Drill/Driver

[Rob Bodenschatz]

I'm looking to put some cleats up in my basement shop to hang cabinets, etc. These cleats will be going into the concrete foundation. Would I be able to use my standard cordless drill (Panasonic 15.6v) with a masonry bit to get this done or should I get a hammer drill, impact driver or something along those lines? I'm not real familiar with those tools. If you recommend getting a new drill, do you know of a good, inexpensive one I should get?

[Jesse Cloud]

Rob,
If you are going into concrete, I would recommend that you rent a Hilti impact driver or equivalent. If its just cinder block, your drill and a masonry bit will be fine. Home depot tool rental has a good variety of those tools, just tell the guy what you want to do. A good concrete drill will set you back serious dollars, and if you aren't going to be doing this often you can get a lot more fun out of those dollars with other tools.
My two cents...

[Larry Cooke]

Rob,

I agree with Jesse, if it's concrete you'll definitely want a hammer drill. A standard drill would take forever to do, with the hammer drill it's like drilling wood by comparison.

Rent it unless you plan on doing a lot of holes in concrete.

Larry

[Rob Bodenschatz]

Thanks Jesse & Larry. I thought about renting but I'd like to be able to just pull it out one day and put it to work. Not have to worry about picking one up and getting it all done in the rental timeframe. That would require too much planning. Plus, I do plan on finishing my basement in the next couple of years so I'll be getting a bit more use out of it then. I don't think I've ever seen anyone discourage the buying of a new tool on this board. Thought that was against the rules. :D

I see a few hammer drills in the sub $100 range. Would I be wasting my money on those or do you think that level of drill would be sufficient to do the jobs I described?

[Dave Sweeney]

Do you own a corded drill? If not, you should. This would be an excellent opportunity to add a corded drill to your tool collection. Most hammer drills have the ability to run in either a standard drill mode or a hammer/drill mode. By buying a corded hammer drill you'll not only be able to do this project easily but also any drilling job down the road that your battery operated drill/driver just can't handle. $.02 worth.

<edit> I almost forgot. I have the Makita HP1501 hammer drill and for around the house type projects it's great.

[CPeter James]

I have the Bosch Hammer drill that I bought just for that purpose. It also goes to 2300 rpm so I can use it for drilling pocket holes and other uses. I used the "Tapcon" screws and heavy duty construction adhesive and the stuff I install stays stuck. I like it better than the power driven studs as there is no blowout. I drill right through the stud or outlet box or whatever and then use an driver drill to install the screw.

http://www.confast.com/products/tapcon-concretescrew.asp

CPeter

[Kyle Kraft]

I have a corded Milwaukee hammer drill which cranks about 2500 rpm. I like it because I can select rotary only and use it for drilling pilot holes in WW projects. This little powerhouse can blast up to a 1/2" hole in concrete which is plenty for the serious homeowner.

Kyle in K'zoo

[tod evans]

bob, good and inexpensive don`t belong in the same sentence when speaking of tools. for a fairly priced homeowner type hammerdrill i`d look at the bosch bulldog, it`ll do whatever most homeowners need a hammerdrill to do.....02 tod

[Bob Childress]

Rob,

Just recently bought a Milwaukee corded 1/2" hammer drill to mix some large latches of tile tinset and grout. But I can tell you that this baby has got some power! It was about $129 I think at the BORG. I chose it because it was what all the tile guys recommended for heavy duty work day in and day out.

You get what you pay for, as usual.:)

[Wes Bischel]

I bought a HF hammer drill for this specific purpose. I've had it for a number of years and it still does the job whenever I call on it. Now if I needed it often - as in weekly, I wouldn't even consider the HF unit. For as little as it gets used, I look at it as $25 spent that is saving my 1/2" drill (and my arms) from taking a beating.:D

Wes

[Rob Russell]

I picked up a Hitachi rotary hammer on the local big box clearance table. It was a recon that looked like it'd been used on a couple of jobs and returned. It's been great to have. It used the SDS splined bits an drills holes on our poured basement walls with little effort.

I haven't needed to use the drill often but, everytime I have, I'm glad I bought it.

Rob

[Dan Stuewe]

I agree with what has been said about using this to kill two birds with one stone. I bought a used Milwaukee hammer drill for less than $50 (as I recall) off of ebay a few years ago. I use it for pocket holes and concrete holes.

[Mike Hill]

Rob: I bought a 1/2 Inch Black and Decker Hammer drill yesterday at HD. $59.97. I will be drilling a brick wall in my garage for a 5" vent for a portable Air Conditioner. Tried it out today on the brick and it ate it up with a 1/4" carbide tipped bit. Hope this helps.
Mike

[Rob Bodenschatz]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and advice. This is on its way...

40845

[Vaughn McMillan]

Rob, I've got the same Bosch hammer drill kit, and I'm pretty sure you'll be pleased with your decision. It'll drill 1/2" holes in concrete like it's oak. It's one of those tools that might not get daily use, but the times you need it, it's wonderful have it available.

- Vaughn