Buying a corded drill.

BML

I broke my right thumb a few years ago using a round cutter to cut a hole through hard bricks. The cutter jammed but the drill kept going. The result a badly smashed right thumb. Today I was drilling a hole through a 5mm fence post, the drill bit jammed, the drill kept going, result a badly twisted left thumb.
I was told that if I had been using a drill with a clutch neither accident would have happened.
So its time to buy a new multi purpose mains electric drill which I will use for drilling into brickwork, wood and steel fence posts about3 to 5mm thick and it must have a clutch.

A.Penny.Saved

I purchased a Bosch SDS hammer drill with a quick change chuck. It has a SDS chuck and a conventional chuck which can be swapped in a few seconds. The chuck can be stopped so it can be used to chisel and the hammer can be disabled.

However a SDS drill tends to work at lower speeds ie 900rpm so is less suitable for drilling into wood and metal in particular which require higher speeds such as 2000rpm.

I have drilled into no fines concrete using it and the drill bit did jam on a few occasions because no fines has very hard large stones. It did not cause any problems or injury when it jammed.

Any decent drill should have a safety clutch. If you buy a decent make then you should be okay. Just look at the features that you need. ie speed, hammer, chuck stop, depth stop, direction reverse.

A few things for you to consider.

BML

Many thanks for your advice. I will have a look at the drill today.

BML

I just had a look and there are several "Bosch SDS hammer drill with a quick change chuck". Could you let me know which one you were referring to. Many thanks.

tacpot12

If you want a clutch and need higher speeds the only option currently is a Core Drill, e.g. DeWalt's DEWD21570K, but I expect an SDS Drill will do you. Hitachi's DH26PX is a very good SDS drill and has a safety clutch.

A.Penny.Saved

BML wrote: »

I just had a look and there are several "Bosch SDS hammer drill with a quick change chuck". Could you let me know which one you were referring to. Many thanks.

Mine is a Bosch GBH 2-26 DFR. They might not be available now, they have probably been replaced with newer models because it was around 8+ years ago when I purchased it.

Any decent manufacturer will make a decent drill with a safety clutch. Just look for the options that you need. A conventional chuck is helpful IMO, I use it a lot, more than the SDS chuck. I only use the SDS chuck for more demanding jobs such as drilling into no fines concrete. The SDS chuck can be used with chisels too so does come in useful at times.

I mentioned the speed because it can be an issue with hammer drills because most work at around 900rpm, whereas none hammer drills tend to work at around 2000rpm.

jackieblack

BML wrote: »

Today I was drilling a hole through a 5mm fence post...

So its time to buy a new multi purpose mains electric drill which I will use for drilling into brickwork, wood and steel fence posts about3 to 5mm thick

That's a teeny tiny little fence post! The drill bit must be no thicker than a hair!
Do you live in a miniature/model village?
(Sorry about your injured thumb/s)

BML

3 to 5mm might be small to you but I'm a doddering old 80 year old. As I'm English I resent being forced into the Metric world with the exception of litres when I visit Germany to sample their beer. I normally stick to good old English feet and inches but looking at a steel rule I kept from my newspaper days I saw 4mm being close to a small quarter of an inch which is a form of measurement we used when I was on the buildings, unless that is, I totally misunderstood it but I was sober when I checked. All I know is that my ill treated thumb still hurts.

jackieblack

1 inch is 25.4mm so yes, 5mm is a little under 1/4 inch...
:think: A quarter of an inch thick fencepost? Really? A fencepost about as thick as a pencil? :think:

And I really am sorry about your injured thumb - while we were married my ex husband had an accident at home that resulted in the amputation of most of his left thumb (he's left handed) so I know how a thumb injury impacts the function of your whole hand. I hope it heals soon.

BML

I should have said that the fence post is really a length of angle iron about one and a half inches in width each angle. I want to block the view of a new estate stuck behind our bungalow so I bought some new bits of angle iron about six foot in length and drilled a couple of holes in them about eighteen inches apart and then clamped it to the existing angle iron and pushed bolts through the holes. I will then stretch some chain link fencing along the posts and hope that the hedging I planted will grow up and along it thereby blocking the view from 20 windows from the new speculative estate that can observe me when I go down the garden to have a chat with my hens.