Hammer drill recommendations?

[_RaT_]

After two Hilti's, I know they are very good quality. The SDS bits are the only way to go. I would agree with your contractor. I have found the Bosch to be a perfectly acceptable replacement for the Hilti. I was at Home Depot and saw all the Hilti's being sold there. The hammer drills are tops but get a load of the Sawzalls, talk about a retro saw. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[imported_OWDouglas]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( 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.

I agree I have one (the 25.00). Drilled concrete floor and a slab for tapcon screws. worked great. Should last a long time if your not a contractor and use it everyday, even then it should last a while, it is built pretty good.

 

[imported_OWDouglas]

I still can't figure out how to add a quote.......

 

[Freds]

Hit the quote button, copy what you want to quote, put the cursor in between the quote brackets and then paste. You can also copy before you hit the quote feature. Drop the cursor down a line and add your reply.
Sometimes the last "{quote}" will jump down a line, you can backspace it where it needs to be. I couldn't use the actual "[" or it would have activated the feature.

edit: if you preview your posts you will know if you did it correctly

 

[jol1269]

if it were me i would use a powder nail driver to fasten the plate to the floor along with a treated lumber construction adhesive , this should more than be adequate to hold the wal in place unless ofcourse your driving a car or truck into the wall for some unknown reason. once the adhesive cures its holding things steadfast and if the nails do react to the newer chemicals in treated lumber well they did their job in a few days time so if they corrode and dissapear after the curing process so what , and as far as securing to block 20 fasteners wouldnt be a strecth for cordless drills in the 24 volt range / bosch but you be better of renting if this is as much drilling as you plan on . just my two cents worth and good luck

 

[_RaT_]

I read your post again and you said "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"

To my knowledge, only Makita and Dewalt cordless tools are made in the US. Porter Cable and Milwaukee are made in China as I recall. I also seem to recall that only Makita and Dewalt sell replaceable brushes on their cordless tools.

 

[Varmintmist]

Get a good corded 1/2 in hammer drill and dont look back. If you were making a living at it then Hilti is the only way to go. If I was going to give it a steady diet of 1/2 inch holes or better going deeper than 6 inches, I would spend big and go Hilti. You have light contracting/homeowner use. I have bored all kinds of holes with a 1/2 in Milwaukee hammer drill at work and at home. A Dewalt, Milwaukee, or something in that area will do it with regular masonery bits.

 

[Tevi]

If you can a wait a little bit look into the new V28 fom Milwaulkee

 

[Tevi]

Milwaulkee is now owned by a Hong Kong company the same one that owns Ryobi and Homelite

 

[RobertN]

You know all those group mailboxes you see around? A friend of mine installed those on contract with USPS for years. He used two Hilti's.

I helped him with that stuff for a while. His Hilti broke... So he got one of the Bosch from Home Depot. That Bosch last 2 weeks, and was trashed. The Hilti was about 5 years old. We'd put op 25-35 boxes a day, requiring four 1/2 holes each.

The Bosch was a throw away. He had the Hilti repaired, and used it a lot till he moved to other work. Still uses the Hilti here and there. There are 4 or 5 bosches in the trash. That Bosch probably would have been ok for lighter duty use. The Bosch did work nice till it broke...

 

[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