Bosch Rotary hammers

[yelbike]

There must be others trade guys on here! I'm looking for a new bosch drill for occassional use. I was looking at the 1-9/16 Bosch drill. What is the difference between the SDS-MAx and the splined chucks?

Next questions where to buy one at a good price? I'll also need a few bits to start.

Thanks for ALL the advice ahead of time.

 

[slowzuki]

Splined is older. SDS-plus is the small standard now and sds max the larger std bit mount. If you don't own bits already, I'd go sds. They make adapters to get everything else into the sds max chuck.

I bought my big Makita off ebay for a good deal, local tool house wanted 700$ to bring one in, I paid 250$ or so. Nowadays they are more commonly available though even in big box stores.

Get a set of chisels with it too, they are very useful as a mini jackhammer. They also sell grounding rod driving tools too.

 

[F250DSLPWR]

If you don't need the larger sizes for bits that SDS max provides (>1"), take a look at the HF SDS rotary hammer. You can use upto 1" bits with it, shank size is 1/4". I bought the HF for about $59 and the HF large SDS drill bit set and chisle set. It has worked out great. I have drilled in rock and dug holes with it and also drilled holes thru solid concrete. I also drilled brick and concrete for tapcon screws. We have an Bosch SDS max with a 3' long 1 1/2" bit for drilling in solid limestone to drive T posts works great.

 

[yelbike]

I spent some time with bosch online chat help today. I'll go with the sds max. I need 2 1/2" capacity so thats why I'm buying a larger drill. I already have the sds plus bosch drill, my largest bit for it is 18" x 1 1/4" awesome drill for everything but its slow with that big bit. Does HF have bosch products?

 

[Joe H]

HF has Chinese crap mostly, no Bosch there. Ebay for those big bits, I found some brand new core bits awhile back for $10 each.
Big bits come up if you're patient. If you need them today you'll pay the big bucks.
Can't beat Bosch for the drill itself.
Joe H

 

[wanarace]

I drill about 20-30 1" holes through 8" of foundation, everyday for work. I was buying all by carbide from toolup.com They have always had great prices and service to Canada for me. However, Home Depot up here just dropped the price to almost the same for carbide from the states. $45 for an 1" x 8" sds max bit. Dewalt also makes carbide for about the same price. The actual carbide seems to last longer, however due to the design of the fluting near the tip, it has a tendency to snap off. So I would stick with Bosch steel.

I was running a a Bosch 1 -9/16" sds max for all these holes. It lasted me 3 years, drilling 5 days a week. Last month, the armature finally went in it. I have a new Bosch armature on the way to get that drill back up and running.

In the meantime I picked up 2" Milwaukee drill from Tool up for $800. It would have been close to $2000 from any dealer up here. The drill is a monster, 30lbs and almost 20ft-lbs of impact energy. Funny thing is it's only about %30 faster then the much smaller Bosch drill.

That is my experience.
Steve

 

[yelbike]

I can't say I've used all the brands. When I was an apprentice in the '90s I started out with a brute of a drill, the stupid KANGO. What a piece of work those **** things are. I learnt to curse like a seasoned sailor, maybe thats why I joined the navy. Right after that I used a bosch and I loved it.:thumbsup: It makes drilling holes in concrete like cutting butter with a hot knife. You can actually see the bit move forward slowly. I've used a few other brands since than, but I still like the bosch brand best. I had a guy at acklands try to talk me into a milwaukee but after my cordless 18v and 28v issues with the batteries, I don't want to deal with them anymore.

 

[two_bit_score]

Keep an eye on the clearance bin/aisle whatever at your local Home Depot. I got a Hilti TE-C7 for a few bucks over 100$.

I've used a Bosch Bulldog and like it but this Hilti is a bigger unit and I like it better for chipping.

 

[JB4310]

I have several rotary hammers/ chippers and jack hammers including Bosch.

Bosch is good quality for the money, I have a newer one, which I don't know the model number, but it's SDS max I use it primarily for drilling 2 inch holes thru 10-12 inch concrete foundations, using a core bit.

For real serious industrial production work, Hilti is better, but for average construction jobs, Bosch is a good choice.

This place is near me, they have a huge tool showroom, but also do high volume mail order sales. Not sure how there prices compare to what you found so far.

Discount Power Tools, DeWalt Tools, Porter Cable Tools

JB.

 

[yelbike]

Thanks for the responses.

I bought a Bosch 11241 evs, can't wait to use it. Also thanks slowuki, I kept my eye on ebay, but decided on another e-store, placed my order and paid for it, $800 including taxes and shipping. Next day they cancelled my order, they only except US credit cards. I was not impressed. Then on ebay found my drill with five bits and like new condition(no case or warranty though).......$130 delivered. I guess some things happen for a reason.:thumbsup:

I just hope it wasn't stolen, there's no way of know I guess. They guy described the grnd rod driver as a bit extension.