4
votes

I'm looking to buy a cordless hammer drill. What should I buy? Note: It can be just a drill not a screwdriver too if that makes a difference.

Its purely for diy. No real budget in mind, more just looking to see what makes I should be considering.

5
  • Do you want a hammer drill, or just a regular drill?
    – aphoria
    Aug 5, 2010 at 15:01
  • Any budget restrictions? How often are you going to be using it? Are you a professional, or amateur? This question is not very detailed.
    – Tester101
    Aug 5, 2010 at 15:36
  • regular with a hammer option
    – Si Keep
    Aug 5, 2010 at 15:36
  • 1
    It's worth pointing out that hammer drilling is fairly heavy on battery use: I've owned/used several cordless hammer drills and all of them can only drill a few (say, 15-25) small holes (say, 3/8") before the power is drained enough that they're uselessly slow. A great tool to have, but if you're drilling a larger number of holes then definitely get a corded drill.
    – gregmac
    Aug 6, 2010 at 0:12
  • Just an FYI for anyone coming across this question at a later date - most of these answers are VERY outdated at the current moment. Cordless technology has come a LOOONG way in the last 5 years - which is why shopping recommendations are off topic on SE sites.
    – Doresoom
    Mar 14, 2016 at 14:21

3 Answers 3

1
vote

Cordless

I re-read your question and saw it said cordless. I don't have a cordless but this website rated the Milwaukee 0824-24 V18 Lithium-Ion Hammer Drill Kit as the best. The Hitachi DV14DL 14.4-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Hammer Drill is another quality product available for about the same price as the Milwaukee drill.

Cord

I have this one and it works pretty well - Hitachi 5-Amp 5/8" Hammer Drill

alt text

Don't forget to buy a good hammer drill bit if you are doing true hammer drill work! Non-hammer drill bits will break. I suggest carbide tipped drill bits for this task. The smaller the drill bit though, the faster they break - carbide or not.

0
1
vote

I have a $300 Dewalt 18v hammer drill with a 1/2" chuck I bought back in 2003 or so. It works great, but it's heavy. The brushes are worn out- I have to pick up some replacements. I use it for everything though. There are definitely lighter ones out there now.

Milwaukee also makes very good stuff.

Make sure you get a drill that's well-balanced. Mine is fairly long and has the handle all the way to the back- which makes holding it level for any period of time difficult. Most these days have the handle shifted forward a bit to center the load over it.

Make sure you get something with lithium ion batteries. I have 2 (NiMH?) batteries, and they're both pretty much shot (although they are old).

0
votes

I got the LXT Lithium-Ion 18v hammer drill from Makita and am very happy with it.

I'd recommend getting a kit with a hammer drill and an impact driver. Both tools are incredibly useful and good at what they do and you can save money by buying them together. The kit also comes with two batteries, which is very useful even when predominately using one tool.

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