Why did I buy the drill
I had an old drill that I had bought for about Rs 900 or so. It was supposed to be an impact or 'hammer drill'. It served me well for its lifetime. Apart from the knobs slowly breaking, a problem I faced was that the drill would not progress through the wall. I tried all sorts of bits, even dipping the bit in water. However I soon realized that the problem was with my drill. It did serve me well for wood, but was not good enough for good quality cement or concrete.
Types of drills.
From information I have gleaned over the net, there are three types of drills.
1. Normal/Rotary drills : With just a motor.
2. Impact drills (sometimes called hammer drills or impact drills)
3. Rotary hammers
The price increases in that order. A normal drill can be got locally for less than Rs 1000. Many are available as 'tool kits' which include the drill, and a lot of hand tools. Impact drills start near Rs 2000, and rotary hammers about 4500 or so and more.
Normal drills just rotate. Impact drills rotate, but the rotating thingy (not sure of the exact technical term) causes a small forward movement of the whole chuck at a very high rpm. In a rotary hammer the forward movment is by a piston. Often a rotary hammr requires a special bit such as an SDS plus bit. This bit can move forwards and backwards within the chuck. A rotary hammer is more powerful for drilling to concrete.
As I already had a drill that could drill through wood, I decided to go in for a rotary hammer. I decided that I had had enough of struggling to get through walls. In fact I used to shy away from drilling on the wall due to the difficulty. Skil has a rotary hammer drill 1715 which is available for about Rs 4300. This has three modes, drill, hammer + drill, and only hammer mode. I decided however to go in for the bosch GBH 2-18 RE as I thought this would be a good lifetime investment. I have skil tools but an not very happy with their precision. The bosch drill does not have an "only hammer mode". The only hammer mode can be used to chip away tiles etc, something that I may only rarely do.
Purchase : From Mach Power tools Chennai. I was pleased with their prompt service. There was however a delay in the part of my local first flight courier office. I hope this is just a one off thing as my local courier has delivered well before
First impressions :
A good box. The box reasonably robust and seems to suggest an intent to last as long as the drill it houses. IT is also spacious enough to keep the drill, drill bits, spare chucks as well as other items. Nicely compartmentalized. Now it may seem irrelevant to talk about a drill box, however these things really make a difference while working.
A nice long cable. I have not exactly measured it, but it is much longer than my earlier drill.
Drill stop : A good one. However care has to be taken while using the drill stop in the hammer drill mode, as the drill bit moves forward by at least half an inch. This has to be taken into account.
Use in concrete : A breeze. Melts through all walls, pillars, cross beams. Yes just as the song love portion number 9 says : I did not know if it was day or night. I started drilling every spot on sight... I tried out the wall, the concrete pillar, as well as a concrete cross beam over the window. It was very very easy, with no strain at all.
Use in wood : A special SDS plus adapter is needed for this. I purchased this separately. There was nothing great in its used in wood that sets it apart from other drills.
Final impressions. I think a rotary hammer is very useful tool to have. It simplifies making a hole in a wall. It can be used as a normal drill too. I wish it came with at least one SDS plus bit, but that will have to be bought separately.
I had an old drill that I had bought for about Rs 900 or so. It was supposed to be an impact or 'hammer drill'. It served me well for its lifetime. Apart from the knobs slowly breaking, a problem I faced was that the drill would not progress through the wall. I tried all sorts of bits, even dipping the bit in water. However I soon realized that the problem was with my drill. It did serve me well for wood, but was not good enough for good quality cement or concrete.
Types of drills.
From information I have gleaned over the net, there are three types of drills.
1. Normal/Rotary drills : With just a motor.
2. Impact drills (sometimes called hammer drills or impact drills)
3. Rotary hammers
The price increases in that order. A normal drill can be got locally for less than Rs 1000. Many are available as 'tool kits' which include the drill, and a lot of hand tools. Impact drills start near Rs 2000, and rotary hammers about 4500 or so and more.
Normal drills just rotate. Impact drills rotate, but the rotating thingy (not sure of the exact technical term) causes a small forward movement of the whole chuck at a very high rpm. In a rotary hammer the forward movment is by a piston. Often a rotary hammr requires a special bit such as an SDS plus bit. This bit can move forwards and backwards within the chuck. A rotary hammer is more powerful for drilling to concrete.
As I already had a drill that could drill through wood, I decided to go in for a rotary hammer. I decided that I had had enough of struggling to get through walls. In fact I used to shy away from drilling on the wall due to the difficulty. Skil has a rotary hammer drill 1715 which is available for about Rs 4300. This has three modes, drill, hammer + drill, and only hammer mode. I decided however to go in for the bosch GBH 2-18 RE as I thought this would be a good lifetime investment. I have skil tools but an not very happy with their precision. The bosch drill does not have an "only hammer mode". The only hammer mode can be used to chip away tiles etc, something that I may only rarely do.
Purchase : From Mach Power tools Chennai. I was pleased with their prompt service. There was however a delay in the part of my local first flight courier office. I hope this is just a one off thing as my local courier has delivered well before
First impressions :
 |
| Bosch GBH 2-18 RE Rotary Hammer box |
 |
| Bosch GBH 2-18 RE Rotary hammer |
Drill stop : A good one. However care has to be taken while using the drill stop in the hammer drill mode, as the drill bit moves forward by at least half an inch. This has to be taken into account.
 |
| SDS plus masonry bit |
 |
| Chuck with SDS plus adapter |
Use in wood : A special SDS plus adapter is needed for this. I purchased this separately. There was nothing great in its used in wood that sets it apart from other drills.
Final impressions. I think a rotary hammer is very useful tool to have. It simplifies making a hole in a wall. It can be used as a normal drill too. I wish it came with at least one SDS plus bit, but that will have to be bought separately.
Nice review Vinay, did you come across any steel rods during your drilling? Hows did the drill fare when it had to deal with the metal?
ReplyDeleteI too had a very smooth buying experience from Mach Power. After seeing the last 2 pics, I now understand the concept of SDS plus adapters. I think it is a very useful feature.
No I did not encounter the metal as I did not drill that deep. I drilled only about one inch, which was deep enough for the nylon plug. If the hole is too deep, the plug just gets deeper and deeper, so I try to stop the depth at the depth of the plug that I have.
ReplyDeleteA danger is water pipes and concealed wiring. With a powerful drill one has to be really careful where one drills. There are gadgets that can sense the position of wiring and piping in walls. But a bit of common sense also helps. :-)
For metal sheets I would use a metal drilling bit. I am not sure what would happen to the bit when it encounters a steel rod in re-enforced concrete.
You are right, I meant steel rod in concrete. I am told that it can wrench our arm and cause serious injury if the drill bit gets stuck in between two rods while drilling concrete.
ReplyDeleteI read up a bit on the net. There is a good discussion here http://www.woodworkforums.com/archive/index.php/t-18280.html on what to do when one encounters the steel bar. Basically an overload clutch can help prevent kickback if the bit gets stuck. If one really has to go through and the position of the hole is paramount, a HSS bit has to be used instead. (Seems to need many sharpenings from the discussion)
ReplyDeleteThanks for that link Vinay, that was useful information.
ReplyDeleteHi,
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Hey Vinay
ReplyDeleteI was checking out V Toolmmens and just go through your post "Bosch GBH 2-18 RE Rotary Hammer Review". Investment in BOSCH products is life time because the products are durable, powerful and gives high performance.
Thanks for this post! That was a good review for Bosch but the one I need was a cordless drill.
ReplyDeleteImpact drills are not hammer drills and vice versa, they have different uses. The hammer drill for masonry and the impact for added torque to screw/unscrew sockets or bits.
ReplyDeleteCordless Impact Driver are not Hammer Drill That's True
ReplyDeleteFirst of all thank you so much for sharing this post. You provide the best information about Power Tools. If you want more information please visit us at powertools.co.ke.
ReplyDelete