Electric Drills

[Wage Slave]

I need to buy a new one and would welcome your your thoughts and experience please. My FiL gift 600 watt Toshiba has developed trigger rheostat problems which I haven't been able to fix. In any case its hammer action is no match for Sexy House concrete plus it can't really develop enough speed to deal properly with drilling steel.

I don't need anything pro but want a decent one. I am not attracted by battery powered models as I distrust all forms of rechargeable batteries and anyway I will always have mains power available. However, perhaps I could be persuaded.

Budget is limited to about 8k unless there is something really worth having for a few thousand more. I see Bosch developed SDS chucks which allows a stronger hammer action. Is it worth having given you need to buy new bits to fit it?

Anyone got one, bought here, that they are happy with?

[Coligny]

Hitachi user here... i despise the brand but did not pay attention when buying (my small brain always mix Hitachi and Toshiba).

first time in years that i didn't need to replace it after every thrue-hole in the bunker and go all the way across the 25 cm of concrete at a quite good speed... no time to read a book anymore...

for 80 000 yen i'm sure you can start looking at those semie industrial push handle hammer type device with handle at the back like a lightweight pneumatic hammer for destroying walls)

[nikoneko]

Do you need a reciprocating drill? (Or whatever the English is? Hammer drill? The kind that go bang bang up and down?) I can't help much on those but I am very happy with my Makita normal drill (or whatever the English is?) personally. In general here for power tools from what I know go with a Japanese brand, the big ones being Makita, Ryobi, and Hitachi I believe. The imports like Black and Decker or for any tool, powered or not, are not the same quality. It kind of goes Japan and them, what Japan exports to the world is not as good as what is made for the local market, and what is made to import in to Japan is not as great as what is made in that local market (or it's just crap China stuff as usual.) I would look personally above all for those three little kanji MIJ, 日本製. Your mileage may vary though I know Japanese tools but not power tools well so someone correct me if needed.

[Russell]

Coligny, his budget is only 8000 Yen.

I agree with the OP that battery-powered is not good in this case. And when your battery gets old, you can't use your tool anymore, and new ones are expensive.

A Hammer action may be difficult for 8000 Yen. Did you consider Ryobi?
They have the PD-196VR for 7530 Yen on Kakaku. Not a hammer, but it can take concrete and is 650W.

Ryobi tends to make decent stuff at an affordable price.

[Wage Slave]

Thanks for the thoughts. I just need a general purpose household drill. It needs to have a decent hammer action because the garage is concrete bunker style construction and a bugger to drill and put up shelves, hooks etc. PiLaw's place is all solid concrete so fixing anything there needs some concrete drilling power. No criticisms of the hardness and density of the concrete at all - on the contrary.

[Wage Slave]

That Ryobi looks pretty much what I am after. It is what I would call a hammer drill - Perhaps called a vibration drill here? Anyway, Amazon have it for about the same money including delivery. And yes. 8,000 not 80,000.

Edit to add. Cheapest SDS drill on Amazon is about 16k. I hear they are very good but .......Do I do enough of that kind of work to justify it?

This Bosch looks very similar to the Ryobi, my old Toshiba and every other drill I have owned.

[Coligny]

No matter the country Black & Decker makes cheap tools. See them as the cheapest branded stuff available before falling into the no name / EValue/ store brand junk.

Hammer drill are already heavy, so adding the weight of a battery sux. Also holes in concrete takes planning and time to drill, so having to manage the powercord is not a hassle. But know that for pro/semi pro lineup the battery packs are standardized by brand/voltage with usually 2 different voltages max.

Also, if you can, wait for the january sale / sock clearance. November/december is not the good time usually...

[Wage Slave]

No matter the country Black & Decker makes cheap tools. See them as the cheapest branded stuff available before falling into the no name / EValue/ store brand junk.

My impression too. They're OK but no better than that.

Also, if you can, wait for the january sale / sock clearance. November/december is not the good time usually...

Good point. Not just a pretty face I see. I think I'll put the 9,000 Yen Bosch, and the 9,000 Ryobi plus a couple more on my wish list and wait to see if the price falls.

[Grumpy Gramps]

Bosch user here. For about ~50 years already, so my judgement might be biased. In the time of my youth, we always said, Bosch or Metabo are yay, Black&Decker are nay.

I have a relatively simple household drill here in the ~1 man price-range that can go left and right and it hammers, too. It's called "Bosch PSB 700 RE", but many years old, so what they call it now, might not be the same as what I bought back in the day. Mine has drilled all the holes I wanted. Given I fed it with a decent drill-bit and gave it the time it needed, it went through concrete walls as well. YMMV.

[J.A.F.O]

I used a Makita to do some pretty big anchor bolts. 3/4 inch or there abouts. Pissed off everyone in the building. If you need a visual I can run up to the gym tomorrow and snap off a few pics.

Bosch is also a damned good choice if you have the money to spend on it.

[Wage Slave]

Well here we are in February and I haven't seen any discounts. I did however see this Bosch at Super Viva Home for 4,980 less my 3% VIP discount. So, 4,830 Yen.

At that price it was difficult to resist and I didn't. I actually doubt I will need to drill much in concrete and when I do, 10mm will be plenty for my needs. In the meantime smaller and lighter has its advantages too.

Oh, and thank you JAFO - that was nice of you. All I have to do at present is install some security lights on a concrete wall so three quarters of an inch is way out of my league.

[Yokohammer]

Well here we are in February and I haven't seen any discounts. I did however see this Bosch at Super Viva Home for 4,980 less my 3% VIP discount. So, 4,830 Yen.

That's a good price for that spinny thing.

I also have a Borscht Bosch drill from that series: the PSB 600 RE/S, which I think is the next model up from yours. I think you'll find that your purchase will be most satisfactory for doing odd jobs around the house, including drilling concrete (take it slowly). And at that price if it doesn't work out you can use it as a paperweight without feeling that you've spent too much on keeping your paper from blowing away.

[Coligny]

Well here we are in February and I haven't seen any discounts. I did however see this Bosch at Super Viva Home for 4,980 less my 3% VIP discount. So, 4,830 Yen.
.

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[Wage Slave]

Perhaps Coligny, but it wasn't marked as discounted. I think that's just the price they have it on sale for. They had a load, at least 20, of the next model up (like Yokohammer's) sitting unsold in the locked chicken wire cabinet they have to deploy around here for that sort of thing. It might be worth keeping an eye on them as at some point they might well decide to discount them for clearance. When do they stocktake around here?

In other news, SVH were also just starting a sale of what looks like decent quality paint - Nippei Home by name. About a third off small, medium and large cans. Usable colours and both interior and exterior paints. I have some of those wood frame, board and paper doors that need refreshing so hopefully a beige can of that will do. Stuffed if I am going to take them apart and recover them with expensive and not to my taste paper.

[matsuki]

I personally like Bosch but ended up with a bunch of Coligny's fav (Black and Decker) sets last time I was in the states. Seems like the Chinese factories pumping them out are all the same, the tools just having the color of the plastic covers and brands changed lately. Anyhow, I opted for the 20V "Matrix" stuff and so far I'm liking it and used over half the attachments that I bought with it. The batteries used with it fit other shit they sell as well so always have extra, fully charged, interchangeable batteries. At 20v, the unit has plenty of power but keep in mind I bought this stuff dirt cheap stateside whereas the JDM models are apparently all 18v? (more garapagosu market strategy?)

[Wage Slave]

Well, it worked. I had to drill about 7 6mm holes in a solid concrete (not concrete block) wall to mount and wire this LED courtesy/security light. Using an fairly worn Bosch bit the new drill managed without any undue fuss and no sign of stalling. Happy enough with the purchase as this is probably about as demanding as I will need it for.

[Wage Slave]

So, what's this and what's it for?

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[Yokohammer]

So, what's this and what's it for?

You mean the bench hook?
It's for keeping bits of wood from sliding around while you're trying to plane or chisel, etc.

[Wage Slave]

So, what's this and what's it for?

You mean the bench hook?
It's for keeping bits of wood from sliding around while you're trying to plane or chisel, etc.

Yep. I suddenly remembered them from woodwork classes at school and how useful they are. Just wondered if I was the only one. Haven't seen one for years.

And since I love making things out of scrap .......

[Coligny]

So it allows the whole folding workbench to slide instead...

(Had to put a pipe across the 2 front legs to step on and prevent any un welcomed motion while working on a part...)

[Wage Slave]

So it allows the whole folding workbench to slide instead...

(Had to put a pipe across the 2 front legs to step on and prevent any un welcomed motion while working on a part...)

A nice idea - What kind of pipe and how did you secure it?

If I am really hacking at something I can use the hook with the concrete platform the bench is standing on. It's low of course but it ain't going anywhere that's for sure. All a big step up from holding things under my shoe while I try and work on them. Don't know why it took me so long.

[Coligny]

1 cm diameter pipe, Stolen from a broken wall to wall laundry hanger, hammered both ends flat, bend 90° to let the round part fit between the legs of the bench right on the floor, the folded parts rise up against the inside wall of the legs, few hole on the cheap metal then few self taping screws to tie the flat part to the legs. When you step on the pipe it hold down the legs and prevent up or horizontal motion. Like if the first step on a ladder was right against the floor. Since despite the height of the pipe your feet stays 90% resting on the floor you don't lose any balance or personnal stability.

image.jpg

[Coligny]

Also these clamp downs from the bottom shelve of any kahma (fuck you....) they have a quick release bolt on the threaded part, you put the thread in one of the hole of the top of the folding workbench, then slide back the bolt, tighten and lock...

Really good stuff.

image.jpg

[Wage Slave]

Very nice mod. I'll have a hunt around for some pipe. More a squirreller than a hoarder but I think I might have some - if not perhaps some plant support pipe/stakes - I have plenty of that. I also think I have some worm drive hose clamps somewhere which might do a good job in place of self tappers .....

And I'll be passing Kahma tomorrow so will have a look for those clamps. They look excellent.

[Coligny]

A piece of wood and 2 L bracket can do the job too, I used pipe because I was in my metalworking phase...

For the clamp, usually, really dusty box near the floor back of the shelf like if they don't want to sell it...

Or this:

http://goo.gl/zn9Q0g

[Russell]

Very useful clamp, Coligny.

Is there a significant price difference between the Amazon purchase and the Kahma one?

BTW, I noticed that work benches these days are cheap but fragile. My workbench, bought in the 90's, is much heavier and well-built, but was around 3500 Yen. Almost no problems with this thing moving during the job (though of course it partly depends on the forces exerted).

Back on topic, I bought myself a drill for narrow spaces. Currently planning to lay a floor in the attic, so looks convenient for that job.

[Coligny]

Very useful clamp, Coligny.

Is there a significant price difference between the Amazon purchase and the Kahma one?

BTW, I noticed that work benches these days are cheap but fragile. My workbench, bought in the 90's, is much heavier and well-built, but was around 3500 Yen. Almost no problems with this thing moving during the job (though of course it partly depends on the forces exerted).

Back on topic, I bought myself a drill for narrow spaces. Currently planning to lay a floor in the attic, so looks convenient for that job.

There's 90° chuck adapters that do the same job...

As for the clamp's price... Can't remember, it was really long ago...

[Russell]

Back on topic, I bought myself a drill for narrow spaces. Currently planning to lay a floor in the attic, so looks convenient for that job.

There's 90° chuck adapters that do the same job...

That may work for a small project, but to lay a floor of more than 70 square meters, I prefer a tool that works smoothly.

[Yokohammer]

BTW, I noticed that work benches these days are cheap but fragile. My workbench, bought in the 90's, is much heavier and well-built, but was around 3500 Yen. Almost no problems with this thing moving during the job (though of course it partly depends on the forces exerted).

A decent workbench is so nice to have if you're going to do anything more than occasional light work. I have a Sjöbergs very much like this one in the outside workshop, and I think it was only about JPY 30,000 when I bought it. Well worth it (except that right now it's piled so high with shit stuff that I'll need to excavate before I can use it.

1338239418-33448_NORDIC_1450-.jpg

Back on topic, I bought myself a drill for narrow spaces. Currently planning to lay a floor in the attic, so looks convenient for that job.

OK ... now that's seriously cool. You got me drooling on my keyboard.

[Coligny]

Back on topic, I bought myself a drill for narrow spaces. Currently planning to lay a floor in the attic, so looks convenient for that job.

There's 90° chuck adapters that do the same job...

That may work for a small project, but to lay a floor of more than 70 square meters, I prefer a tool that works smoothly.

I'm not sure I want to understand why you would need a narrow space drill for laying flooring...
Anyway, 2 man from amazon... It's quite ok... Don't forget earing protection, any angled powertools have perpendicular gearings that are usually abominably noisy...