After my 3rd cheapo wickes drill gave up the ghost yesterday I need to get a decent quality drill for wood, masonary, metal and general diy. Has anyone got any recommendations thinking keyless chuck but not sds

Cheers,
Gareth

Budget?

Up to £100 I reckon..

now, now K – no Hilti's in 'ere then OK!

I have a bosch 1000W that I havent broken yet.
about £100.

If not SDS, then there are a multitude of drills up to £100 that should do the job. If you want one for masonry though, seriously think about SDS – I have a Bosch (Blue) that pisses through concrete, brick, stone etc and has settings for drill only, hammer + drill and hammer only. You might as well get one of those to be honest.

Screwfix website has loads around the hundred mark that'll do the job just fine. Don't worry about bits either…I've been using the same SDS masonry bit (6mm, brown plugs) since I bought it around 4 years ago.

Cheers sawthis but has a keyed chuck which could be a bit anoying, always seem to lose the chuck key, any alternatives?

this is one of the Site SDS from screwfix for £70ish.
Its a big bugger but as ^ DD says will rip through stuff.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/39033/Power-Tools/SDS-Drills/Site-SMA830-2-2kg-SDS-Plus-Drill-240V

DD what would you pay for a handful of SDS bits? WOrth splashing out or buying el ceheapos?

Not really sure Stoner – most of what I do is with wood anyway, so I'm not entirely sure. I bought a set of Bosch SDS bits with the drill when I got it and IIRC, I've only ever used the 6mm bit (for big skirting into brick/stone/concrete) and one of the chisel bits for chasing out some plaster for sockets at home (something I wouldn't dare do in a client's house – not really in my skill set 😉 ).

SDS bits are way way cheaper than they were a few years ago though. I'd say get mid range 5mm (red plug, for No. 8/10 screws), 6mm (brown plug, for No 10/12) and a couple of chisel bits. The beauty of SDS is that it doesn't put too much pressure on the bits so unless you're using some £500 million volt cordless jobbie day in day out, you shouldn't need anything too pricey. Think it's best to buy the bits as you need them. Kinda like bike tools I think – better to buy one at a time and decent rather than a set and find there are ones that never get used.

The one "premium" manufacturer who's bits have always let me down is DeWalt (their screwdriver bits chiefly) and also, avoid Erbauer – both appear to have been made from cheese. I've never bought anything "made" by Bosch that's let me down.

i've a bosch green SDS drill and is absolutely annialates everything. Compare it to the 24v Cordless drill i've got, if the cord isn't a problem it wins every time

Just got myself a new drill and I've gone from a 550W green 'standard' Bosch to a SDS blue Bosch. Don't remember the model name but its the smallest SDS with chisel action. Its not 'too big' and easily useable, but I wouldn't want to go any bigger / heavier.

Drilling into my walls was a complete PITA with the old drill: had to start small with a pilot hole then work up, and ruined loads of bits in the process. New drill just drilled right through my walls for satellite cable with a looong 16mm bit: like butter!

chasing out some plaster for sockets at home (something I wouldn't dare do in a client's house – not really in my skill set ).

hairy axe-wound in your wall sir?
🙂

Ive been having fun with a mates massive cordless Hilti SDS thingy breaking walls. Great fun.

Want to get a pour in next week, but it looks like its going to be too cold till after Xmas 🙁