SDS Drill Recommendation

[Albannach]

I'm going to treat myself to a small, 2-3kg, SDS drill. My options are Makita, JCB, Bosch, B&D, DeWalt and Hitachi. Mu price ceiling is around £150.

Any recommendations, including the model number if possible.

Cheers

Forgot to say, it has to be corded and 600w+

[Ace Piker]

I'm going to treat myself to a small, 2-3kg, SDS drill. My options are Makita, JCB, Bosch, B&D, DeWalt and Hitachi. Mu price ceiling is around £150.

Any recommendations, including the model number if possible.

Cheers

Do you need to buy one? PM me!

[Albannach]

Do you need to buy one? PM me!

Replied. It's a replacement for my percussion drill, I'd rather buy one, so that I always have it.

[puddlesurfer]

I don't know much about SDS drills in particular but Makita are always good.

[deltabravo61]

I've had a Bosch PBH220RE for several years. Good bit of kit, rated to 22mm in concrete, 16mm in granite, 30mm in wood and 13mm in steel. Impact rate is up to 4400/min. Never let me down or failed to get the job done.

[Koi]

After much looking lat year I went for this
Bosch PBH 2900 FRE
Looked at quite a few and decided that for the price (and reading reviews) and the extra bits with it was best one, alot were just the bare drill no extra's.
If I would have been using on a daily basis for work say then would have gone for a more expensive one.
Having used it several times into concrete lintels etc it was a breeze compared to my old hammer drill.

730W SDS Rotary Hammer Drill, Keyless Chuck complete with chisel, drill bits, chuck to take ordinary drill bits & carry case.
Picked it for around £120ish

[JohnnyWalkabout]

I picked up a Dewalt corded SDS drill plus cordles drill in a set from B&Q a little while ago for around £90 a little while ago.

Dewalt make excellent tools and very reliable. The SDS never struggles with anything and the cordless is great. The pair were ridiculously cheep for Dewalt. Have a look and see if they are still doing them

[frontman]

Hammer time

Hi, black & Decker would not have been my personal choice but I was bought one of these around 4 years ago and it has been great. Whatever you choose check what comes with it. The B&D comes with some bits and a drill chuck which is handy for using normal bits.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secon did=11557571&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372015}/categories%3C{9372047}/categories%3C{9372203}/categories%3C{9392094}/specificationsProductType=cord ed/specificationsSpecificProductT ype=sds_hammer_drills


Must admit though if Iwas purchasing one now I may go for the Makita, very good reputation.

[JamesG]

Makita every time for me. My current one has been in service since 2004 including 2 years of semi professional use. It's never let me down. The other good thing about buying a 'trade' rated tool is they come with a longer lead. May sound simple but makes like a lot easier...

[Wolfracer]

My order would be:
Makita, Bosch, DeWalt, Hitachi, JCB, B&D for "trade" use, but if it's only for occassional use I would get yourself down B&Q and actually pick them all up and have a "play" you'll find certain ones are alot better weighted / grip / comfort/ switch mechanism etc..

Then go home with your list and read reviews of your shortlist.

Like I think you said before, buy once, and certainly not in haste if you don't need it asap.

[Albannach]

I'm leaning towards Bosch. I like the feel and weight of the ones I've seen. And I was mightily impressed by the one our fireplace installer used.

As for 'trade' use; spannering is my profession, drilling holes is a passtime that I'm shite at. But, unlike spannering, I reckon a good drill would help me a bit, whereas someone that is shite with spanners will always be shite with them, no matter how much they cost

[MWS]

I'm going to treat myself to a small, 2-3kg, SDS drill. My options are Makita, JCB, Bosch, B&D, DeWalt and Hitachi. Mu price ceiling is around £150.

Any recommendations, including the model number if possible.

Cheers

Forgot to say, it has to be corded and 600w+

Whichever one you finally decide on, don't forget, Andy, to dispose of the packaging thoughtfuly....................

[Albannach]

you can still drill holes in the wrong place even with an expensive drill

I don't believe I've ever tried to drill a hole in the wrong place. But I do believe my choice of drill gun has caused my chosen hole to expand more than I intended.

[tintin]

DeWalt used to be excellent kit but theses days much of what made it so good has been replaced by cheap shat! (ie: gearbox components are often plastic ones from the Black and Decker side, as they are all one company)
From personal experience Andy I would say go Bosch
1) You've already said you like the feel of the Bosch
2) The prices are very reasonable
3) I have corded (110v) and cordless (24v) Bosch SDS plus drills and have used them for many years now without complaint.
( make sure you get one of the Blue range, not the green ones as they are strictly DIY and not so good)

Alan

[Ambobeer]

I'd go Makita. I've a 110v percussion drill that's still going strong that's at least 25 years old, an SDS that's about 12 years old and my cordless has just gone in the bin due to battery failure after 18 years.

I have a large cordless SDS Bosch drill and a small screwdriver type thing. Both are excellent but I think the Makitas have the edge.

I also have an Atlas Copco drill which has been awesome (Now Milwakee) but I'm told they have recently been taken over by Ryobi and the quallity has nose dived.