New corded drill required.

[MingtheMerciless]

So today my old Bosch Drill from 1988 issued a little puff of smoke and spun its last. What’s the go to make these days for general DIY etc ? (I’ve got a battery Bosch but I need something with a bit more omph).

[Yorick]

I bought a new Bosch hammer drill here 3 years ago. The chuck fucked up and not replaceable. Not as good as they used to be.

[demographic]

I have a Hitachi with SDS, hammer action, rotary stop for light chiselling and rotary only which I use with a keyless chuck if I'm drilling metal.
Mines 110 volt but they do a 240 as well.

Think its a DH 26 or something like that.
To be fair its semi retired now as I have a good cordless one as well but its still good if I have hundreds of holes to drill.

[Skub]

DeWalt

Bosch Blue

Makita

[Cousin Jack]

I have a 20 year old Black & Decker hammer drill. Old, tatty, has been horribly abused, but it still works. No idea if modern B&Ds are so bombproof.

[mangocrazy]

It all really depends how much you want to spend and what is available at any particular time from the discount sheds like Screwfix, Toolstation etc. Most corded drills are SDS now so if you want to drill holes in steel on occasion you'd want a chuck to take a normal twist drill. Definitely get an SDS drill with hammer chisel function.

If I really need a tool to last and do hard work I'd pay the extra and go for Metabo, but for most purposes I find Hitachi very good. I've also used blue Bosch, Makita and de Walt and they've all been good.

[Hairybiker84]

Once you've used an SDS on masonry you won't go back - much as the bits cost more they generally seem better made than anything but the better branded tipped drills so last longer. I've had a DeWalt 240v one that lasted really well, the clutch gave up in the end but it had done a fair bit of core drilling. The AVT Makita that replaced it didn't last well at all, the stupid selector arrangement that means you have to turn the chuck to change from drilling to hammer got very stiff and then gave up altogether. I would second Hitachi, friend had one and it lasted well.

[Mussels]

If my rarely used corded hammer drill fails I'll certainly replace it with a corded SDS drill, no way I'd get a battery one as I'd want it to still work in ten years

[MingtheMerciless]

Thanks for all the advice, went for Makita in the end as that was pretty much the only choice local. Bloody hell, between that and the SDS bits it made short work of drilling the holes in a concrete base for my ground anchor!

[demographic]

I borrowed an SDS drill off my carpentry tutor after she insisted how much better it was than my Bosch hammer drill.
Honestly, I never used my Bosch on hammer drill once after that day and bought a SDS drill pretty much assl soon as I could.
The Bosch was still good for drilling steel and with auger bits when I had a load of locks to fit though.

[Couchy]

Haven’t seen or used a corded power tool in years, how retro

[Mussels]

Haven’t seen or used a corded power tool in years, how retro

You use them enough to make it worthwhile. If I bought a battery SDS drill I may get to use it twice before the battery is knackered and obsolete.

[demographic]

Haven’t seen or used a corded power tool in years, how retro

Not seen many cordless magdrills recently mind.

I've changed to cordless SDS but for a homeowner user a corded tool lasts for yonks so the battery life isnt a problem and sometimes I have to put grounds onto walls every 400mm.
Corded is handy for that situation.
Also I have a cordless powerplaner but it only rebates to about 12mm and my 110 corded one absolutely pisses over it power wise and rebates to 25 or so mm. Plus it fires the shavings out with far less blockages.

Most sparks never had that many powertools in the first place, an SDS drill, combi drill and maybe a multitool. Most times on a big site they get us to lift floors up so don't use a circ saw.

Working on private houses will be different cos there's often no carpenters to go running to

[Couchy]

Haven’t seen or used a corded power tool in years, how retro

Not seen many cordless magdrills recently mind.

I've changed to cordless SDS but for a homeowner user a corded tool lasts for yonks so the battery life isnt a problem and sometimes I have to put grounds onto walls every 400mm.
Corded is handy for that situation.
Also I have a cordless powerplaner but it only rebates to about 12mm and my 110 corded one absolutely pisses over it power wise and rebates to 25 or so mm. Plus it fires the shavings out with far less blockages.

Most sparks never had that many powertools in the first place, an SDS drill, combi drill and maybe a multitool. Most times on a big site they get us to lift floors up so don't use a circ saw.

Working on private houses will be different cos there's often no carpenters to go running to

Houses ? Haven’t ever worked in a house we are proper electricians

[demographic]

Houses ? Haven’t ever worked in a house we are proper electricians

Ideally I only do commercial cos lets face it, I generally can't stand "People" so working in houses involves far too much in the way of being nice to customers.

Zero interest in housebashing personally.

[ace llani]

My old Hitachi just gave up after many years, I bought Dewalt, and they're excellent.

I got a 18v drill, and small impact driver set, with a battery each from Screwfix, and excellent value for money (£130 IIRC?).

Sturdy, strong long lasting batteries, that recharge quickly.

I'm using them to renovate the house (major job) and also in the workshop and they're getting a hard life and are brilliant.