Just realised I may be doing drills wrong?

[tinpanalley]

Please keep in mind, I am just a notch above a basic at home diy person. So if you're asking yourself, "who doesn't know this?", the answer is people like me.

I have had a Bosch PSB 850-2 RE impact drill for about 9 years. I have always used the same type of drill bits I had always been used to with a straight shank, even once or twice with a masonry bit. Now I'm having to buy a masonry drill bit again in a size I don't currently have and I'm finding that there are different shanks I had never even heard of! So, have I been doing this wrong forever? Do I need all these other kinds of shanks for a masonry bit or is it just that now there are new drills designed to grab onto the shanks of bits differently?

I will say one thing that this does make me think of though... that frequently when I drilled into masonry, I'd find that if I set the drill to impact it would get to a point where the chuck would stop spinning. And I'd have to go the regular torque setting to have it work again and ultimately to get the hole drilled much more slowly.

Anyway, can someone help straighten me out on this stuff?

 

[JohnD]

...there are different shanks I had never even heard of...

What names have you seen?

For masonry, SDS+ is commonly used and will not fit in a chuck intended for ordinary drills with a cylindrical shank. It goes in a tool that works differently.

 

[Notch7]

Please keep in mind, I am just a notch above a basic at home diy person. So if you're asking yourself, "who doesn't know this?", the answer is people like me.

I have had a Bosch PSB 850-2 RE impact drill for about 9 years. I have always used the same type of drill bits I had always been used to with a straight shank, even once or twice with a masonry bit. Now I'm having to buy a masonry drill bit again in a size I don't currently have and I'm finding that there are different shanks I had never even heard of! So, have I been doing this wrong forever? Do I need all these other kinds of shanks for a masonry bit or is it just that now there are new drills designed to grab onto the shanks of bits differently?

I will say one thing that this does make me think of though... that frequently when I drilled into masonry, I'd find that if I set the drill to impact it would get to a point where the chuck would stop spinning. And I'd have to go the regular torque setting to have it work again and ultimately to get the hole drilled much more slowly.

Anyway, can someone help straighten me out on this stuff?

your drill has a conventional chuck

the impact on these drills is fine for bricks but no good for drilling into concrete such as lintels, floor slabs etc

for more power you need an SDS drill bit that fits an SDS drill -once yuve used one of those you will be amazed how easily they punch through the hardest concrete

for more power there is SDS max which are bigger diameter and need an SDS max drill

 

[cdbe]

The chuck stopping is the safety clutch operating (because the bit is jamming). It should re-engage once the motor has stopped - if not it's faulty.

 

[tinpanalley]

the impact on these drills is fine for bricks but no good for drilling into concrete such as lintels, floor slabs etc

Wow... well that's annoying to have it marketed as such from a name such as Bosch but I guess that's my fault for falling for marketing. Although I'm talking about lighter cinder block type masonry in this case. In my defense, I wasn't quite as strict about looking into reviews and such before buying tools and screws and things back then. And there used to be although it's not so bad now, a bit of an attitude 10 years ago about going into diy forums and asking what were perceived to be basic questions.

And it still permeates the field online a little. In fact I landed here last week because places I usually tend to go to for help that are North American sites (I'm in Canada) invariably lead me to people ridiculing my questions or being sarcastic which is useless for learning anything so I thought, being an anglophile, blighty-loving, Yorkshire Gold drinking, Midsomer Murder watching person, that Brits might be able to help me in a more friendly way and so far I've not been disappointed.

Back to the issue at hand... ok, so I don't actually own an impact drill. Fine. I have drilled into masonry/concrete before though. Maybe I just need to go slower. And then I definitely should just get a straight shank and ignore all other types of bits for this simple drill.

I also have this but I imagine it's even simpler than the other one.

 

[JohnD]

Your DIY drill is suitable for lightweight concrete blocks, timber, coat hooks etc. I call it a hammer drill.

To drill into dense concrete, you need something much heavier and/or more expensive. I have one and it is unsuitable for any small work.

No fault of Bosch in supplying a tool suitable for most household jobs.

 

[tinpanalley]

Your DIY drill is suitable for lightweight concrete blocks

Oh, I see. Ok. I was just told over on reddit that it's not even a useful hammer drill and won't even help with light masonry. I think this is someone who doesn't think anything but the most pro equipment is worth using.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Quality of the bits will have a massive effect on a standard hammer drill's ability to drill into blockwork, standard Dewalt masonry bits are pretty good but for dense block/concrete as mentioned above only an SDS will do. I spent about 30 years using a standard hammer drill such as yours before I finally got round to getting an SDS.

 

[tinpanalley]

Quality of the bits will have a massive effect on a standard hammer drill's ability to drill into blockwork, standard Dewalt masonry bits are pretty good but for dense block/concrete as mentioned above only an SDS will do. I spent about 30 years using a standard hammer drill such as yours before I finally got round to getting an SDS.

So, given that I am unlikely to have to do enough masonry drilling to own an SDS, which brands of drill bit are going to be best for my drill?

 

[Mike13]

copper brazed survive overheating a bit better than ordinary brazed tips. being able to dress the cutting surface every now and again can make it a bit easier to make holes. the best tip does depend upon what you are drilling. also how big might you need to go?
I had a house once when I wanted to put up some shelves, I found out the hard way it was accrington stocks on an internal wall (1840's house)... took me about an hour for each hole, I had to open them out to about 1/2 inch and fill as the hole wandered around so much, i couldnt get the holes to line up otherwise. then filled and re-drilled the neat final hole for the shelving.

 

[tinpanalley]

copper brazed survive overheating a bit better than ordinary brazed tips. being able to dress the cutting surface every now and again can make it a bit easier to make holes. the best tip does depend upon what you are drilling. also how big might you need to go?
I had a house once when I wanted to put up some shelves, I found out the hard way it was accrington stocks on an internal wall (1840's house)... took me about an hour for each hole, I had to open them out to about 1/2 inch and fill as the hole wandered around so much, i couldnt get the holes to line up otherwise. then filled and re-drilled the neat final hole for the shelving.

In this particular instance -- and I don't know the proper terms here -- I'm looking at a concrete wall that has a bit of a crumbly texture light grey texture, there is probably some kind of 3-5mm plaster finish on it. And because I think there was a hollow bit on the inside, it's probably blocks. I'm making about a 3 inch deep hole and no wider than 1/4inch.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

So, given that I am unlikely to have to do enough masonry drilling to own an SDS, which brands of drill bit are going to be best for my drill?

I'm sure you have Dewalt out there?

 

[tinpanalley]

I'm sure you have Dewalt out there?

Yeah we do.
Can I use these kinds of drill bit shanks on my hammer drill? Or do they require a special kind of chuck?

 

[Mr Chibs]

These are all standard drill bits and will drill masonry

Bosch CYL-3 Masonry Drill Bit

For lasting performance when drilling in concrete, look no further than the Bosch CYL-3 masonry drill bit set. It contains five bits in a range of sizes from 5-8mm, offering working lengths of 50-80mm.Need to drill holes for fixings in abrasive materials such as concrete or natural stone? These...

www.toolstation.com

These are pretty long lasting for 'normal' work.

DeWalt Combination Drill Bit Set

This professional DeWalt drill bit set will ensure you're ready to take on all kinds of jobs - the 23-piece kit includes bits for masonry, wood, metal and plastics in a wide range of sizes.The set comes with three holders to separate the masonry, wood and metal drill bits. Each one is clearly...

www.toolstation.com

Closer to home:

https://www.lowes.ca/product/masonry-drill-bits/dewalt-4-piece-masonry-bit-set-727208

 

[Mike13]

Yeah we do.
Can I use these kinds of drill bit shanks on my hammer drill? Or do they require a special kind of chuck?

The triangular shafts are less prone to slip than the round ones and fit a standard chuck just fine. The number of fully round drill bits I have with galling and grooves on the shaft here it has slipped in the chuck is too many.