SDS & hole saws

[Selfmade]

Hi


I know this topic has already been covered, but I think my questions are a bit more specific. Anyway, if you think they've already been covered, feel free to ignore!


I bought a Makita HR2450 SDS drill the other day. Up until now I have relied solely on my trusty DeWalt 18V cordless combo drill, which seems to be able to do almost anything. Almost. It cannot drill granite (obviously) or large holes in high density concrete, and it struggles with large hole saws (unsurprisingly).


So I chose an SDS drill with a "mechanical safety clutch", as I thought this was what was needed for safe use of large hole saws, and would of course be well suited to granite and concrete. But on reading the instruction it says: "Hole saws cannot be used… They tend to pinch or catch… This will cause the torque limiter to actuate too frequently".


So my questions are:


a) Is their statement about hole saws likely to apply to hole-sawing wood, or just masonry/stone/metals (I never intended to attempt to hole-saw these).


b) In your experience how likely is it that I will find the drill really is incapable of hole-sawing wood, or is damaged by this, and how likely is it that they are just covering their donkeys? I won't hold you responsible if you say it's fine and then I wreck the drill!


I know some of you will be thinking I have the answer in black and white and should just follow the instructions, but I can't justify the cost of two drills (an SDS and a core drill) for two things I don't do that often, nor do I have the space to store them. It would seem ridiculous to keep using my combi for hole sawing when I have this beast of an SDS in my tool kit. Any thoughts from your own experience/knowledge?


Anyway sorry for a long post, thanks for reading to the end!


Sam

 

[jaypp]

Horses for courses.

I have my Dewalt 18v combi for light stuff, a cheap 110v Ryobi SDS that I've had for about 7 years and a Milwaukee core drill I've had for longer, that I use for well... for core drilling.

I used the Milwaukee to put a 4" hole through 2' of black basalt not that long ago.
I can assure you even with a decent core bit it was nothing like a hot knife through butter.

I work on the principle that if I use each drill for what it's designed for then I'll still be using them happily for years.

until the 'labourer factor' or the 'van's 3 flights of stairs + 5 min walk away factor'!

 

[Geordie Spark]

Horses for courses.

I have my Dewalt 18v combi for light stuff, a cheap 110v Ryobi SDS that I've had for about 7 years and a Milwaukee core drill I've had for longer, that I use for well... for core drilling.

I used the Milwaukee to put a 4" hole through 2' of black basalt not that long ago.
I can assure you even with a decent core bit it was nothing like a hot knife through butter.

I work on the principle that if I use each drill for what it's designed for then I'll still be using them happily for years.

I feel your pain.

It's jobs like this when you need a rig to fix the machine to so all you have to do is turn a handle to feed it through the wall.

Not something you would want to buy on the off chance you'll need it someday, but maybe worth hiring now & then.

http://www.edcoinc.com/core-drill-rigs-36.html

 

[Geordie Spark]

Some piccies of the sort of thing I used to make: D-Drill Concrete Core Sample Cutting Service with Nationwide availability

 

[Selfmade]

until the 'labourer factor' or the 'van's 3 flights of stairs + 5 min walk away factor'!

Or the 'yet another thing to load in the morning, unload at the job, load at the end of the day, unload back home' factor. Exhausted and out of time before any work has even been done!

Reckon if my 18V combi will cope with the occasional solid board access hole, then so will my SDS... If I need to do loads on a job then maybe I'll hire...

 

[jaypp]

Some piccies of the sort of thing I used to make: D-Drill Concrete Core Sample Cutting Service with Nationwide availability

either that bloke in all the ppe is 'frodo baggins' or that's a rather large core!:smile5:

 

[Geordie Spark]

until the 'labourer factor' or the 'van's 3 flights of stairs + 5 min walk away factor'!

You think you've got a hard life???

Spare a thought for this poor chap!! Eddie Cochran - Twenty Flight Rock - Rock'n'Roll Legends - R'n'R + lyrics - YouTube

 

[jaypp]

You think you've got a hard life???

Spare a thought for this poor chap!! Eddie Cochran - Twenty Flight Rock - Rock'n'Roll Legends - R'n'R + lyrics - YouTube

if i'm 'getting' this right, a decent girl would have done the rocking (while he checked ceiling finish) after he climbed all those stairs!!!!

 

[ayjay]

you need a rear handle 1000 watt elu drill and a diamond tipped cutter mate theres no magnetic slip clutch, if it binds you get a busted arm
the nose of the elu drill will go through the hole that the cutter bores if its a 4 inch hole for fan ducting/ soil pipe

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Elu, is now Dewalt.