Rotary Hammer for under $400?

[Jon McElwain]

My ancient Bosch hammer drill has been through two sets of bushings, and is finally giving up the ghost. I'd like to upgrade to a rotary hammer. I've used the Hilti roto hammers quite a bit, and while they are excellent, they are a bit pricey for my budget. I'll be using this for work, so I don't want one of the super cheap versions either.

So, they question is, what is the best hammer for under $400?

Thanks a bunch!

Edit: Just looked and found that Hilti does make a rotary hammer for just under $400 - it is the TE 7. Anyone used this drill?

[Jamie Buxton]

I've got a Bosch 11224VSR. I use it mostly for drilling for tapcons to anchor cabinets and such. It cost $200 or so. If it disappeared in the night, I'd probably just go get another. $400 will buy you a very big rotary hammer. You might ask yourself what kind of work you're doing.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have a Hilti te 22, Black and Decker Macho 5, and a Milwaukee USA 1 and like the Back and Decker the best. Hilti is nice to

[Paul McGaha]

Hi Jon,

If I had to buy a Rotary Hammer today I'd probably go with a Bosch. It's what we've gone to at my work.

Probably something like this:

http://www.tools-plus.com/bosch-rh328vc.html

or this:

http://www.tools-plus.com/bosch-rh228vc.html

Both are well under $400.

Good luck with it.

PHM

[Jon McElwain]

Thanks fellas for the comments. After looking around town and online, I ended up buying a Makita HR2811F. It is a 1-1/8", 7 amp, 1100 rpm, and 4600 bpm unit. It has rotary only, hammer only, and rotary hammer modes. I put in 25 or so holes into concrete for 3/8" red head bolts over the last week, and the drilling action was perfect for the application. I also chipped about 70 s.f. of 4" white tile with it. It handled both tasks quite well.

Performance was great for what I was doing, however, this machine has one fatal flaw. The side handle is a SERIOUS PAIN IN THE REAR to adjust. It has an indexing feature that locks it into place, but the problem is, it is really tough to move. When you are doing a bunch of holes and demo work, you don't have time to mess around with a handle - the handle should lock into place and then with a couple of turns of the wrist it should move effortlessly. Not so with this Makita - it took up to a minute to move the handle into place. The fastest I could do it was 15-20 seconds even when the handle was totally loose.

I took a chance on this roto hammer because it was $299 and they threw in a 4-1/2" angle grinder. Even so, I think I may return it and get a bosch or hilti for a few dollars more. I'll let you all know how that goes!

Jon

[Greg R Bradley]

Almost every Rotary Hammer has its advantages and disadvantages even if you leave price limits out and think only of performance vs price. Newer designs are really making some progress on the details like balance and vibration.

The last two this former Bosch fan has bought are bigger Makita units, with the newer design AVT, and I am thoroughly impressed. The HR5210C has the vibration you would expect out of a tool half its size built 5 years ago. Of course, it is still almost 2 feet long and weighs more than 25 pounds. We won't even mention the $1000 part. Glad I bought it for younger people to use. The Bosch equivalent 11245EVS just sits in reserve now. It is a 10 year old design and the new Makita just makes it look sad. Now if Bosch redesigns it, maybe there will be a race again.

I just bought a HM1203C 20lb Demo Hammer for personal use that will eventually go to business use when I'm done with my house renovation. The low vibration is really nice when you are twice the age of the typical user like I am.

The flaw that you noticed is only apparent after you start using a tool. Others may not notice. Hilti makes great stuff but you tend to pay serious money for their tools. If it is reasonable, it is likely to be an older design.

I'm not down on Bosch. My 3 year old Bosch 36v Cordless Rotary Hammer is great. I would just encourage you to look at newer designs and try it out before you buy. If you try simple answers such as "this brand" instead of "that brand" you won't see the big picture. Try to consider the individual tool instead of the brand. If you are a serious, heavy user, Hilti will probably let you try one out. They tend to target bigger companies, though. A company that spends $10K per year on Hilti is small to them.

[Larry Prem]

Greg is right. Every rotary hammer has its advantages and disadvantages. You need to be more specific about what you want to use your drill for.

If you were happy with your hammer drill, Jamie's recommendation of the Bosch 11224VSR is spot on. It's a great tool for anything smaller than 3/4".

All rotary hammers...
http://www.hingmy.com/woodworkingtools.php?Type=42&Manu=-1&c[]=1230,5&Sort=1302

[Peter Quinn]

I've got the next size down makita, the 1" Sds model, couldn't be happier. It's light in weight for what it does, the percussive action is great, it just sort of slides into concrete like butter. It has the same handle type you describe, I guess I don't move mine around enough to get annoyed by it. I have an older and larger hilti too, that has a handle you can rotate on the fly nice feature. The makita has relatively low vibration to the user for the speed with which it makes holes, I used to use a friends Bosch bulldog, see to remember more vibration in the hands, may have been the age or condition of the unit.

[Ole Anderson]

I have an old PC 1/2" hammer drill which is indestructable. Recently I bought the HF 1 1/8" SDS rotary hammer just to take up tile in my kitchen. So far, so good, although it is a lot of tool for $89 I was not expecting Hilti quality.