hammer drill, I have a 1 1/2" Milwaukee that will drill 6" holes in concrete. The 1 1/2" designation is the largest size drill bit that it will take to drill a hole. After that, you use hammer drill hole saws. Mine is about 10 years old and still works great. Purchased it used at a flea market for $50. Lots of them on eBay also.

timb · Apr 12, 2005

There's hammerin' and then there's hammerin! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I've drilled on the order of 50 or more 3/8" holes in rapid succession through 2" concrete (to break out a section when I didn't want to raise too much dust with an abrasive saw blade) and my corded 1/2" Milwaukee never flinched, although it did get warm. Guys who have regular commercial work running big anchor holes laugh at this style of hammer drill - but they do the deed for a lot of homeowner work.

I've probably drilled on the order of 500 3/8 to 1/2 holes with that drill at this point and it still runs fine. FIL however wore his (exact same model) out under similar duty. (Milwaukee wanted $110 to repair it the last time). If I had to run some holes to epoxy in big 3/4" or 1" anchor bolts or had thousands of holels to drill over time - I'd get a bigger drill.

Freds · Apr 12, 2005

Sounds like a Bosch will suit you fine then. Mine is a 3/8 tool with 1/2" chuck. Two speeds, hammer or not, forward/reverse, handle on the side for when it grabs. I used this drill when drilling holes in my bucket for my toothbar and my old KK brush hog for moving the pins. It's HD enough.
If you're going to use tapcons to anchor I'd recommend the tool for the chuck that allows you to keep the bit in place and slide the socket over it to run the screw. It's very handy.

I just anchored some wood to block with one of these... I shot about 1000 nails and it's REAL handy /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Richard · Apr 12, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Have you considered using a powered anchor gun to shoot nails into the concrete through the lumber? )</font>

Indirectly I have. I'm using that "new" treated lumber and when I asked the dude at the box store about what to use to anchor it, he gave me the story (which I already knew) about the new treated stuff, reacting to the traditional fasteners.

I asked about cutter nails, he said he didn't think they'd live long in the new lumber either. We briefly spoke about the shooters, but I kind of felt I could have future utility out of a drill more so than a shooter (didn't think about renting)

So, the shooter wasn't investigated very well I must admit.

I'll look into that too.