Advice for a drill capable to drill a 100mm hole

[rpfn140378]

Hi all

I'm new here at the forum. 

I'm looking for some advice from you guys for a drill capable to drill a 100mm diameter for my extractor fan ducting. 

I been checking for some drills and I came across to some makita kits like 4 or 6 tools with three batteries 18volts 3.0ah lithium. Apparently form what I read on the internet these batteries are really good and powerful.  

I was really keen to buy one of these kits as I can use these batteries in any of  tools in this kit. I won't be using the tools every day but once in a while as I started doing some DIY in my flat. 

In this kit there is a drill which is a Makita BHR202Z sds plus rotary hammer and I wonder if it will be capable of drilling a large hole with a diamond core bit as I said earlier, another thing is that on the drill specs is not saying anything about safety clutch. 

Please guys let me know what you think. All the advice will be appreciated. 

 

[neilyweely]

The drill you are talking about is a cordless model. You will struggle to drill a 100mm hole with a cordless drill from any manufacturer, and a clutch would be pointless really as it would never really be able to develop sufficient torque to do any real damage (afaik).
A corded core drill is the way to go, I would have thought. I wait with baited breath for someone to tell me about their cordless drill that they use all day to drill 100mm holes for soil pipes etc.....
That being said I did once drill a 100mm hole through a roof for a 100mm flue, with a cordless Hilti drill, but that was mainly just tile and wood, not brick etc.
Honestly, even the hilti struggled, and that was a beast. I think the 'sparky' core drill is quite well thought of, and is very reasonably priced. I fluked a 'Perles' for £40 , new, from ebay; you may be lucky and find another; they are quite good.

Again, HTH

Neil

 

[Stormer1940]

Corded drill is the way to go as already suggested. I have a 18v Makita and it struggled like hell to go through a chipboard like top with a 78mm circle saw... I think Screw Fix where doing a big Titan sds drill at a good price a while back. Seemed to have decent ratings from trade and diyer's. Can't remember what the model was so you may just have to have a look at the reviews.

 

[WoodMangler]

Sounds like you only need this for a short while, why not get one from a tool-hire place instead ? I did, they knew what I needed even though I didn't

 

[Stormer1940]

Sounds like you only need this for a short while, why not get one from a tool-hire place instead ? I did, they knew what I needed even though I didn't

I think this drill I was suggesting was around £70.00... Not saying your suggestion isn't good but the drill offers other uses than hole boring and for that price I know which way I'd go...

 

[rpfn140378]

Hi again. Thanks for the comments. 

I know that with £50 I can hire a drill but the thing is, after the hole is made I need to take back the drill, £50 gone and I have no drill. That's why I thought some cordless drills could be up to the job. If I buy a drill I know I will spend more than £50 but at least I still have the drill for further use. 

In a quick search I found a corded drill, It is a "hitachi dh24pc3" Please guys have a look and tell me what you think. 

 

[WoodMangler]

I know that with £50 I can hire a drill but the thing is, after the hole is made I need to take back the drill, £50 gone and I have no drill.

£50 ! bluddy ell ! The last time I did this (not long ago) it cost me less than a tenner.

 

[rpfn140378]

I know that with £50 I can hire a drill but the thing is, after the hole is made I need to take back the drill, £50 gone and I have no drill.

£50 ! bluddy ell ! The last time I did this (not long ago) it cost me less than a tenner.

How did you manage so cheap?

 

[Lons]

Cordless definately not man enough in my experience and I found on one bungalow with extremely hard bricks that even my £450 makita sds wouldn't touch it and had to hire a core drill to do the job.

I recommend a 240 or 110 volt sds plus drill with rotostop and if you can afford it one of the better ones (I have the Makita and a DeWalt as well as a cheapie that's worse than useless). The sds offers the opportunity to drill into difficult materials and with the rotostop, the ability to chisel, break mortar and concrete etc. I've even used mine with a sharpened chisel to cut out smaller tree stumps. All of these type of drills should have a clutch mechanism.

For just the odd few holes you can get away with a cheap sds 100 / 110mm tungston tipped hole cutter from one of the £ type stores for a quid or two and it's extremely usefull to buy the extension at the same time. best also to drill small pilot hole right through and drill from both sides to avoid breakout. you can make a real mess of the brick drilling out and the plaster etc drilling inwards.

As a builder, i use them a lot more than you would but it's one of the most useful tools I own.
Pity you are so far away as I'd have been happy to loan it or drill the hole for you.


Bob

 

[Bigdanny]

Another Idea would be to drill one 8mm hole to mark the centre of the 100mm hole all the way through. Mark your 100mm circle on both side accordingly. Then drill lots of 8mm holes as close as possible around the circumference of circle but only go through about 80% of the wall. Do the same from the other side. Then get a good lump hammer and chisel and whack out whats inside. You might want to allow an extra millimetre or two for wiggle factor. But generally this will give quite a clean hole. A makita will probably do this just about if the brick is not too hard. I have a 18V makita and generally the hammer option isnt too good but an sds-plus corded drill will be a lot easier.
I have used this technique to go through solid walls 50cms thick and leaves it pretty clean on both sides.
Hope this helps.
Danny

 

[rpfn140378]

Cordless definately not man enough in my experience and I found on one bungalow with extremely hard bricks that even my £450 makita sds wouldn't touch it and had to hire a core drill to do the job.

I recommend a 240 or 110 volt sds plus drill with rotostop and if you can afford it one of the better ones (I have the Makita and a DeWalt as well as a cheapie that's worse than useless).

Which maquita or dewalt are you talking about? Can you give me a reference or a link please? Can you please have a look at this drill and see if it is man enough for the job or I shouldn't be bothered.

 

[neilyweely]

Maybe this? If you got this for £55 you would have had a result IMO. Bits included.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sparky-Co...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item337b8fd65a
A core drill is really best for a 100mm hole, granted an SDS drill will perhaps cope with 65mm but 100mm is really pushing your luck. Also NOT all sds drills have a proper clutch suitable for large diameter bits.

HTH

Neil

 

[Lons]

A core drill is really best for a 100mm hole, granted an SDS drill will perhaps cope with 65mm but 100mm is really pushing your luck. Also NOT all sds drills have a proper clutch suitable for large diameter bits.

A GOOD QUALITY sds plus with rotostop will normally have a decent clutch system, (at least all the ones I have considered before buying have had)! Cheapies sometimes have but the clutch / motor / gearing or chuck can fail very quickly.

My Makita is now around 14 years old and has done a huge amount of work including several hundred square metres of wall demolition some of which was very hard indeed. The chuck system is worn and it occasionally releases the bit. In the middle of a large job 5 years ago I needed to replace it imediately hence the DeWalt as the off the shelf alternative. The Makita is still used and I haven't got around to repairs yet .

Both models quote max drill width of 90mm but have easily drilled 100mm holes through sandstone, hard brick, very hard Bradstone conc. block and everything in between.
It has to be remembered that as a builder, they have a very hard life and are expensive initially, something not needed by the occasional user.

Which maquita or dewalt are you talking about? Can you give me a reference or a link please? Can you please have a look at this drill and see if it is man enough for the job or I shouldn't be bothered.

Makita 3000c ( can't remember wattage or capacities)
DeWalt D25404K - 900 wt

CK (can't remember model - cheapie but very poor), still works though

I also have a very old Hilti sds without rotostop which is bombproof. It was gifted to me donkeys years ago and great for drilling but now used exclusively with a mixing paddle for plaster and board adhesive etc.

ALL are variable speed.

Bob

 

[Lons]

Another Idea would be to drill one 8mm hole to mark the centre of the 100mm hole all the way through. Mark your 100mm circle on both side accordingly. Then drill lots of 8mm holes as close as possible around the circumference of circle but only go through about 80% of the wall. Do the same from the other side. Then get a good lump hammer and chisel and whack out whats inside. You might want to allow an extra millimetre or two for wiggle factor. But generally this will give quite a clean hole. A makita will probably do this just about if the brick is not too hard. I have a 18V makita and generally the hammer option isnt too good but an sds-plus corded drill will be a lot easier.
I have used this technique to go through solid walls 50cms thick and leaves it pretty clean on both sides.
Hope this helps.
Danny

Solid walls are very different from the usual cavity wall construction in the UK Danny. If the hammer and chisel is used, it busrsts the back of the bricks / blocks and unless the cavity is fully filled with insulation cavity bats the debris invariably falls down the cavity and can cause dampt to track across. Not to be recommended.

Bob

 

[Lons]

In a quick search I found a corded drill, It is a "hitachi dh24pc3" Please guys have a look and tell me what you think.

You can get the full spec and download the manual in advance - http://www.hitachipowertools.ca/en/Prod ... 9&tab=spec

Be very careful if you order as your model number took me to the 110 volt model and I suspect you will want 240 volt

I don't have any experience of Hitachi power tools but the specs on this look pretty decent at 800 wt and 3.2 j inpact power. It also has all 3 modes and reverse so I would think it will probably do the job even though it lists the core drill capacity at 50mm. Depends of course on just how hard the walls are but you can test that using ordinary drill and masonary bit. Difficult to advise without testing the wall.

The core type cutters I mentioned will just clip in to an SDS plus. I don't buy expensive cutters nowadays and have a couple each of cheapie 100mm and 50mm plus screw on extensions. They last quite a few cuts. I buy these usually from wholesaler JTF but have seen them in Yorkshire trading and several of the really cheap stores which are thriving at the minute.

Bob

 

[rpfn140378]

In a quick search I found a corded drill, It is a "hitachi dh24pc3" Please guys have a look and tell me what you think.

You can get the full spec and download the manual in advance - http://www.hitachipowertools.ca/en/Prod ... 9&tab=spec

Be very careful if you order as your model number took me to the 110 volt model and I suspect you will want 240 volt

I don't have any experience of Hitachi power tools but the specs on this look pretty decent at 800 wt and 3.2 j inpact power. It also has all 3 modes and reverse so I would think it will probably do the job even though it lists the core drill capacity at 50mm. Depends of course on just how hard the walls are but you can test that using ordinary drill and masonary bit. Difficult to advise without testing the wall.

Hi Bob. Thanks for your help. The hitachi that we are talking about, it must be a 240v. When I saw it I thought that probably can handle the job even if it says max drill core 50mm. If I am gentle with it, it probably will be ok. The inside wall is a bit hard, my 15 year old black and decker DIY drill, probably medium range DIY drill, struggled a bit with some of the holes I needed to make to hang my kitchen but it managed. Actually I'm surprised with this drill because it always used to drill hard stuff and is still alive, just sometimes it engages itself on hammer when I'm drilling wood, but for what that drill has been through I think I can't complain. 
The outer wall is made from normal brown brick so I think it will be ok to drill it with the diamond core. 

A bit off topic, you meant Yorkshire , are you from Yorkshire? I will be there next week on holidays, I hope the weather helps.

 

[Lons]

A bit off topic, you meant Yorkshire , are you from Yorkshire? I will be there next week on holidays,

Nope - Northumberland. A good 20 miles north of Newcastle

 

[rpfn140378]

As I said previously in the beginning of the topic, I had in mind to buy a maquita cordless kit.  

The thing is, as I will not use it everyday but only sometimes during the year, so my worry is, these lithium batteries are very expensive and not using them everyday after a year or so they might start not holding charge. Is this a possible scenario?

 

[samthedog]

Oops,

let me edit my post. I missed the fact you were drilling with diamond hole saws. That Hitachi will do the job. I have the same drill:

http://wanderingaxeman.blogspot.no/2012/07/what-powertools-for-garage-workshop.html

and have used it for drilling cement. It is very capable and very well built.

Paul.

 

[samthedog]

Oh, and let me add... don't get stuck on name brands. I have a combination of tools and after a long time working on building sites, I have come to respect certain brands for certain products. This is why my heavier duty drills were always Hitachi.

I know you really want a Makita but I would steer away from a chordless for occasional use. Unless the tools earn you regular money, I wouldn't over-invest in cordless stuff.

Paul.