For the tool folks....

[Moze]

I'm having to install the letters shown in the attached photo to the stone-faced monuments. Each letter has 3 or 4 studs, so I have to drill a 3/16" hole for each stud. There are 6 sets of these letters altogether, so when drilling that many holes, my mind always wanders to whether or not I'm using the best tool for the job.


I currently have a bunch of the DeWalt 20v stuff including the SDS rotary hammer which works great and is what I use for installs like the above one. I'm always reading up on new tools, specs, etc. though just to see how everything compares. So I figured this morning while I'm laid up sick, I would compare the various cordless SDS rotary hammers.


Milwaukee kills it in IPM and RPM but the Impact Energy is significantly lower than everything else. So that makes me wonder if there is a perfect combination of IPM, RPM and Impact Energy when it comes to rotary hammers or.......? It really makes me wonder how these would shake out in a head-to-head comparison. Take all the tools listed below, use the same brand bit in each, and drill twenty ¼" holes then twenty ½" holes....who wins?


Anyway, here's a breakdown:


Hilti TE 4-A18


Weight: 7.3 lbs.
RPM: 1090
IPM: 5200
Impact Energy: 1.5 ft. lbs.


DeWalt DCH253


Weight: 6.4 lbs.
RPM: 1200
IPM: 4500
Impact Energy: 1.7 ft. lbs.


Milwaukee M18


Weight: 5.5 lbs.
RPM: 1300
IPM: 7000
Impact Energy: 1.0 ft. lbs.


Makita X2 LXT (specs are if using 2 batteries I believe)


Weight: 7.3 lbs.
RPM: 1200
IPM: 4800
Impact Energy: 2.21 ft. lbs.


Bosch RHH181-01
Weight: 5.7 lbs.
RPM: 1400
IPM: 4500
Impact Energy: ?? Not Published ??


Bosch RHS181K


Weight: 4.6 lbs.
RPM: 1050
IPM: 4950
Impact Energy: ?? Not Published ??


Being sick let's you research stuff like this.

 

[petepaz]

i have a bosch 1199vsr. it's about 7 yrs old but i have gotten my money's worth. used it to drill in to brick, cement, cinder block, steel girders you name it

 

[visual800]

I own a milwaukee corded hammer drill and I have also used a bosch, I prefer but the bosch. both did great but the boshe didnt seem to jump around as much and operated smoother.

Aside from the tools when i drill in stone or concrete i always go in with a very small bit (diameter) it holds the point better and is not so invasive as a larger bit. I then drill with the bit required for the stud. I use nothing but BOSCH DRILL BITS. They are the absolute best I have used. Milwakuu, dewalt, B&D, all of those suck. The blue one are the best

 

[Moze]

i have a bosch 1199vsr. it's about 7 yrs old but i have gotten my money's worth. used it to drill in to brick, cement, cinder block, steel girders you name it

Yeah, not counting Hilti, Bosch has been to hammer drills & rotary hammers what Milwaukee has been to the reciprocating saw. Everyone is raising their game though. In the cordless versions I listed, Hilti is the heaviest but has lower specs than others. Yet it costs twice as much. Great service or not, that doesn't make sense to me.

I own a milwaukee corded hammer drill and I have also used a bosch, I prefer but the bosch. both did great but the boshe didnt seem to jump around as much and operated smoother.

Aside from the tools when i drill in stone or concrete i always go in with a very small bit (diameter) it holds the point better and is not so invasive as a larger bit. I then drill with the bit required for the stud. I use nothing but BOSCH DRILL BITS. They are the absolute best I have used. Milwakuu, dewalt, B&D, all of those suck. The blue one are the best

Bosch has the comfort thing down, for sure.

The Bosch bits are great. You might want to try the DeWalt Rock Carbide bits. They're made in Germany like the Bosch's and last forever. Heck, they're probably made by the same company.

 

[Gino]

I know you didn't ask it this way, but we got a Makita 2811F, but it's electric.... you know, the ones with a cord. :Big Laugh

It has made such a world of difference in everything we've done thus far. We also use the Bosch bits. I can't find any smaller than 3/16" though.

 

[Moze]

I know you didn't ask it this way, but we got a Makita 2811F, but it's electric.... you know, the ones with a cord. :Big Laugh

It has made such a world of difference in everything we've done thus far. We also use the Bosch bits. I can't find any smaller than 3/16" though.

What's a "cord"? :Big Laugh That's the beauty of a lot of the new cordless stuff - their performance is comparable to the corded stuff. More money out of pocket, but no generator or extension cord to carry around.

I keep a Bosch 5/32" SDS bit in the truck. Got it from Home Depot and use it for letters that come with .125" studs.

 

[Pat Whatley]

You might want to try the DeWalt Rock Carbide bits. They're made in Germany like the Bosch's and last forever. Heck, they're probably made by the same company.

Best bits I've ever owned.

 

[petepaz]

sorry my bosch is electric but i always bring my generator with me on those jobs so good to go. my cordless tools are craftsman 19V and they die out before the job is done. also use the bosch blue bits with no problems, seem to last through a lot of holes

 

[Gino]

Well, our generator is built into the truck, so it goes wherever we go. There's even two outlets up in the bucket. With our other truck, if we'd rather use that one, we just put the small generator on there and we're off. At home I have a mammoth generator for doing just about anything. It even runs our house if need be. We also have a portable air-compressor if needed which runs on gas. Only used a few times.

With all this news about some of these cordless tools, we might look into getting a few for that..... just in case moment.
​

 

[Mosh]

I use a Makita Cordless Hammer Drill and Porter Cable 1/2" Hammer with a cord, there is a difference....

 

[FireSprint.com]

Best hole making investment we ever made.

We don't use it for sign installs of course (as we don't install signs), but if you have precast concrete to drill into, there's no comparing a hammer drill (corded or not) to a rotary hammer. We use this with the bosch SDS bits.

Don't forget a little shop vac to clean out a hole (particularly important on a vertical hole into the floor. We've done alot of pallet racking with this tool.

 

[mfatty500]

Here's the lil' fella I use,it wasn't cheap, but i was in the concrete business as well, the bits aren't cheap either, but it gets the job done and then some. Of course not if you have little holes to drill.

 

[Moze]

Best hole making investment we ever made.

We don't use it for sign installs of course (as we don't install signs), but if you have precast concrete to drill into, there's no comparing a hammer drill (corded or not) to a rotary hammer. We use this with the bosch SDS bits.

Don't forget a little shop vac to clean out a hole (particularly important on a vertical hole into the floor. We've done alot of pallet racking with this tool.

That Bulldog gets nothing but good reviews.

Just to be clear, I wasn't comparing hammer drills to rotary hammers. I was comparing the various cordless rotary hammers.

Here's the lil' fella I use,it wasn't cheap, but i was in the concrete business as well, the bits aren't cheap either, but it gets the job done and then some. Of course not if you have little holes to drill.

I think you forgot the picture.

 

[Moze]

Well, quick update on this. I came across this comparison which is exactly what I was looking for: click

Given the wide range of specs, they didn't pan out the way I thought they would which makes me think there's some research behind these rather than just producing a tool with the highest specs.

Anyway, picked up the Hilti TE 4-A18 they used in the tests. Looking forward to seeing how it stacks up against the DeWalt. According to the tests, the Hilti blows it out of the water.

 

[ChaseO]

I thought I read one time a lot of people still preferred the hammer drill over the rotary hammer when drilling brick, as the rotary hammer will tend to damage the back of the brick whenever you punch through. Since most of my hole drilling is into brick I'm just curious. I've used both kinds of drills, but never used a Hilti into brick.

 

[Moze]

Not that I've heard of. Electrical sign installers use rotary hammers all of the time on brick and that's drilling larger holes for PK housings, etc.

 

[mfatty500]

That Bulldog gets nothing but good reviews.

Just to be clear, I wasn't comparing hammer drills to rotary hammers. I was comparing the various cordless rotary hammers.



I think you forgot the picture.

I sure as heck did, damn beer!