Just popped into B&Q at lunchtime and noticed that they had a stak of
their own brand SDS drills, priced at just under £30. Had a look at
the box and they are 620W, with roto-stop, hammer stop and a safety
clutch.

So, are they any good? I don't want to spend a lot, as I don't do a
lot of drilling, but is this just too good to be true?


Regards,

Colin Swan
Nildram Operations

"Colin Swan" wrote in message
...
Just popped into B&Q at lunchtime and noticed that they had a stak of
their own brand SDS drills, priced at just under £30. Had a look at
the box and they are 620W, with roto-stop, hammer stop and a safety
clutch.

So, are they any good? I don't want to spend a lot, as I don't do a
lot of drilling, but is this just too good to be true?

Good for a one off job until it packs up, or a few frustrating replacements
under guarantee. So if you are doing an extension it may be worth it for
just a year.

The better is the B&Q PP Pro 3 year guarantee range. Not sure if they have
an SDS in that range.


---
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On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 14:10:53 +0100, Colin Swan
wrote:

So, are they any good? I don't want to spend a lot, as I don't do a
lot of drilling, but is this just too good to be true?

Please note - I am not an expert!

I bought (and used for the very first time) an SDS drill from Homebase
not very long ago. Price was £70-ish, for an 850w.

I'd say you can't really go wrong at sub £30 - some of the drill bits
can cost more than that.

Obviously not a professionals tool because I doubt something at that
price would keep pushing holes thru walls for very long.

Go for it - if nothing else it will get you into the idea of what an
SDS is all about.

Andrew

Do you need a handyman service? Check out our
web site at http://www.handymac.co.uk

I've just bought, 2 weeks ago, the 750 watt one from Argos (710-5362).
It was in the sale at £29.99 but just looked and it's back at £39.99.
I've used it twice for breaking concrete and it's 'paid for itself'
already in the time saved. It comes with a flat chisel, pointed chisel,
10/12 and 22mm SDS bits (IIRC) and a SDS chuck adaptor and keyed chuck.
It's a heavy beast so wouldn't like to be holding it all day, but they
all seem to be similar in size etc. After using it I would definately
recommend it to anyone. I bought it with these two jobs in mind and
thought if I get these done I'll be happy, I still have the drill for
future use so "job's a good un".

HTH

John

John wrote:
I've just bought, 2 weeks ago, the 750 watt one from Argos (710-5362).
It was in the sale at £29.99 but just looked and it's back at £39.99.
I've used it twice for breaking concrete and it's 'paid for itself'
already in the time saved.

It only seems that way. If you'd paid 3 times as much, you'd
have a Bosch or a DeWalt, which would be more powerful, lighter,
easier to use, and last *a lot* longer.

I'm talking from experience here. I had one of those £30 B&Q
machines, and it broke within a few weeks. Replaced it under
warranty (1.5 hours return drive), and the replacement broke in
a similar time scale. Bought a DeWalt, found it was a much
better machine, and have so far used it for at least 50 hours
with no probs.

With SDS, the cheap machines just don't cut it. You'll be happy
with it to start with, because it's infinitely better than any
drill you had before. But when you buy a proper SDS, you'll
realise how crap the cheap one was.

--
Grunff

Colin Swan wrote:

So what do you recommend, and where is it best to buy from? I don't
mind paying a bit more for better quality, but I just wonder whether a
cheap one would be more cost effective given that it will only get
occasional use.

If you don't mind the hassle of taking it back for warranty
replacement when it breaks, then a cheap one is probably more
cost effective.

If you want a machine that will last years, and that you could
use one-handed when necessary (e.g. on a ladder), then my choice
is a DeWalt 566 - great tool, great value at £100 (ScrewFix etc.).

--
Grunff

So, are they any good? I don't want to spend a lot, as I don't do a
lot of drilling, but is this just too good to be true?

Regards,

Colin Swan
Nildram Operations

Probably from the same factory in China as all the others; Argos, Challenge,
Blackspur etc.
Price seems dependant on how many extras in the box, an identical £40 drill
may have £10 of bits, a £50 drill may have a regular chuck adapter.
Very heavy compared to the Bosch and DW types, but good for occasional
battering of merciless objects.
At least with B&Q you'll get the perpetual 1 or 2 yr guarantee - it wears
out, get refunded, buy exact replacement, repeat.

Toby.

If you want a machine that will last years, and that you could
use one-handed when necessary (e.g. on a ladder), then my choice
is a DeWalt 566 - great tool, great value at £100 (ScrewFix etc.).

--
Grunff

Seconded, although you'd need to buy bits etc with one of these. ~£15-20?
I've only got the 563, but it was marked down a lot, so the B&Q cheapie is
now just a chiseler.
Still, the £60 difference could be spent on other items.

Toby.

It's done the job I bought
it for and I never expected it to last longer than that.

Mine didn't even last that long, and it isn't much of a job
either, but it did convince me that it's a useful tool so
lashing out (ha!) on a Ferm is justified.

I pulled mine apart just in case it was a simple problem (it
wasn't) and found it does suck dust right into the body of the
tool, coating the electrics and switch mechanism. The 90 degree
gear at the front is clean, but all the grease is on the inside
of the case, not lubricating the mechanism in any way. If you
want to tinker with the switch, undo the screw at the rear end,
peel off the label and the case separates easily.

They didn't want mine back either. Without any prompting the lady
hinted that I could upgrade to another model if I was willing to
pay the extra. I took the hint.

W.

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 15:19:54 +0100, Colin Swan colin AT nildram DOT
net wrote:

Well, I bought it yesterday, but haven't used it yet. It is a heavy
beast, which I guess will be a help with some jobs and a hindrance for
others, but time will tell. Now to get some more bits...

I would recommend finding a hole that needs drilling, just to try it
out. Something around waist height ought to be about right whilst you
get used to the weight of the beast.

The reason I say that is because when I got my SDS drill several weeks
ago I offered it up to a wall made of bricks which had always been
problematical with my black and decker hammer drill. The SDS drill
dived into the wall like it was made of butter!

You have to experience it to see what I mean.

Andrew

Do you need a handyman service? Check out our
web site at http://www.handymac.co.uk

I bought the Power Devil SDS drill from Argos a year back and got a 3
yr warranty with it for about £10. I paid about £50 for the drill but
it's much cheaper now. So far I've done plenty with it and no problems
at all. It's a bit heavy to handle but has been excellent, especially
in removing plaster/concrete off walls. Just check the grease fill
point regularly and you will have no worries. It's easily paid for
itself over and over again. It comes with a set of SDS bits as well
that are worth the money alone.

"Woodspoiler"
wrote in


Now the £9.99 Screwfix angle grinder (back page of catalogue),
that's a different matter. £9.99 IS too good to be true. Mine
fizzled out after about a total of half an hour's use and the
switch got incredibly sticky after five mins use, due to clogging
up with stone dust - it took nearly full strength with both hands
to turn the bugger off. Don't buy one of those. At least Screwfix
is good about returns, and I am upgrading to a £16 Ferm. Who'd
have thought that a Ferm could be regarded as an upgrade?


I have found that same switch problem with the switch on a previous
Black & Decker and current Wickes brand grinder. Has anyone ever
dropped a grinder accidentally while on? I did the previous B&D (a
small grinder) and it flew around like a crazy snake. Luckily we all
got out of the way before getting hit and it came to rest only because
it cut through its own cord.

On 31 Jul 2003 08:38:23 -0700, (Meoww) wrote:

Nipple. Here nipple nipple nipple...

alt.sexual.fetish - down the corridor, third on the right.

Andrew

Do you need a handyman service? Check out our
web site at http://www.handymac.co.uk

(Meoww) wrote in message . com...
(StealthUK) wrote in message . com...
snip Just check the grease fill
point regularly and you will have no worries. snip

What's all this about a grease fill? I have a DW566K and I've never
seen a nipple on that. You've got me worried now


No nipples, just a grease fill point you open with the spanner supplied.