Is a hammer drill required?

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I have a Milwaukee M18 Fuel Drill/Driver that i got in 2014. It is the non hammer drill. I plan on doing a bit of drilling into the foundation of my house but i'm wondering before i go and buy masonry bits if there are A) Masonry bits for regular drills and B) If not, do i need a hammer drill to do the job? Where do they excel and when are they not needed?

 

[Tenex]

1. I've read that hammer drill chucks have more run-out.

2. The drill bits will work in your drill as well but it's going to be a chore.

3. FWIW you can buy a corded hammer drill for $60

 

[Lee Celtic]

Masonry drills are blunt chisels that spin and chip away using a hammer action the flutes are there to clear the waste but they are really chisels that need to be hit.. using them with a non hammer drill will just grind them against what ever you are drilling scraping their way through.. it will take forever and wreck the drill bit.. if it's just one day of drilling try and hire a good SDS drill you'll be done in minutes instead of hours.. Or as said buy a cheap corded drill for the job but I would still go for an SDS as the drill bit has more back and forth travel so it will drill much quicker. hope this helps'

Just to add.. you can use an SDS drill as a power chisel too( turn the spin off).. they are great for breaking up concrete and chipping render off walls..

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

If you have a lot to do Rent (or buy) a Hilti.

 

[LXCam]

It really depends on how big you need to drill. Those small HD's do ok with 1/4" stuff. But if you're needing to drill several larger holes in fairly hard concrete you should just go rent or buy a decent SDS drive unit.

^^, Granted Hilti is about the best out there, but that's like saying you have a couple bolts to remove from you car so you better go buy a SO ratchet.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

For small 3/16-1/4" anchors a cordless drill will work... okay. If you plan to do many or larger ones, then I'd recommend a SDS (rent or buy). Our Makita corded SDS will put 3/8" holes in concrete for anchors in seconds. Whereas a 3/16" hole with my Makita cordless took minutes.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

For small 3/16-1/4" anchors a cordless drill will work... okay. If you plan to do many or larger ones, then I'd recommend a SDS (rent or buy). Our Makita corded SDS will put 3/8" holes in concrete for anchors in seconds. Whereas a 3/16" hole with my Makita cordless took minutes.

I would probably only be using it for setting in anchors for wood sized screws to put up a board mount in the basement for say a breaker panel or bolting down water lines, etc.

 

[Lee Celtic]

Sounds like a normal drill with hammer action would do the job then.. I have an old Black and Decker corded one just for that job.. got it for £10 as nobody wants them these days.

 

[bcradio]

I have a Milwaukee M18 Fuel Drill/Driver that i got in 2014. It is the non hammer drill. I plan on doing a bit of drilling into the foundation of my house but i'm wondering before i go and buy masonry bits if there are A) Masonry bits for regular drills and B) If not, do i need a hammer drill to do the job? Where do they excel and when are they not needed?

No, this will not work. You might be able to squeak by with a hammerdrill, but for concrete you will be much better off with a rotary hammer drill.

Good luck.

 

[strength_and_power]

For small stuff like that, use Tapcons. The bits they use will work in a regular drill

 

[astroracer]

For small stuff like that, use Tapcons. The bits they use will work in a regular drill

^^^ This^^^ Regular drill will work fine. I used a 1/2" Milwaukee to drill 7/8" holes in my shop floor for my tube bender anchors and the lift anchors. Never had an issue. Took about 4 minutes to drill each hole.
Mark

 

[James-W]

I have used concrete drill bits in a regular drill and it does work, but it is pretty slow when compared to using a hammer drill. I have a corded Porter Cable hammer drill and it works VERY well. It wasn't all that expensive, as I recall I paid like $40 for it when I bought it several years ago. I am sure they are more expensive now, but I doubt the cost would be terrible. I seldom use a hammer drill, but when I do need it I have it.

 

[jlh92]

For small stuff like that, use Tapcons. The bits they use will work in a regular drill

Agreed.

I had to install a new toilet ring in my mothers basement a few months back. Used a Tapcon bit in my $5 pawn shop Skil drill, worked fine. I did let a little of the smoke out of the drill though.

 

[TheMadMech]

If you have one of those Impact Drill combos that a lot of people have and use a masonry bit with it, so long as you aren't doing heavy work and it's just the occasional job that will work fine. Otherwise you really do need a hammer drill. As previously mentioned the bits are actually chisels so just spinning them really fast doesn't do much at all.

 

[JJThrasher]

I've drilled concrete with a corded drill and a masonry bit. It wasn't much fun, but it did the job and didn't cost me a dime.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Are the hammer drill/driver combo's sloppy/wobbly in the chuck compared to a regular drill/driver?

 

[FigureItOut]

Are the hammer drill/driver combo's sloppy/wobbly in the chuck compared to a regular drill/driver?

In my experience they are. Someone in the Milwaukee warranty service department told me the allowable runout specs for a hammer drill are higher than those for a fixed chuck.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[KMdef9]

I'd only use a regular drill if I was going into mortar joints.

Anything above that will be painstaking. And like mentioned, you'll probably burn up that pricey masonry bit.

You probably don't need a rotary hammer, but a basic hammer drill will save you time and aching arms.

 

[Olafur]

I have never seen a drill bit capable of drilling concrete without hammering. Didn't know they existed.

Regarding hammer drills here is my experience:
There are "hammer drills" - drills with regular chuck that create a vibration. Mostly in your hands. Yes they can drill small holes in concrete given enough time and beer for the operator. The best of them are somewhat useful - many are almost useless when it comes to concrete drilling. After all these are just "drills" intended for wood, steel etc. The "hammer" function is a cheap addition that can be useful if you need to hang a picture or two.

Then it's real hammer drills SDS and such. Generally speaking they drill through concrete quite fast without much effort. The operator can and should just stay sober and enjoy the ride. If I didn't have such unit I would rent one in a heart beat if I had to do some concrete drilling.

 

[Olafur]

WTF is up with that ebay link - I didn't put it there

 

[davethorik]

Is your foundation cinder block? If so, a regular drill will have no problem.

 

[the gypsy]

If you don't have too many holes to drill and don't want to invest in another drill, there is an adapter on the market to convert your regular drill into a hammer drill. here is a link http://toolmonger.com/2010/04/13/turn-just-about-any-drill-into-a-hammer-drill/

 

[FigureItOut]

For a little clarification in terms, your standard drill with a 3 jaw chuck that has a hammer function is known as a hammer drill. The larger dedicated machine with a spline, SDS, SDS+, or SDS Max chuck, is known as a rotary hammer.

The terms illustrate the difference. A rotary hammer is a hammer, with a rotary function. A hammer drill is a drill, with a hammer function.

I've only owned pretty decent quality when it comes to hammer drills, Dewalt brushless and Milwaukee Fuel. I've also used large Hilti and Dewalt hammers and personally own a HF rotary hammer. I'll say this, a good hammer drill with a good bit, is perfectly adequate for small projects doing up to a half inch in concrete or block, and will punch holes in brick easily. They'll do 3/4" slowly. They are far more effective than some have described them to be.

A rotary hammer is far better, but for normal projects the step up to a real hammer isn't as a big of a leap in capability as going from a non-hammer drill to a hammer drill.

I'd push my hammer drill up to an inch or so if I had to do just a couple shallow holes, but I wouldn't even consider trying to do even a tiny hole in brick with a non-hammer drill.



Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[theoldwizard1]

I would probably only be using it for setting in anchors for wood sized screws to put up a board mount in the basement for say a breaker panel or bolting down water lines, etc.

You can do it with a regular drill and a masonary bit and a long punch of the correct size. Alternate back and forth with the punch and the drill. It will take a long time.

Check if a neighbor has a hammer drill (not SDS) or maybe you can pick one up cheap on CL or eBay.

Don't overthink attaching those boards ! They are not holding much weight. I had the same situation in my son's house and used Red Head Poly Set anchors. Basically an oversized (#12 screw) drywall anchor. The screws are way to short if you are going to be hanging anything thick than about 1/2" thick so buy some longer #12 sheet metal screws. If you are really paranoid, put several generous dabs of construction adhesive on the board before you screw it down.


EDIT : Found a couple of NEW 3/8" corded hammer drills on CL for between $50-$100. Used ones for as cheap as $15 !

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I found an m18 fuel hammer drill new for 94 today, iffy on whether to buy it or not. I see mixed "they're useless" and "they'll work fine" in this thread

 

[shannonw]

I live in a block house. Just go out and buy a cheap corded hammer drill, it’s not anything you use every day, i use mine once a year. But i will say with tapcons, hammer drill + impact them in works best. I would break tapcons all the time until i used an impact to put them in, haven’t broken one since.

Big holes, bosch bulldog or the like saves tons of times, seconds to drill a 1/2 bolt hole in a slab. Regular hammer drill works fine for that too but the bits vibrate loose constantly....a real pain. smaller bits work fine in the HD

 

[dnschmidt]

Hammer drills are useless in concrete. The best they can do is block and brick. For concrete you're going to need an SDS hammer. That's just the way it is.

 

[bcradio]

Some good advice in here and some terrible advice as well. Yes, if you are drilling in concrete you will want at a minimum a hammerdrill and preferably a roto hammer drill.

No, hammerdrills do not have any more runout than a regular drill.

If cost is an issue, go buy the cheap corded HF hammerdrill and that'll be plenty.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Hammer drills are useless in concrete. The best they can do is block and brick. For concrete you're going to need an SDS hammer. That's just the way it is.

Come on ! We are talking a 1/4-3/8" hole less than 2" deep !! SDS would be faster, but but any decent hammer drill should be able to handle that.