HF has their SDS rotary hammer on sale for $59. If you dont have a SDS -go buy it!. I have had one for over a month now and you will find yourself wondering how you got by without one. I have used it to set a dozen or so 5/8 anchor bolts in concrete (30 seconds to a minute a bolt to drill) drill holes through a concrete wall for conduit, used it with the chisel it came with in hammer only mode to break up concrete. Next I have to install a TON of tapcon screws. I was at HD today and discovered Bosch makes a SDS tapcon driver kit! I am in heaven..........
harborfreight SDS hammer drill - go buy one!
- Thread starter mrb
- Start date
krooser
Well-known member
$59.00 is pretty pricey. I bought one several years ago from a trucker who sold Chi-Com tools from his cab. He sold 'em for $9.00.
I bought a hammer drill from Harbor Freight a few years ago to sink some lag bolts in the poured foundation walls of my house and shop.
needed it for one time. To rent one from Home Depot was $29 per day, got the drill on sale for $19. It made me money the first time I used it.
It has a plastic body, a plastic chuck with metal jaws, and the drill bit is still in the chuck because the chuck locked up.
But if I use that drill just one more time in my life, I'll have more than doubled my investment.
-Brad
needed it for one time. To rent one from Home Depot was $29 per day, got the drill on sale for $19. It made me money the first time I used it.
It has a plastic body, a plastic chuck with metal jaws, and the drill bit is still in the chuck because the chuck locked up.
But if I use that drill just one more time in my life, I'll have more than doubled my investment.
-Brad
goodfellow
Well-known member
+1 on the HF SDS -- I also bought it for one project and it has been gong strong for almost six years now.
Coach James
Well-known member
One of my friends has the HF one and loves it. I got one from Northern Tool for ~$89 and it's been great. I drilled 14 one inch diameter holes four inches deep for floor anchors with no problems. I had to refill the grease case once but that was all. It was a three day job as I had to set each set of anchors, let the concrete start to set up then remeasure for the next set of holes. Three days rental for one would have been $240.
Coach
Coach
krooser
Well-known member
was it a normal hammerdrill or the giant SDS? HF does make good margins, 50-60% of their selling price is profit. You know theyre raking in the cash when the CEO (and theyre family owned, so its his money not shareholder cash he is blowing) has a 20 million dollar house in beverly hills.
krooser
Well-known member
I know this is an old thread
Is this the one you guys are talking about?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97743
Can it be used to remove tile flooring?
Is this the one you guys are talking about?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97743
Can it be used to remove tile flooring?
Attachments
I don't know if that red one is the same. The older one most have is...
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=41983
You should use a floor scraper to remove tile. They sell them at Home Depot.
I see the orange and red one are both "3-in-1"
I hope the newer red version is not junk
The tile I have is stuck on pretty good. I need something heavy duty. I already tried a scraper.
I was thinking about this SDS hammer or air hammer.
Try breaking them with a sledge hammer and finishing with the scraper.
Here's an air scraper (which I haven't used)...
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37073
Here's an air scraper (which I haven't used)...
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37073
metal1313
Well-known member
the sds with a tile bit will work fine. i have used a hilti sds with a bosch tile chisel to carefully remove tile
rsanter
Well-known member
some guys use them to make electric planishing hammers
bob
bob
oldwino
ALLIANCE MEMBER
As a heavy/civil engineering construction inspector I was on a job 3-4 years ago when the contractor showed up on site with a HF SDS unit (this was on a project with a contract north of 6million $). I made some sort of wise *** comment about the quality of his tools and he said, these things are great and if you drop them, so what? He drilled hundreds of holes 1/4-5/8" with that thing and it was still going.
I went out and bought one as my roto-hammer was an old milwaulkee hex shaft with dull/broken obsolete bits. Damn thing has been great! One warning, the bits that come with it are metric so they don't work with U.S. redheads
I went out and bought one as my roto-hammer was an old milwaulkee hex shaft with dull/broken obsolete bits. Damn thing has been great! One warning, the bits that come with it are metric so they don't work with U.S. redheads
MrMark
Well-known member
how could you have not had a SDS plus roto hammer before this?
And why not spend the 240 on a decent Bosch model?
Instead of junk that will let you down at the worst possible time.
I never understand the philosophy of buyng cheap tools. Even with the odd ball tool you think you are only going to use once it never works out that way.
If I hired someone and they showed up with HF tools I would send them home. Shows me they are either not serious about their profession or not successful enough to afford quality tools.
A homeowner with a HF tool is one thing, a working man with one is quite another . ..
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how could you have not had a SDS plus roto hammer before this?
And why not spend the 240 on a decent Bosch model?
Instead of junk that will let you down at the worst possible time.
I never understand the philosophy of buyng cheap tools. Even with the odd ball tool you think you are only going to use once it never works out that way.
If I hired someone and they showed up with HF tools I would send them home. Shows me they are either not serious about their profession or not successful enough to afford quality tools.
A homeowner with a HF tool is one thing, a working man with one is quite another . ..
Why I didnt have one before that? Never needed one. Infact, I had never even used one before I bought it.
I bought the HF model because I needed it for one project, I dont use it every day. If I used it professionally, I would probably pick up a hilti. It is actually much better quality than I would have expected. I have used it for hundreds of holes, and have broken up quite a bit of concrete with it using a chisel and hammer mode.
MrMark
Well-known member
How do you drive ground rods without a rotohammer? I would think an engineer's hammer gets old after a while. For that matter, how do you install ground rods, which require drilling a 3/4 hole through a foundation in remodel, without a rotohammer?
Seems to me a rotohammer is an essential tool of the electrician. Never seen one without one, usually a big one.
Seems to me a rotohammer is an essential tool of the electrician. Never seen one without one, usually a big one.
russlaferrera
Well-known member
I bought a HF SDS last year to install 5/8 bolts. It worked great for me. I recommended it.
MrMark
Well-known member
that you didn't have a top notch roto hammer.Nealcrenshaw
Well-known member
Why?? You want the job done right?? If he can't do the job or if he can't do it in a reasonable amount of time then send him home. You're paying him to do a job well let him do it. If he can't send him home.
Don't bother the man because he doesn't show up with Bosch or Milwaukee tools.
gc427
Well-known member
I would rather hire a PROFESSIONAL with HF tools and the talent to do a good job than some DOUCHEBAG with expensive tools that can't do the job properly! JMO.
american lockpicker
Banned
The Bosch one is under $200 at Lowes now and made in Germany...
MrMark
Well-known member
No professional has HF tools. Period.
A "professional" wouldn't go out on a job with a tool that any reasonable person would know is of low quality and would likely let him down right in the middle of a job thereby jeopardizing his livelihood. When you make your living using a tool, you are telling me that you are going to trust a $59 Chinese rotohammer? We have almost no standards on what constitutes a professional these days, and comments like the above are a perfect example. In the popular lexicon, anyone who earns a living doing something is a "professional." Well, if that is your standard, I guess we shouldn't be surprised when that "professional" shows up with a HF miter saw and rotohammer and a Ryobi drill.
Tools are important. You need quality tools and skill and knowledge to do a good job. Rarely do you get any of the above. I find very few (almost none really) that can do any job properly, let alone "professionally" and if they cared about their job they wouldn't show up with junk tools. It would be like a lawyer dressing up in Sears suits and having out of date references and a crummy office.
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MrMark
Well-known member
Roto hammer is not a place to cheap out. The tool will be used way more than you think and a Bosch or Hilti will last a lifetime. That $59 HF can't be any good by any sound thinking.
T56 Impala
Well-known member
More HF bashing. Please guys. Someone comments that there is actually a decent product from HF and SOMEONE (no names) has to bash it as trash. Even after several other commented on just how good it is and they too were surprised. Since someone wants to bash something, why don't you do a couple of things first.
1. List all tools with the SAME specs.
2. List the COO of ALL of them.
3. Take a look at the internals of them and see if you can identify the COO of all the parts. I would bet, that 80% or more of the parts as identical in every unit. \
4. List the retail price of each unit.
I'm not fan of cheap tools. I'm really not a fan of the ROC or the PRC at all, but lots of QUALITY stuff does come out of that part of the world. Just because it has a different name and low price means nothing.
1. List all tools with the SAME specs.
2. List the COO of ALL of them.
3. Take a look at the internals of them and see if you can identify the COO of all the parts. I would bet, that 80% or more of the parts as identical in every unit. \
4. List the retail price of each unit.
I'm not fan of cheap tools. I'm really not a fan of the ROC or the PRC at all, but lots of QUALITY stuff does come out of that part of the world. Just because it has a different name and low price means nothing.
RbrtAWhyt
Well-known member
Thats a bit arrogant. Do you speak for every single "professional" in every single aspect of every single service provider? A tool is a tool and its skilled use is only as good as the hands holding it. A box full of high dollar tools do not make you a professional, and a box containing less expensive tools do not make you any less skillful or professional.
Hank McMauser
Well-known member
the bolt doesn't care where the wrench that just tightened/loosened it was made just as the the concrete doesn't care where the drill was made that just put a hole in it.
as was posted above if you think all the power tools/cars/appliances and there parts inside are U.S. made you are living in a fantasy world.
Now I'm going to go get my flame retardent sweat pants on & get a bag of popcorn
Hank
as was posted above if you think all the power tools/cars/appliances and there parts inside are U.S. made you are living in a fantasy world.
Now I'm going to go get my flame retardent sweat pants on & get a bag of popcorn
Hank
gc427
Well-known member
This is the point I was trying to make in my earlier post. MrMark didn't get that.
Oh well.
MrMark
Well-known member
This is the point I was trying to make in my earlier post. MrMark didn't get that.
Oh well.
wrong. I get your point. Your point is a big fat zero. You and others fail to understand my point. I agree that a skilled person could do more with a HF tool than an unskilled person with a Snap-on. I never said or even implied otherwise. Your "point" is hardly debatable adn was never an issue. You made it an issue by failing to understand the nuance of what was being said. As another missing-the-point poster said, the bolt doesn't care which wrench turned it, assuming that the piece of **** didn't round it off or break during the process.
My point is much more basic and equally not debateable and that is - let me repeat for some - that a top notch mechanic would not use such a tool for many reasons and the fact that a person working for a living would show up with a major HF tool, like a rotohammer, says something about that person.
It says 1) I do not take my profession seriously and/or 2) I am not successful. *
No reputable mechanic relies on Harbor Freight tools. The reputable mechanic knows that a Harbor Freight tool will not allow him to perform the job as quickly, safely, reliably, and easily as the top quality brand. The mechanics on this board are all addicted to the credit on the tool trucks and they are tool junkies. They spend thousands upon thousands on expensive and high quality tools. The people you see with the HF tools are the construction industry types. The ones that really only need less than a thousand dollars worth of tools (and many times much less) to do their jobs. These are the people who show that they do not take their profession seriously when so little is required of them in terms of investment in quality and they can't even get that right.
* Exceptions are to be made for those just starting out.
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T56 Impala
Well-known member
Again, another arrogant statement.
Lets first give a definition to the word Professional as we are using it here. A professional is someone who does high quality work and gets paid for doing said work. Do you agree? I see nowhere, in any reference or definition for the word, the word tool.
If I were to somehow be able to sense the torque of a bolt, the proper sizing of a bore and have the physical strength to manipulate them with my finger to these specs while being paid to do said work, would that not make me a professional? The only tools I would be using would be my senses and my body. Would that make you more of a professional than I because you use Snap On or the like? What if I were from Japanese decent or Chinese decent? Would that make me, my tools less professional than your Made in the USA ones? How about if I did my work cheaper than you, would that mean I'm less of a professional?
I'm sorry that every "professional" doesn't meet your standards. I know many competent, and PROFESSIONAL people who use tools that you would call substandard. Just because someone doesn't agree with your line of thought does not make them wrong and you right.
Lets go further. Whats your take on TopTul? Are they a "Professional" line of tools? Would you be caught dead using one of them?
I don't own many HF tools. The ones I do have were chosen very carefully. One example is a set of SAE and Metric stubby wrenches. I would match these up against any brand, truck or not, for fit and finish. Am I proud that I went to HF to buy them? No, but I'm not ashamed either. They are top quality, "Professional" tools.
SSGTWC
Well-known member
And just who are to be calling us professionals, unprofessional, just for using inexpensive tools? Just because you have the money to out right buy expensive tools, does not give you the right call us who actually have to stick to a budget, nonprofessional. Every self respecting mechanic will weigh the pros and cons to which tool they will buy. Do I have HF tools in my tool box? Damn straight, I do! Do I not take my profession seriously? WRONG!!!! I take my profession VERY seriously.
I'm responsible for producing a quality product, to replenish the National Maintenance Product. (NMP) In a nutshell I oversea and rebuild the Allison MT 654CR transmissions, and every one of my mechanics have HF tools in there boxes. I'm going to tell all of them about this thread, and I'm sure they will register, and tell you just how wrong you really are.
rickairmedic
Well-known member
how could you have not had a SDS plus roto hammer before this?
And why not spend the 240 on a decent Bosch model?
Instead of junk that will let you down at the worst possible time.
I never understand the philosophy of buyng cheap tools. Even with the odd ball tool you think you are only going to use once it never works out that way.
If I hired someone and they showed up with HF tools I would send them home. Shows me they are either not serious about their profession or not successful enough to afford quality tools.
A homeowner with a HF tool is one thing, a working man with one is quite another . ..
Bummer I guess I wont be working for you good thing My wife and I own an HVAC company . ( I have had one of these for at least 5 years and use it pretty regularly going through brick to run flue pipes and line sets for HVAC systems and personally I think the bosch is highly over rated and extremely overpriced ). I have a plumber buddy who has had to have his bosch rebuilt twice in the time I have owned my HF and mine still works like it did the day I got it . Bashing HF due to the fact some of the stuff they sell is **** really doesnt make sense to me ( they actually do have some good tools ) . I would hire a guy in a second who had some HF tools on his truck ( as long as he was licensed and qualified to do the job ) . To me if you can get a good quality tool for 1/4 the price and still do the job with it ( and do it well ) I say go for it leaves more money for more tools
. Oh yeah I actually do own expensive tools and many thousands of dollars worth of them . I actually recently purchased well over $1000.00 worth of Dewalt tools for less than $500.00 brand new from Homie desperate alone . I also have alot of pride in my work and am having a hard time hiring new techs for that very reason ( I expect them to perform to my standards ) .Rick
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To install a ground rod: Take ground rod in hands and poke it in the ground enough to get a shallow hole started. Pour water in hole, drive by hand and remove ground rod as it gets deeper. Prepare to be splashed by muddy water. As ground rod get tight, remove and pour more water in hole. At the end of the process you will have to drive the last few inches in with a hammer.
KEH
KEH
Hawk
Well-known member
"The mechanics on this board are all addicted to the credit on the tool trucks and they are tool junkies. They spend thousands upon thousands on expensive and high quality tools."
Truest part of the statement made.
Truest part of the statement made.