Anytime someone drills concrete, they will reach for what they call a hammer drill. But they could be talking about two totally different tools. So, when you are looking for a cordless hammer drill, you will want to know the differences.
A cordless hammer drill, usually looks like a conventional cordless drill with a three jaw chuck. Usually on the selector knob, you will see a picture of a hammer. Obviously, this is the position you would use for hammering. Cordless hammer drills accomplish hammering via gearing. These tools use a straight shank carbide tip drill bit. When you use these tools, you hear the distinctive whining sound.
These tools are excellent for drilling smaller holes, ¼” is a good top end all though they will do a 3/8” here and there and they do make bits up to 1” to fit these tools but trust me, their best range is ¼” and under. You may use this tool if you only drill masonry once and a while. Many contractors use cordless hammer drills for installing tapcon anchors. But again, if you are setting anchors or need to drill longer or bigger holes, you owe it to yourself to try a cordless rotary hammer drill.
If you go on to any commercial job site, you will see cordless rotary hammer drills in use. While the cordless hammer drill has that distinctive whine, rotary hammers have a lower tone and you can actually hear the bit hammering. Rotary hammers are actually have a pneumatic hammering system, the tool turns slower, but hits much harder than a cordless hammer drill. The bits for this tool are referred to as sds or sds bits. The shank of the bit is about 3/8” of an inch with two dimples and two grooves. You don’t chuck them in, you just snap them into the tool.
Like the cordless hammer drill, the cordless rotary hammer does well with the smaller bits. The interesting thing with the smaller bits is that the bits will actually last quite a bit longer as the tool doesn’t heat up the carbide because it spins slower. When it comes to drilling holes larger than ¼”, the rotary hammer will blow away the cordless hammer drill. Many of these cordless rotary hammers are rated for up to 1” and thin wall core bits. Some of them can even turn off the rotation and you can insert a chisel. You won’t believe how hard these tools can hit!
Now that many of these cordless rotary hammers have gone to lithium, they are going to 36 volts. Talk about a must have these things have great power, run time and are lightweight.
Keep these simple points in mind when deciding what kind of cordless hammer to by. The cordless hammer drill, in my opinion is really just a tool for the smaller holes. Remember that is my opinion based on what I have seen in the trades over the last 15 years. Even if you are just drilling the smaller holes, give a cordless rotary hammer drill a try. You really won’t believe how effortlessly they can drill masonry material.
Jeffrey Richard has been selling all types of power tools including hammer drills to the trades for over 15 years.
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