I’m looking for a new cordless drill. I have a small Bosch model for the lighter jobs – but I’m looking for a larger, more powerful drill that will be more effective for masonry etc…

Any recommendations?

Not cordless ideally! Something with a hammer setting useful. Tried good masonry bits in your Bosch? I tried some Bosch bits which were utterly pointless, but good quality bits have helped a bit.

If you want to effortlessly power your way through masonry/concrete etc get yourself a pneumatic sds drill.
I’ve got a variety of cordless and corded drills by the likes of Makita etc, but if I hit some masonry that the others seem to struggle with, the Hitachi pneumatic sds is the one I reach for. They are quite big though so maybe you do just need a normal corded or cordless SDS drill?

Makita LXT is great, especially the newer brushless ones. A corded sds is better for masonry but it’ll happily do a few rawl plug holes. I will use mine for a couple of smaller holes rather than get the sds out.

Ryobi cordless here.

http://uk.ryobitools.eu/power-tools/drilling-and-screwdriving/llcdi1802/llcdi18022/

Deals well with concrete

I’m swithering about getting a Makita DHR202, already have a smaller Makita Lxt for little jobs and woodwork so have batteries for it, but readily admit I could probably pick up corded SDS+ from screw fix for almost half the price that would do the job.

I’ve got a very old corded hammer drill for the truly heavyweight jobs – it’s a drill for before I get that one out.

Bought dad a brushless lion deWalt for 150 for Xmas. Metal chuck and gears. It’s a beast.

I’ve just bought a £400 dewalt brushless cordless drill. It’s performance as a hammer drill is actually really really good.

However my £40 Aldi SDS monster kicks sand in its face when it’s brought out for the tough masonry jobs.

When I used to sell these things I already recommended to people on a budget to get a decent make of cordless which is good for screwdriving and light drilling and leave the masonry drilling to a corded drill.

If you’re a tradesman you can’t rely on there always being power available so you need very powerful cordless jobs but a DIYer has more time and normally works on their own house which will normally have power available. Trailing a lead around is ok for the DIY person but is a hassle and potentially unsafe for the professional.

Joiner/Carpenter here.

Another vote for ALDI here, They for the money are really good, I have the 10.8v set for around the house and a larger 18v? one also. If your not going to get loads of use out of it then go for them.

For work, I have:
Makita SDS
Makita 10.8v Set
a couple of 18v Dewalt drills.

All have served me day in day out for a fair few years.

IMHO anything over £100 for a DIYer is buying for the sake of it. But if you have the money they are nice toys to have.

I tried some Bosch bits which were utterly pointless

What drill bits would anyone recommend?

What drill bits would anyone recommend?

Driver bits:
Milwaukee are pretty good, Dewalt seem to last.

Hafelle ones are pretty good, I tend to use them the most.

Taking time to use the right sized pozi bit will always make them last longer, also using a low torque setting on your drill with a low speed.

If you use an impact driver you really need proper impact bits or they smash bits in no time.

Drill bits.

Mikita, i’ve had no problems with Bosch or Titan from screw fix.

All depends on what your drilling into.

Go for your expensive premium brands if you’re going to use it every day. If not its a waste of money. The expensive ones are better built to take the abuse they get if used every day by a professional trades person. If you want something for the odd few holes every year then a cheaper brand or an Aldi special will do you fine for ever.

I got a cheap £40 Bosch cordless for the odd hole in plasterboard and breeze block in and around the home about 15 years ago and it still works fine. I’ve also got a Bosch chord drill with hammer action that is just about the same age, which again is used for the odd hole around the place and the odd bit of masonry drilling I need to do.

Aldi do a professional range of tools and do a nice cordless set for about £80 or os with a spare battery. That would be perfectly adequate to suit your household hole drilling needs for as long as you need. Not sure they’ve got hammer action though., but you can easily drill through brick, breeze block and mortar without hammer action with a decent masonry bit. In fact I tend not to use hammer action because as you break out the other side the hammer action takes out big chunks of the face of the brick with it rather than leaving a neat hole.

I wouldn’t get a pistol drill with hammer on it, You’re better off getting a corded sds. If it’s for diy it will last you forever.

Hilti drill bits are imo the best you can buy they last longer than any other drill bit i have used.

Recently got one of these SDS max bad boys for work. Nah, cords not needed anymore (apart from the charger of course)

While you talk sense wobbliscott

There is a massive difference between bottom an top

I had a Bosch corded hammer drill. Was pish.

Bought a Bosch SDS hammer.

It was like night and day. Even my cordless Bosch blue 18v hammer drill doesn’t compare to even the corded hammer …..And the sds drills through concrete lintels and floors (of which I have all floors ) like it’s plaster board.

So i gave my green Bosch hammer to a mate who needed a new drill after his challenge drill went bang

Thank you guys.

If you don’t use it regularly the battery of a cordless drill will die.

I have a Makita LXT with a big LiOn Battery that’s a few years old and still fine. I also bought a deWalt NiMh the day they were flogging them off at Tradepoint when deWalt was changing to LiOn. It’s been fine because it gets used almost daily.

My SDS is a big Titan corded rotary hammer from Screwfix. Absolute bargain, comes with dozens of bits & chisels, great fun to use but you need a big vacuum cleaner to get rid of all the dust that goes all round the room.

The guys putting in my winfows recently thought the ryobi were good and lasted better than the other brands they used.

Basically they would normally have to replace all their drills at th end of the year, but the ryobis were still in good shape.

Second the titan sds drill from screwfix.
Lots of fun but make sure you don’t get carried away as it will go through nearly everything

My SDS is a big Titan corded rotary hammer from Screwfix. Absolute bargain, comes with dozens of bits & chisels, great fun to use but you need a big vacuum cleaner to get rid of all the dust that goes all round the room.

+1

For drilling into masonry nothing comes close to an SDS drill.

It’s like the difference between riding down a DH track on a road bike (corless drill) or a DH bike (SDS). It’ll go through a concrete lintel like it’s not even there (whereas the combi drill will take forever, and not be comfortable).

I’ve got the cheaper of the proper Makita’s (453), which is still a good drill, and with decent bits will drill into concrete. But the big drill will saw holes in concrete and knock whole bricks out of walls with the chissel quicker than a combi drill can do 8mm holes.

Doesn’t solve your need for a cordless drill, but is the tool for the job if you want to drill holes in masonry.

For a cordless drill just get the Makita 453. Mines 3 years old and gets a lot of use, yes brushless is better, but it’s probably marginal unless you’re using it professionally.

Second the titan sds drill from screwfix.
Lots of fun but make sure you don’t get carried away as it will go through nearly everything

I may have accidentally pointed it at the only stud/plasterboard wall in our house this morning……………….

I bought a de walt 985 in 3 bits charger, drill and battery cheapest way and it has loads of torque but for drilling into concrete a trusty old spit 322 can’t be beat although I’ve to carry a heavy yellow box behind it .Safety 1st I like 110volts

Thank you all.