Hammer drill

[fatjay]

I bought a hammer drill on marketplace to assist with some masonry drilling. I'm not sure about the difference in chucks though.

The hammer drill bits i saw at HD have a smooth shank with a slot on each side, but the drill I bought has what looks like a normal chuck. Will it accept this?

Milwaukee 1/2 in. x 12 in. 4-Cutter SDS-PLUS Carbide Drill Bit 48-20-8374 - The Home Depot

The Milwaukee SDS-Plus 4-Cutter MX4 1/2 in. X 10 in. X 12 in. Drill Bits feature solid carbide heads that deliver up to 5x longer life in concrete with rebar. Engineered with rebar guards to provide maximum

www.homedepot.com

Please educate me.

 

[5030]

SDS denotes a 'Spline Drive Shank' and your drill has a normal 'Jacobs style chuck' You can probably buy a spline drive chuck but a spline drive shank won't fit a normal chuck far as I know. My Bosch has a SDS chuck on it.

SDS bits are made that way for positive rotation during the hammering procedure. The splines engage the chuck for positive rotation.

 

[Peter 315]

It will work if your drill chuck opens enough just keep checking it to make sure it stays tight.

 

[fatjay]

If I use a regular masonry bit that goes in a jacobs style chuck, will the hammer function cause excessive wear on the chuck/bit?

 

[5030]

No. Not if it's a quality bit with securely cemented carbide. I actually use both SDS and smooth shank style drills, though I prefer an SDS bit. Some of my large diameter coring bits are smooth shank.

 

[kenmbz]

I just use smooth shank bits in both my regular (non-SDS) hammer drills.
I happen to like the Bosch bits, but there are plenty of good ones.

I have a Milwaukee corded like yours and an M18 battery.
For 1/2 inch the corded is better.

I like having the side handle for larger bits on the corded. Be careful as hammer can bind and try to twist your wrist.

1/2" Hammer Drill

The 1/2" Hammer Drill from Milwaukee Tool is the most powerful single-speed hammer drill on the market, with up to 2X more durability.

www.milwaukeetool.com

Looks like yours has the sleeve to mount the side handle, can buy one if you start going bigger than 1/2" or use in really hard cement or cement with rebar.

Mine on cinder block is easy even without the handle up to 1/2"

 

[CliffordK]

I've cut the SDS part of a bit off to allow use with a smooth chuck. It never worked quite as well as a Bosch SDS.

If you're shaping the bits, you can also grind flats onto them for better grip.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

If I use a regular masonry bit that goes in a jacobs style chuck, will the hammer function cause excessive wear on the chuck/bit?

If you just use cheap masonry bits, they will just snap the ears off the tip, likely in the first hole you drill.

I have both a cordless Dewalt "hammer" drill, and a dedicated Bosch SDS hammer drill. No comparison at all. The Dewalt is like a toy drill that makes the "hammer sound" and does nothing. The Bosch will just flat drill holes, no muss, no fuss. I prefer the Bosch drill and use their branded SDS bits because they drill holes like butter and the ears stay on the bits.

 

[bigtiller]

Every DIY'er will need a rotary hammer sometime in his life. SDS Plus should get most jobs done. The increased power and size of bits of SDS Max is nice, but a bit too high for me.

The best thing about a rotary hammer is no pushing. Just let the weight of the drill motor do the work. All you have to do is guide it.

 

[ponytug]

I just use smooth shank bits in both my regular (non-SDS) hammer drills.
I happen to like the Bosch bits, but there are plenty of good ones.

I have a Milwaukee corded like yours and an M18 battery.
For 1/2 inch the corded is better.

I like having the side handle for larger bits on the corded. Be careful as hammer can bind and try to twist your wrist.

1/2" Hammer Drill

The 1/2" Hammer Drill from Milwaukee Tool is the most powerful single-speed hammer drill on the market, with up to 2X more durability.

www.milwaukeetool.com

Looks like yours has the sleeve to mount the side handle, can buy one if you start going bigger than 1/2" or use in really hard cement or cement with rebar.

Mine on cinder block is easy even without the handle up to 1/2"

@fatjay don't get me wrong, I love Milwaukee tools, but I'm not sure that this is the best tool for the job.

If you want to drill more than a hole or three, I would strongly urge you to get a drill that is either SDS-Plus or SDS-MAX.

I have a couple of drills like your Milwaukee, and I agree @Slowpoke Slim and @bigtiller that there is really no comparison. I feel like my little "hammer" drill is a three year old kid going "Vroom! Vroom!", rather than getting the job done. Using the SDS drills feels like drilling wood with a regular drill; the pile of sand/dust just flies up out of the hole. As an added bonus, I find that the SDS drills don't wear out the carbide tips anywhere near as fast as the non-SDS drills.

The bigger drills have an actual hammer that is plunging in and out. The Milwaukee 5376-20 just has a ridged plate that a second plate rotates on. (4h and 11a in the service manual below) Yes it is a "hammer" motion, but the force is lacking...
https://documents.milwaukeetool.com/54-24-3660.pdf

All the best,

Peter

 

[5030]

I would never run any hammer drill, toy or not without the side handle. All you do is take a big chance on breaking your wrist should the bit grab in the hole. I actually had my Bosch pick me up off the ground one time and spin me around. Only thing that saved me was it unplugged itself.

 

[oldnslo]

I would never run any hammer drill, toy or not without the side handle. All you do is take a big chance on breaking your wrist should the bit grab in the hole. I actually had my Bosch pick me up off the ground one time and spin me around. Only thing that saved me was it unplugged itself.

And amazing how fast a drill can spin a 200 lb object..

 

[4570Man]

@fatjay don't get me wrong, I love Milwaukee tools, but I'm not sure that this is the best tool for the job.

If you want to drill more than a hole or three, I would strongly urge you to get a drill that is either SDS-Plus or SDS-MAX.

I have a couple of drills like your Milwaukee, and I agree @Slowpoke Slim and @bigtiller that there is really no comparison. I feel like my little "hammer" drill is a three year old kid going "Vroom! Vroom!", rather than getting the job done. Using the SDS drills feels like drilling wood with a regular drill; the pile of sand/dust just flies up out of the hole. As an added bonus, I find that the SDS drills don't wear out the carbide tips anywhere near as fast as the non-SDS drills.

The bigger drills have an actual hammer that is plunging in and out. The Milwaukee 5376-20 just has a ridged plate that a second plate rotates on. (4h and 11a in the service manual below) Yes it is a "hammer" motion, but the force is lacking...
https://documents.milwaukeetool.com/54-24-3660.pdf

All the best,

Peter

I agree 100 percent. My old “hammer” drill hasn’t been used since I got a SDS hammer drill.

 

[fatjay]

Well I have this one, we'll see how it goes. It was $40, which is a far cry from $250 which is what I'm seeing SDS's for.

 

[Peter 315]

You could rent a sds from the depot.....

 

[QRTRHRS]

If I use a regular masonry bit that goes in a jacobs style chuck, will the hammer function cause excessive wear on the chuck/bit?

Way back when, i bought a corded Milwaukee hammer drill with a keyless chuck. First time using it, I had to wonder who was dumber, me or Milwaukee? I changed it out to a used keyed chuck which held up until the motor died.

 

[kenmac]

If I use a regular masonry bit that goes in a jacobs style chuck, will the hammer function cause excessive wear on the chuck/bit?

I wouldn't worry about that. I have several 1/2 hammer drills that we used on thousands of plumbing jobs and they still have the original chucks

 

[goeduck]

I would never run any hammer drill, toy or not without the side handle. All you do is take a big chance on breaking your wrist should the bit grab in the hole. I actually had my Bosch pick me up off the ground one time and spin me around. Only thing that saved me was it unplugged itself.

I never had any luck with anything but an SDS bit hammer. Good advice on the side handle. Plus, I always orient my hands so that the fingers are away from the rotation. i.e., so your fingers open up if the hammer grabs. That has helped me quite often.

 

[Oaktree]

Every DIY'er will need a rotary hammer sometime in his life. SDS Plus should get most jobs done. The increased power and size of bits of SDS Max is nice, but a bit too high for me.

The best thing about a rotary hammer is no pushing. Just let the weight of the drill motor do the work. All you have to do is guide it.

+1 on that!! I wish I'd known about rotary hammers about 5 years ago when I built some stone steps and had to cut a couple pieces of granite. Man, it took forever to drill the holes for the feather wedges with an ordinary masonry bit and a hammerdrill.

 

[kenmbz]

That is the difference. I do only cinderblock, hammer drill for me is fine, did a few hundred, no issues.
Solid cement, stone block, SDS would be worth the extra, even for a few holes.