Drills and Bits for Anchoring to Concrete Slab
- Thread starter MrMunich
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elfick said:
SDS is the connection, bit holding part. Its a ridged, serrated end that you push into the drill chuck. The drill chuck pulls back and forth to lock in the SDS bit. You DO NOT twist a drill chuck and its three spiky jaws to grab a round shaft. SDS is a simple and easy way to lock in drill bits. And I think SDS chucks, bits only/mostly come on SDS ROTARY hammer drills. Key being the ROTARY hammer drill here. NOT hammer drill only. Hammer drills come with regular drill chucks with the three jaw chucks that you twist to lock onto a round shaft drill bit. ROTARY hammer drills drill into concrete with ease. Hammer drills do not drill into concrete that easily. So when you say SDS you kind of automatically mean ROTARY hammer drill for easy concrete hole drilling. NOT regular hammer drill where concrete drilling is hard, difficult, miserable in comparison. So "true SDS drill" really means ROTARY hammer drill with the SDS chuck on its end.
The post above was "What’s a ‘true’ SDS and how does it differ from the BHC?"
I think that question is a bit misleading. I'm sure the Festool BHC is an official SDS rotary hammer drill. But when people use the term "true" in this regard they mean a BIG MASSIVE HEAVY SDS rotary hammer drill. Its kind of like hammers. There are Estwing sledge hammer hand mauls. 30 ounce ax handle serrated face spike driving framing hammers. 16 ounce basic hammers. And 8 ounce tack driving hammers. ALL are hammers. But in reality they are hammers in name only. They are all not really too similar. I suspect folks think the lightweight cordless Festool BHC is not really heavy and strong enough for drilling big holes into concrete. Concrete is tough drilling. Its harder than the hardest exotic wood on earth that people talk about how tough and hard it is. Ha. When you compare big or even medium sized SDS rotary hammer drills to the Festool BHC, they aren't really that comparable.
A BHC will easily manage holes this size in concrete though. Yes, bigger, more powerful, heavier SDS drills will do it faster but for a DIYer doing a few holes, I’m not sure that’s a huge factor.
I’m certainly not saying the BHC is the absolute ideal tool for this, or that the OP should buy one. There are lots of drills capable of this simple task and many of them are cheaper than the BHC. However, if you want a cordless SDS, already own other Festool batteries and you don’t want another battery platform, the BHC will manage these holes just fine.
I’m certainly not saying the BHC is the absolute ideal tool for this, or that the OP should buy one. There are lots of drills capable of this simple task and many of them are cheaper than the BHC. However, if you want a cordless SDS, already own other Festool batteries and you don’t want another battery platform, the BHC will manage these holes just fine.
Birdhunter
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I think Russells “drilled it” with his informative response.
I think people should try drilling a 12mm hole in concrete with a BHC before judging. The only time I’ve resorted to my old corded SDS was for some 5” holes in masonry, and the BHC probably would have managed that too, but given that the core drill weighed more than the BHC I figured it would be a bit of a handful up a ladder.
Maybe living in the UK just means I’m used to drilling holes in concrete and masonry for even the simplest of DIY jobs around the house. Perhaps in the US it’s far enough out the ordinary to require some research.
If I was the OP, I’d just use this as an excuse to buy whatever tool you think you might get some use out of for the next few years. If you really want a BHC just buy it - it’ll manage the holes fine. If you want an excuse to buy a monster, go for it.
Maybe living in the UK just means I’m used to drilling holes in concrete and masonry for even the simplest of DIY jobs around the house. Perhaps in the US it’s far enough out the ordinary to require some research.
If I was the OP, I’d just use this as an excuse to buy whatever tool you think you might get some use out of for the next few years. If you really want a BHC just buy it - it’ll manage the holes fine. If you want an excuse to buy a monster, go for it.
Certainly wouldn’t hurt to try it out, however my point is that any SDS drill will work well enough for a DIYer drilling 30 holes in concrete. So, the OP would be better off not worrying too much about these 30 holes (which will amount to less than an hour of his ownership of the drill) and buy the SDS that suits his needs for the next few years instead.Cheese said:
Funnily enough, a friend of mine just drilled about 20 similar sized holes in reinforced concrete, to resin fix anchors for a timber framed out-building. His drill? A very cheap ‘no-name’ corded hammer drill (non SDS). He’s from Yorkshire, so short arms and deep pockets...
Michael Kellough
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Birdhunter said:
Hmm, this part of what Russell said confused me, “ Key being the ROTARY hammer drill here. NOT hammer drill only. Hammer drills come with regular drill chucks with the three jaw chucks that you twist to lock onto a round shaft drill bit. ROTARY hammer drills drill into concrete with ease. Hammer drills do not drill into concrete that easily.”
I’ve never seen a hammer drill with a three jawed chuck that did not rotate. The lightweight three jaw chuck hammer drills drills holes in concrete slowly compared to SDS drills because the hammer function is lightweight too. I have seen some that allow you to choose hammer only but that function is for light chipping not drilling holes.
Every SDS drill I’ve seen marketed includes in it’s description the maximum size bit is is capable of driving for a considerable time, as in used professionally, so it should be simple to decide which drill to buy. For a short time they are capable of driving a larger bit albeit less productively than when using a heavier unit.
[member=297]Michael Kellough[/member]
here's a reasonable explanation of rotary hammer versus hammer drill
https://www.familyhandyman.com/arti...crete-tools-rotary-hammers-and-hammer-drills/
Ron
here's a reasonable explanation of rotary hammer versus hammer drill
https://www.familyhandyman.com/arti...crete-tools-rotary-hammers-and-hammer-drills/
Ron
rvieceli said:
I thought that was a great article. Here are some of the very important quotes from the article for deciding to get a rotary hammer drill.
"Rotary hammers are more powerful, though"
"Rotary hammers provide a lot more impact energy than hammer drills. They’re much more durable and are the preferred tool of the pros."
"A hammer drill is perfect for light masonry. It works best at drilling holes in bricks, mortar and concrete blocks. But it can also handle the occasional hole in poured concrete."
"Rotary hammers excel at drilling holes in hardened concrete."
"Hammer drills in this price range have motors with 6 to 8 amps. Good for drilling holes up to 1/2 in. in block, mortar, brick and other light masonry. These drills will also bore into concrete, but slowly."