"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
Been lusting after a cordless SDS for some time, but the price has put me
off.

My mate wot helps me build decks is a bit of an Arthur Daly character &
buys pallets of catalogue returns, never knows exactly whets on them. Lot
of the stuff is brand new, never been opened.

Last pallet he bought had a JCB 24v cordless SDS which I purchased for the
princely sum of £20 (used notes). Plainly never been used. Obviously
Chinese, but worth a punt.

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.100-7573.aspx

So, a review. I've no experience of other makes so I cant compare it with
a top brand.

Its bloody heavy for a start, mainly due to the battery which is the size
of half a housebrick. It comes with two (2 a/h) & a huge 1 hour charger
in a decent blow moulded case. The case is also huge, I don't know where
its going to fit into the van yet - may just carry the drill & battery.

It works, drills holes in bricks that defeat percussion drills, but its
slow compared to my Wickes & Ryobi mains SDS. Not sure if all cordless
SDS are slower than mains? Can't find any specs for impacts per min or
impact energy.

Not sure I'd be happy drilling lots of holes working off a ladder because
of the weight & relatively slow drilling speed - you would need arms like
Arnold S. 'Boxed weight' is 12kg.

Looks tacky though. Finished in the JCB orange/black but with a couple of
'chrome' trims at the side & top that make it look cheap.

I am on my 3rd SDS cordless. The Hitachi was the bees knees. As fast as any
mains drill for 5.5 and 7mm holes. The Hitachi was, at a guess, swapped for
a bag of heroin when my van was broken into at work. I was left with the
charger and spare battery that I gave to a friend with the same drill.

I have also had a Makita that my apprentice now owns/borrows for ever.
Heavier and slower than the Hitachi. It does have a rotor stop and do
chiselling though.

I am relegated to using a Bosch SDS cordless. Not worth £320 new IMHO.

Enjoy your £20 machine. A bit too heavy for my liking but for £20 well worth
it.

If your mate opens another pallet with another JCB SDS cordless drill in it,
save it for me at £20. I will pick it it up when I pass your house.

Adam