[Closed] What's the singletrack SDS drill of choice

Something like this?? I'm a bit biased though 😀

https://www.hilti.co.uk/drilling-and-demolition/rotary-hammers/r5269003#product-variants

My SDS is a cheap WORX one ... nothing like £250. (More like £50 from memory)

Works pretty good for what it's needed for which is grunt over finesse though worth investing in decent bits and chisels ...

I agree with Steve. No need to spend bug bucks on it. I've got a Skil which was £50. It'll happily go though concrete and engineering bricks. Its taken a real kicking and still works fine. I've got a bigger Bosch for core drilling but for general round the house stuff a cheap 2kg one does the job. Just make sure you get a 3 mode one with roto stop

I think £200 is a bit much to spend if it’s just for general house and DIY. By all means, spend that if you’ve got it. It whatever Bosch (blue), Makita or DeWalt that’s on offer around £100 will get you something more than capable enough. Watch out for any iffers that include a set of nice bits

I needed one to bang some holes in a concrete slab the other week and I bought one for reduced £55 from screwfix. It's there Titan own brand but to be honest it seems pretty well made and at 6.5kg and 1500w it made short work of the holes in the concrete. I don't thing I've drilled in to wood that quick...

I have been really happy with a Macallister/B&Q own brand SDS drill that I can't remember the price of but it was far from premium.  It has been used to drill holes through double skinned brick walls with anything up to a 100mm core bit, drill into concrete up to 22mm or so to bolt down steel plinths in a launderette and for a little concrete breaking (though really a demolition type device is better for this)  It is still far from dead and it used to get quite a lot of use.  It even has a worthwhile clutch to save me a little pain when a core bit grabs

I think the only compromise is that it is a little heavier than a more premium brand.  One of the best tool purchases I have made because of the difference SDS makes to drilling concrete.

I have similar thoughts about my Erbaur/Screwfix router.  It's a bit of a beast to lift but otherwise excellent.  If I used these tools on a daily basis I'd pay for the lighter (maybe better, I'm not sure) tools.

Weight isn't bad for occasional use and possibly good.

The cheap £50 or so one I have is quite capable of breaking my wrists or rotating my weight... and a bit of weight in the drill itself isn't a bad thing.

I've got a pretty meaty cordless hammer drill that takes care of most stuff but it's amazing just how much extra torque the cheap corded has.  The cordless will drill a 1" core through a brick... the corded just breezes through.

I have the Screwfix Titan one. It's a beast! Will go through diamonds like butter*

You also get a load of bits too so it's bob on for the more occasional user. Guarantee is good at Screwfix too so any issues just take it back.

*Will not go through diamonds like butter probably.

This is a bit like who's you favourite fitba team well i will add a Spit drill , take loads of abuse 110v so that may put you off lugging the yellow box, that titan with all these bit for £60, decent drill bits much quicker, last longer and dont heat up the same. Its like comparing a park chain tool with a cheap useless chain tool where the pin bends

Another vote for the titan. Cheap.

Mines knocked back the walls to brick in every room in the house. It's made holes in concrete when needed. It's drilled holes. It's 4 years old and works just fine. £50.

well i dont need one, but still tempted to go for one of the titans, not sure what the difference is.  i think the one in the pic above with the box of drill bits included is maybe the £79.99 one on this page, care to confirm?

https://www.screwfix.com/c/tools/sds-drills/cat830818#category=cat830818&brand=titan

and whats the difference between them, theres a fair price difference.....

thanks

I've got the 5kg Titan one.
Has worked fine for everything I've needed to do, up to drilling a 9" cat flap tunnel through a double skinned brick wall.

Heavy to lug use though - when we were chasing out walls for wiring we had to take turn about because your arms get tired.

I'd be tempted to go for a 2KG one if I bought again

Bosch SDS here.  Various higher end bits including the DeWalt ones that go through all forms of masonry (from my experience so far).

Brilliant around the house but struggled with slabs etc in the garden, even with chisel bits.  Had to use the scribing method with a fair bit of patience.

Hired a kango for all other hardcore requirements.

NOTE: my Makita combi on full hammer/speed tears into masonry pretty damn well too.

i have the titan one too - can recommend it. picked it up locally off gumtree for £25 from an old bloke who had bought it new to take a few tiles off in his bathroom so it was mint except the chisel tip was a little dusty! absolutely perfect for what i've needed it for - knocking off large areas plaster, breaking big bits of concrete out when doing fence holes, drilling ground anchors, drilling through double skinned walls to run cables through etc...

If you're going to do anything involving core drilling get something that;

a) has a clutch
and
b) has two speed settings.

+1 for titan. Cheap and screwfix 2 year guarantee is superb.

Which Titan is the best one to buy?

I have the big Titan with all the bits.  My main regret is that I didn't manage to break this one inside 2 years so I couldn't take it back and get a new set of bits at the same time.  Still going strong.  The clutch is essential and actually works. It can fill a room with brick dust as the fan exhaust is at the front.  And if you leave the case open in the rain everything gets a bit rusty.

If you are just wanting an SDS for normal sized holes, chiselling small areas and channels etc then get a 2kg model. £100-120 should get you a Bosch Pro or Makita or just grab something <£50. I have a cheap Lidl one that was £30 that is fine for household jobs.

I used to have a larger 5kg one from Aldi that looks exactly like the titan one which I used for drilling holes up to 1" through 2ft+ walls, tearing down brick walls, putting in mini piles in the garden etc. It had a hard life and eventually died but did well. I would not want to use it for general DIY, the 2kg one is much better for that.

I was going to buy a small Bosch or Makita SDS but the Lidl one did the job. Will get a decent branded cordless impact driver and new cordless drill next though. My little Bosch 14V lithium one has put up good service for the last 9 years but the chuck is starting to play up. It has drilled and screwed hundreds, if not thousands of holds and screws though. Pretty good for a DIY one.

Agree with andyl   as above  - lighter SDS for general work , unless you need a small breaker ,

Hitachi do a nice one around £100  model DH26px     that one you can hold up in the air to drill a curtain pole

hole , as for holding the TiTan up in the air - no .

And corded unless you can really justify throwing it away without it being worn out due to battery death/cost.

with people suggesting corded for power/longevity, and battery for versatility, i dont spose theres such a thing as one that can do both?  most of the time connected to the leccy but can be unplugged and used with a battery if need be too?  or is that in next weeks episode of Tomorrows World?

My old man bought a Silverline cheapo that has gone through a few walls and broken a few things. Luckily not including bones as it has a crude but passable clutch. Needed that for 160mm core.

Would buy again, cheaper than hiring and lasted long enough to be worth it.

I'll pitch in with Hitachi, very capable tool.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-dh24px-j1-3-2kg-corded-sds-plus-drill-230v/86484

I've got a Hitachi one. Had it for three years now. Used to remove plaster in a room, drill large holes in brick walls, chisel out individual bricks. And general small bits of work. Has variable speed and I can reverse the direction would recommend it. The newer version linked above addresses my only gripe with it as the mode dial is now on the side. Mine is on the underside and a bit of a ball ache to switch.

The Titans are great. I've been using the 5kg one for work when chasing and core drilling, Basically anything which would wreck my battery sds.

I was thinking for £50 when it bit the dust i'd just buy another but its still going strong 2years later

Titan, removed several rooms of granite tiles, hacked out plaster and render, opened up bricked up fireplaces and has mixed many a batch of adhesive.

do the titan jobbies come with a chuck adaptor for normal drill bits so you can drill wood too?

Got the titan as well, didn't get all the bits sadly just a couple and a chisel. It did come with a chuck adapter for normal bits though.

'do the titan jobbies come with a chuck adaptor for normal drill bits so you can drill wood too?'

Yes, they do.

My Titan dosen't come with a reverse switch though. I drove some coach bolts into a 6x6 cedar fence rail, and had to get busy with a chisel and socket set when it came to repositioning the rail (measure three times - drive coach bolts deep into wood once!)

Also, I've got one of the heavier Titans, but now know that the lighter SDS drills are more than adequate for most tasks, and a hell of a lot easier on the arm muscles!