Hammer drill recommendations?

[RobertN]

Y'all got some gome good replies here. Based on some of those, and what you ask,

Buy or rent a Hilti. Expensive, but built like a tank. And, repairable if something bad does happen. The other thing is Hilti fasteners. If you go Hilti, the Rep should be able to point you towards the right fasteners; the box store guys probably won't have a clue...

I worked with a buddy putting up group mailboxes for the USPS. Each required four 1/2" holes. We ran a Hilti off a generator(We carried the generator, tools, and 15-25 of those "CBU"s on a Flatbed Ford).

The Hilti worked great. Once it did break. Before having it fixed, he broke a couple Bosches of a period of a few weeks. The Bosches worked well, but did not last. And, the Hilti shop was helpful getting the repair done, and assisting in various fastener questions.

 

[_RaT_]

Robert, the company I worked for building the Roadway Package Service down off Power Inn Road used Bosch Bulldogs for all the cinch nailing, about 6 drills in total. The drills received the ultimate in abuse. We bought SDS bits in cases as the 5000PSI concrete was a bit tough on them as well as the lack of knowledge by many people who don't understand how the drill is fracturing the material as it goes. After my last Hilti was stolen, I bought a Bosch 3/4" Bulldog and can honestly say, it too has easily performed as flawlessly as my Hilti(s). I have no hesitation about buying the smaller Bosch hammer drills. When it comes to the larger drills, I only have experience with Hilti. The Hilti's work fine until you start drilling 1 1/2" holes, thats when the air rock drills come in. Until you have used one of those, you don't have any idea how fast drilling can go. I punched holes in the concrete footing for misplaced rebar. The rock drill made 1 1/2" holes 2 feet deep in about 1 minute. You don't ever get the bit stuck either. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif