Drills....

[jonewer]

OK, I grew up in house where my dad's tool kit comprised of a butter knife (universal screwdriver), a pair of pliers (universal spanner), and a hammer (for anything that couldnt be fixed by a butter knife and pliers).

Hence I know sodall about DIY.

I need to get a better drill. The one I have I inherited from my grandad was made by Sir Cholmondley-Drill in 1834.

I have no idea what to buy. What is a hammer drill? What is an impact drill? Which one should I buy? Help!

 

[Jeltz]

What are you wanting to do?

I have a Ryobi Drill Driver and Hammer Drill cordless set which is perfect for most DIY the hammer drill goes into most masonry easily (with a decent drill bit) and the drill driver is good for screwing (ooh err) and ok on wood.

I live in a stone cottage and the white lias which the hose is made of is very hard so for any external work I use a Bosh Professional corded impact drill which is pretty heavy duty but having burned out a few DIY black and deckers its proved value for money. Especially as I bought it in a sale.

 

[Casey76]

As Jeltz says, it depends on what you want to do.

For masonry (stone, concrete etc) you will need a hammer drill. Do yourself a favour and get a corded one. The cordless simply don't have enough power and are poorly weighted.

For general, around the house-type (plaster board, wood, internal walls (if you don't live in ancient houses) etc) then a combination drill/driver is great. They are much better weighted these days, and with re-chargeable lithium batteries much smaller and compact too, but still having the power requirements which suit most day to day activities. They also remove the need to buy separate drill and powerdriver too.

For really small jobs, you can now buy drill bits (for wood and plaster board) which are meant to be used with powerdrivers. They are very convenient, but expensive as they are still new.

Unless you are a professional (I'm guessing not ) there is no need to spend silly money on top of the range stuff. Mid-range equipment is perfectly adequate for DIY.

 

[bobsbeer]

If you go down the rechargable route which is fine for most DIY jobs, try to get one with lithium batteries. NiCd batteries soon loose their charge holding ability if you don't use it regularly and for the full charge. The down side is lithium costs more, so it depends on what you are planning. Try to get one with about 18v. 14v is ok at a pinch for wood light duty etc, but try to drill into dense brick and you will struggle. But there is no need to spend silly money. £50 should get you a good DIY drill which will do most things you are planning. You should also get a range of screw drivers, cross head and flat, as while the drill can do of the hard work a hand screwdriver is good to start or for final tightning. Stanley or Draper tools will last a lifetime and you can will them to your grandchildren.

 

[R-9]

OK, I grew up in house where my dad's tool kit comprised of a butter knife (universal screwdriver), a pair of pliers (universal spanner), and a hammer (for anything that couldnt be fixed by a butter knife and pliers).

Haha this pretty much describes my upbringing too. Waching my Dad lay carpets armed only with a blunt Stanley knife... :whistle:

 

[cutnrun]

OK, I grew up in house where my dad's tool kit comprised of a butter knife (universal screwdriver), a pair of pliers (universal spanner), and a hammer (for anything that couldnt be fixed by a butter knife and pliers).

Hence I know sodall about DIY.

I feel for you!

at least m Dad had WD40 and duck tape.

 

[graysalchemy]

I use a Makita 18v combi drill professionally, they will comfortably drill concrete and masonry and is sensitive enough for fine drilling and screwing jobs.

They are not cheap but they are on offer for about £100 from screwfixand I think B&Q.

:thumb:

 

[Springer]

I've got one like Gs , you get what you pay for once again, had cheapies which are fine, but I found the batteries were poor and not financially worth replacing, so you end up with a pile of useless drills, :cry:
Must admit one of my Makita batteries has packed up, but the other is going well after six years abuse.
S
r

 

[graysalchemy]

I just bought a new one as some of the batteries on the old one were failing but it has been used for the past 5 years everyday so not bad really. :thumb:

 

[pittsy]

Im a Carpenter/Kitchen fitter i got a drill for this drills and a drill for that and i've even got **** you ain't never heard of ,lol just get a cheap 1 from screw fix . If you know jack all about DIY then chances are your only gonna be using em a few times so cheap will do , Makita etc are excellent but way over the top for what you need . A hammer drill around 1000 ish and a 2 speed driver (for screwing a drilling wood etc) :thumb:

 

[crofty83]

I have the Dewalt Combi you always see on offer at B&Q, Screwfix etc and its perfectly good for what I want it to do (has been as low as £80 recently). I've had it for about 2 1/2 years and it still goes strong. I don't use it everyday mind but I installed my own kitchen with it last December and use it for all work around the house. I personally felt the DeWalt drills were better weighted evenly for me than the Makita's (I felt they wanted to till forwards in my hand as if they weren't counter ballanced) but that's just my opinion.

If you get more into your DIY, don't forget if you buy a decent brand like DeWalt, for example, the 18V batteries are interchangeable with other 18V DeWalt units like the lamps, hoovers, drils, saws...... and the list goes on.

 

[crofty83]

A hammer drill around 1000 ish

Is it gold plated?

 

[pittsy]

A hammer drill around 1000 ish

Is it gold plated?

lol yeah not £ but power