(Part 2) Best power demolition drills & hammers according to redditors

My alarm bells are going off in my head.
Sounds like wrong screws, or low-quality racks.

So here is the thing about cordless drills:

You can go cheap, or you can go quality.

Eventually, somebody is going to drop it.
High quality drills usually survive a fall or three.
Cheap ones usually survive a fall or two.

The new fancy Li-Ion batteries should last 5+ years.
But the older technology ones all need new batteries about every 4-5 years.
The cost of a single Dewalt replacement battery is about the cost of a new Harbor Freight drill + battery combo.

Observation 2:

A nice, brawny drill loves to overtighten screws. If it has a torque clutch, use it to minimize over-tightening.
On that same note, all that power loves to strip out screws.
Lastly, all that power makes for a moderatly heavy tool, which leads to faster fatigue, which can cause poor alignment, which tends to cause more screw stripping.

I'd rather buy you an awesome set of proper screw drivers, with nice long necks to get around cable managers and rails.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ODOUHM/

If you really want power, I'd lean towards a powered screwdriver rather than a proper drill.
Or if you really, really want a drill, I'd be looking at lower-power, lighter weight units with a flashlight built-in.

Examples:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000C6DXE/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BEE2LU/

I'm not buying this for you:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LFADBHS/

Too big. Too heavy. Too much power. All I see is stripped screws everywhere.

A needler? Like this one, for attaching to an air chisel?

orrrrrrrrrr

factory reconditioned DCD985L2R. This hammerdrill/driver is a beast and the toughest drill I've ever used. $200

To be fair, you are right, it is expensive at the moment, but I would hope that if it became more common prices would drop. How people like HSS can charge such a lot of money is amazing. There needs to be more competition

e.g.
Buy POS drill for £17: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002QRYFGA

Buy Good Drill for £400: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BC2H9XQ

Or Hire same Good Drill for £25 / day: https://www.hss.com/hire/p/drill-hammer-36v-battery

Doesn't really make sense at those prices.

No one has thrown out Makita. This is my favorite company. I've got a drill, impact, and sawzall from them. Great equipment. Lasts and runs like champs. For my portable tools I will not buy another brand. The tool I linked would need a battery and charger. But a good price.

Found some on Amazon, don't know what to think. Have always heard good things about maktia and maybe it's just this certain model

https://www.amazon.com/Makita-XPH12Z-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Driver-Drill/product-reviews/B01M4HGFRS/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_hist_1?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar

I highly recommend getting an SDS Plus Drill and Sawzall.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M24U0CJ/ref=psdc_552802_t3_B01NAZQUEO

The SDS Plus has a ground rod attachment that is really nice.

I've seen people bleed trying to break them open. And it's not impossible that you might just break your knives. Try a hammer and chisel. If all else fails Try This. Oh, and don't forget your safety gear!

OF the two links you posted, the second one has an extra battery.

Two batteries + box for less

> I have the Makita combo with a drill, impact drill, and battery operated circular saw. I love my Makita, but I kind of wish I had the Milwaukee

I have the Makita "hammer" drill, and my roommate has the smaller milwaukee flavor of the month psuedo impact drill, but my Makita would rip it to shreds. It feels more like a toy in comparison.

http://smile.amazon.com/Makita-XPH012-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Driver-Drill/dp/B00N9ULIAE/ref=sr_1_2?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1464048241&sr=1-2&keywords=Makita+drill

vs

http://smile.amazon.com/Milwaukee-2407-22-Inch-Drill-Driver/dp/B00ELQYCUI/ref=sr_1_6?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1464048260&sr=1-6&keywords=Milwaukee+drill

If you need a hammer drill, this one might be cheaper than renting one. I bought it to bolt some equipment to my concrete floor and it was the cheapest option for me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010S8DG4U/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I agree with /u/niceflipflop that a couple of scale pics would be nice, but at a glance I'd definitely say you've got plaster walls. First thing's first, do you own or rent? That's going to make a big difference as to what advice I give as I've both owned and rented places with plaster walls.

If you rent, leave them the hell alone. Hell hath no fury like a rapidly deteriorating plaster wall and being a landlord myself who does all my own drywall/plaster you'll probably get charged a lot of money for those repairs. Stick to tape or 3M command strips and call it a day.

If you own the place, do yourself a favor and invest in a quality hammer drill. I bought a Dewalt because I knew I was going to abuse it, but for someone who is going to use it a few times a year, the model I linked will do fine. Some argue that you don't need a hammer drill to put a hole in masonry and they're wrong. Plus, it doubles as a standard, high power corded drill which is also an indispensable tool.

For interior (read: not masonry backed) walls, I've had good luck with these. They're low weight (~50 pounds or so) but great because you can avoid drilling and causing a mess like you have on your hands now. I never tried it, but I've heard putting a sturdy tape like duct tape can help prevent tear out as well. They also penetrate the slats and studs if you happen to hit one. This type of toggle fastener technically works, but I don't like them for plaster because of the size of hole you need to drill for them which generally causes more problems than it solves (1/2", if I remember). Definitely don't use anything like these as they'll just shred your plaster.

For exterior, structural, masonry walls, you need masonry screws and the 3/16" masonry bit to go with the 1/4" screws. If you have a hardware store near you, chances are they'll have them in packs far less than 100 and many stores sells Tapcons which often come with a bit included.

It seems daunting at first, drilling into a concrete/brick wall (I cut away an entire section to install a door. shudder) but once you get used to it it's just like mounting to any other wall surface. The thing you have to understand is just how thick your plaster is and subsequently how many threads you need to have inserted into the masonry to make it safe. Take this cross section for instance. If we look at the deepest your cabinet back is likely to be (.5") and add 1.5" for the plaster thickness that means the fastener has to penetrate 2" of material before it even hits the wall. The general rule is that for every length of fastener you have outside the functional threaded surface (the masonry wall), you need to have the same length of threads inside i.e. "A" has to equal "A". So, in this example, if you have 2" of material (.5" cabinet back and 1.5" plaster) you'd need ~4" masonry screws to safely hold your cabinet in place. For something as relatively light duty as a coat rack you could probably get away with 3.5" or so, but anything less and you're risking the fastener simply pulling out of the masonry walls, especially if your home is brick as the interior bricks are far softer than the exterior. Also I realize that not everyone is as tool hungry as I am, but an impact driver drives fasteners into masonry far better than a standard drill. You're more likely to strip them using a standard drill and frankly I use my impact more often than I do my drill, but we gutted our entire place so I understand not everyone wants a pile of tools.

Alright, no offense to the first commenter but we need to clearly define what we are talking about.
There isn't an "impact driver drill" I believe your talking about something like this that is a cordless electric 1/4" impact driver. It accepts 1/4" hex driver bits notice the special cut out at the base of the bit, that's what keeps it from falling out. It functions like a drill/driver until it encounters sufficient resistance then it impacts, giving increased torque(rotational force), it does not produce a hammering force(along the axis of the bit).

Now this is an impact wrench it too functions like a drill/driver until it meets resistance then it impacts adding rotational force but not hammer force. What are the differences between this and the driver we looked at earlier? First is obviously size, the wrench is bigger, and stronger, and heavier. But that's not what makes it a different tool, what makes it different is the tip, it's a square, like for putting sockets on, in this case 1/2" sockets but they make 3/8", 1/4", 3/4" and much larger!

So could you use the first tool in place of the much larger second tool? Yes! Use one of these adapters

Here's the problem tho, the first tool, the driver, makes at most 117 ft-lbs, and I believe that's stretching, the second tool, the wrench, makes 700 ft-lbs. To remove a rusty, crusty, stubborn lugnut you will need the bigger badder tool, sometimes it still won't be enough, and you'll need a breaker bar with a cheater pipe.

Now what the other commenter mentioned, the hammering force, that can be made with a few different tools. Let's start with the handheld impact driver yes it's confusing, two different tools, both called impact drivers, but this one we'll call the handheld, you hold it with one hand, and hammer it with a hammer. It has a cam mechanism that takes some of that axial force and imparts a slight (like 1/16 of a turn) rotation. It's good for stuck screws especially Phillips heads.

Another, more common tool is the hammer drill it is essentially a drill, it grips with three jaws onto the same bits as our first impact driver, or onto completely round bits, like your common drill bits but when you engage the hammer mechanism it will push its chuck forward and back rapidly, and the pressure you apply to the back of the drill hammers the bit into the material your drilling, useful for concrete/masonary work. But for real drilling power into concrete you want an SDS rotary hammer drill this bad boy only accepts SDS bits, provides it's own rotary and axial forces and will drill thru reinforced concrete like non reinforced butter.

Ok I think that about covers it, if anyone would like to add on I'd appreciate it. And remember:

Always use the right tool for the job, a hammer is the right tool for every job, and every tool can be used as a hammer!


Obviously that was sarcasm.

You might want to try something like like this. The more someone tries to pull up the tighter its supposed to wedge. If they want it bad enough they will get it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYIqoxsjsNE I would talk to someone who does concrete since you will need a hammer drill. A drill with regular bits will not work. You will just ruin the bits and waste your time. If you have a cordless drill/ hammer drill like this https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCD985B-20-Volt-Lithium-2-Inch/dp/B007ML7EVI/ref=sr_1_2?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1518417647&sr=1-2&keywords=dewalt+hammer+drill you could to it yourself. Those drills take forever compared to an sds or sds max hammer drill. They also don't like bits over 1/2". They will work but the motor gets frakn hot. If you know someone with something like this https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-D25263K-D-Handle-Rotary-Hammer/dp/B00VNBV2F2/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1518417765&sr=1-1&keywords=dewalt+hammer+drill+sds or this https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-D25601K-4-Inch-Combination-Hammer/dp/B00MAB8DHY/ref=sr_1_5?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1518417765&sr=1-5&keywords=dewalt+hammer+drill+sds your golden.

I bought this Skil Corded Version For $60. There is also a factory reconditioned version. It worked great for me. It is useful when you need to drill anything that needs a lot of torque too.

You can pick up your own Bosch impact drill GSB 19 - 2 RE 24OV

Here: https://www.amazon.com/BOSCH-2-inch-Variable-Impact-220-Volt/dp/B00BCTTA5Y

Within the past month, several companies have released new impact models that are dramatically quieter. It might be worth holding off a bit before buying an impact.

I do similar work (networking, A/V, security) and ended up needing a hammer drill for mounting speakers and cameras outside. There's not much difference in price with the Milwaukee, so I would recommend their hammer drill. The 12 V has been fine for me, and is much lighter which is a big consideration when you're carting it around with you everywhere.

The pelican case that was recommended looks very nice, but it's also the cost of a hammer drill kit that would come with a hard case. Milwaukee 2408-22 M12 3/8 Hammer Dr Driver Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FNDMIF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_01R2xb4327ZYD

If you can pony up a bit more, you could get an SDS like this, but that's probably overkill:
Milwaukee 2412-22XC M12 1/2 SDS Rotary Hammer Kit W/2 Xc Bat https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CLUEVUW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_2RR2xb6GSVSFA

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-LXPH03Z-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Driver-Drill/dp/B008UNUFHC

first bullet point.

eta: see 5th bullet point. it is a hammer drill, but the hammer functionality can be turned off.