Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Dewalt). This thread is read-only.
I have been using the DeWalt DC725 1/2″ Cordless Hammerdrill/Drill Driver to drill holes into poured concrete with 1/8″ and 3/16″ DeWalt masonry bits. I hadn’t ever drilled into concrete before. It is taking me a good 10 minutes to drill one hole 1 1/4″ deep (1/8″ bit) or 2″ deep (3/6″ bit). Sometimes it takes less and sometimes more time than that. I have tried applying the drill with various pressure and have settled on “moderate” pressure.
After drilling more than a dozen of these I realized I had many more to do and bought a DCD950 XRP 1/2″ Cordless Drill/river/Hammerdrill. (I was under the mistaken[?] impression that an impact driver would be better than the DC725, and the DCD950 would be even better than that for drilling concrete.) It turns out that the DCD950 is not drilling any faster. This is with a brand new DeWalt DW5221 Rock Carbide Hammer Drill Bit. At the moment I am planning to return the DCD950, but I have no idea what to do. I can’t afford much more than a $150 tool.
Any idea why I am experiencing such poor performance? –And how to speed it up?
You need a rotary hammer to drill into concrete. A hammer drill is very slow and a poor subsitute. You can rent one.
Btw the way, be careful with the silica dust if you are drilling inside. You need a mask and a shopvac as you don’t want to breath this stuff.
DeWALT’s best cordless drill driver for concrete is the DCD996 and even then all DeWALT’s cordless rotary drills will be better than it. Renting one might be your best option.
Drilling into concrete with a hammer drill is about as useful as a chocolate teapot, even a cheap brand rotary drill will eat top of the line hammer drills for lunch .
Thanks all! A quick search shows some refurbished rotary drills in my price range.
I was just going to say that a corded reconditioned sds rotary hammer might be a good option, I picked one up a couple years ago and it looked and ran like new. Its been a few years since I’ve used a dcd950 to drill into concrete but something doesn’t seem right for a 3/16″ or 1/8″ bit to take 10 minutes to drill that deep. Those size bits really shouldn’t be that hard even for a hammer drill, must be some old hard concrete.
I never understood hammer drills. All they do is make noise.
You need a sds rotary drill.
Something like this on the cheaper end.
I use my hammer drill driver to drill in concrete all the time and have no issues with it. It’s fast and convenient. The only time it struggles is in poured foundation walls and old brick, in which case I drill into the mortar instead if possible.
I’m sure its not too bad using a hammer drill in green cement, but almost everything else it will struggle in.
Yes to everyone above, gotta be “sds”…..go on eBay they have entire used kits for around $140….Dewalt dch273…great small sds…good luck
you may have problems trying to find a 1/8 inch sds rotary hammer bit, the smallest I’ve seen are 5/32. while a rotary hammer
is the preferred tool for drilling concrete, a hammerdrill should be able to drill 1/8 and 3/16 holes. I would try a new bit. I’ve had success
with the bosch blue granite. you’ll probably only get a couple holes per bit, 6 max, so keep that in mind.
Wrong 1/8 -3/16 this drill should complete 1 hole easily in under 60 seconds.
Your problem is the 18v 30 year old Hammerdrill I believe
JakeDewalt wrote:
20 hours ago, JakeDewalt said:Wrong 1/8 -3/16 this drill should complete 1 hole easily in under 60 seconds.
Your problem is the 18v 30 year old Hammerdrill I believe
I’ll use an sds that will take 6 seconds.
The rotary hammer drill is far superior. I have a Dewalt DCD996 but only use it in a pinch. If I know ahead of time I’m drilling concrete, the rotary hammer drill is on the truck. I have the Bosch RHH 181 cordless as well as a corded one. On new construction sites often there is no power and I can drill all the 1/2″ holes I want with the cordless one. Typically drill about 30 and having a couple charged 4.0 batteries has never been an issue. Prior to buying the corded drill in about 2005, I used a corded hammer drill. The chuck was always working it’s way loose and it took way to long to drill the 1/2″ holes. With the SDS rotary hammer drill the bits won’t come loose and it powers through concrete with 1/2″ and 5/8″ bits. I don’t think Dewalt had a comparable SDS 20V brushless rotary drill when I bought the Bosch. They do now. The difference is night and day.
Disclaimer. I didn’t read the above posts.
Get the SDS. You won’t regret it.
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Whilst everyone is correct that an SDS unit is MUCH better, at those sizes, any modern hammer drill driver should also be fine for a reasonable number of holes.
I’ve done plenty of 1/4″, 5/16″ and 3/8″ holes with regular hammer drill drivers. Dewalt current have the best hammer drill drivers, being the DCD796 (compact) and the DCD996 (premium). If you don’t want to buy these latest Dewalt units, I’d recommend you choose between the Milwaukee hammer drills.
Here is a couple of our comparisons showing just that :
I can’t stomach a 20 minute video.
Did they drill concrete or just wood?
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SDS all the way for concrete, the job’s done in seconds and your ears don’t bleed! Even the awful Ryobi sds will put small fixing holes in concrete, and that machine’s woefully under-powered!
Ideally you want above 2 joules of impact energy.
Mordekyle wrote:
On 01/03/2018 at 5:12 PM, Mordekyle said:I can’t stomach a 20 minute video.
Did they drill concrete or just wood?
lol. it’s interesting though!
we drilled concrete and timber, and drove large screws.
I have and use a DCD985 for poking small holes in concrete, is it fun… Hell no, but it works well enough. When I have a lot of holes to make I barow my uncle’s Bosch mini jackhammering roto smashing SDS beast(FYI everyone needs an uncle Bob!).