SDS Drill worry

[Rangoon]

I have one of these cheap SDS drills, about 30 quid from Screwfix, its a it of a beastie but I hoped it would suit my occasional needs.

My problem came when simple drilling a hole and the drill bit jammed which caused the whole drill to try and spin round, hurt my wrists for days after.

Is the problem with the drill the fact that it does not have a safety clutch, whatever that is

 

[eggplant]

Is the problem with the drill the fact that it does not have a safety clutch, whatever that is

Yes - be thankful you wernt up a 50 foot ladder !

 

[Tozzy]

Is the problem with the drill the fact that it does not have a safety clutch, whatever that is

What is the safety clutch for? I'm thinking of getting a SDS drill. Do all drills have a safety clutch?

Thanks.

 

[Thermo]

when an sds drill hits something it still wants to keep spinning and as the drill bit cant the drill does. I know one guy that broke his wrist and i ended up with a bruised cheek and black eye when i was core drilling with my face too close and no safety cluctch. The clutch will basically stop the drill wrenching out of your hand and stop the bit spinning. The cheaper ones do not usually have one.

 

[eggplant]

Definatly get one with a clutch, ir if you already have one that doesnt - be aware of it - no one handed drilling whilst leaning over, no drilling under cupboards where you cant stop the drill whacking you in the face- this happened to me but the clutch kicked in, it hurt a bit but thats all, I hate to think what could have happened - broken jaw I should imagine.

 

[Thermo]

see above for what happens!

 

[simon_d]

most cheappo's wont have a clutch. drill without them are a big no-no. especially if your drillin and dont have a good grip with both hands to try and stop it from doin damage if the bit gets stuck. even small cordless drills can have some turning force when the bits get stuck!

 

[Rangoon]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm going to ditch my non clutch beast and spend at bit more, Screwfix do some I think.

Just a point though, with all the dangers of using one without clutch, why are they allowed, they should be banned.

 

[Scrit]

Just a point though, with all the dangers of using one without clutch, why are they allowed, they should be banned.

Not too many years ago only giant drills like Kangos had clutches, but then the average DIY drill was about 300 watts if you were lucky and you were more likely to stall it than injure yourself! Clutches aren't really necessary on small drills, but I am surprised that Screwedfix don't realise that the bigger stuff needs a clutch

Scrit

 

[Thermo]

they are selling some dewalt stuff off at the moment, and their cheapie own brand stuff does them for about 70 with the clutch i think

 

[nac]

I'd like to echo this.

My father did some damage to his wrist when this exact thing happened. The pain was so bad he went to hospital but it was just a severe sprain.

We only learnt about the safety clutch after this happened and that old drill went in the bin and was replaced with a nice Dewalt unit.

I agree that the non safety clutch type should be banned, there must be some BS standard to cover such a thing.

 

[blister]

core cutting up steps and no clutch on drill maybee 15 yrs ago hurt my wrist and sent me flying off the ladder ,my advice if you have a drill without a clutch ..... pump the trigger