Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
Any ideas on what it could be? It stopped working a few times today and at times a little tap would get it spinning again. Its taking longer and longer to drill through hard rock too. The bit keeps binding. I try to clean out the holes and I’m careful not to press down to hard and just let the drill do the work. Any ideas on how to get my toy back in shape so I can play some more?
What is the model number and i can do some research?
11255VSR, thanx
Sounds like the switch to me. If shaking it gets it to work it’s likely a loose connection that could be easily fixed. Might take some soldering, but I’d say it’s a bad connection in the directional switch. I guess if you try to fix it and fail you’ll have to send it off for repair as opposed to sending it off anyway. I’d take it apart and try to fix it. Then again, I’m the take shit apart type.
Sounds good, I was thinking it was the clutch or something bad like that. Hopefully its a quick easy fix. Any ideas what would cause the bits to bind? I’m drilling in hard rock and switching bits between each hole to try to get a little extra life out of my bits. The one bits brand new and it still takes a lot of hole cleaning to try to get it down a foot into the rock let alone the whole length of 18″ that I try for.
Hilti has new bits that are hollow in the middle to help with dust collection. The TIA guys have a video of it. You must be drilling some crazy rock to bind up sds drills that easy.
Nice concept but it wont work for me for what I’m doing. I’m drilling through dolomatic limestone and there’s seams and pockets in the rock. I could be drilling through hard rock, sand seams, hydrocarbon, calcite, quartz and some mud all in the same hole. The mud would clog that bit up really fast. I really need to get my Bulldog fixed and get a bigger pneumatic drill that will blow the dust out of the hole and use the bulldog as a back up.
As far as the bits binding, you may just not have enough drill for the task.
I was afraid of that. As far as the drilling speed goes there’s times when it goes nice and smooth and you can see it sinking in and then other times it doesnt seem like its moving but it is. I’m thinking that I dont need a monster drill but I’m very interested in upgrading to a stronger drill that wont rip my arm off if it binds and maybe drilling steels and replaceable tips. Not sure I really need to go pneumatic. I’d be happy with an 18″ deep 1″ diameter hole drilled in 3 to 4 minutes. I just want to be able to see that steel go in and not just set there and wonder if its working or not. I’m moving some rock but have limited time to work everyday. I’m breaking and dumping only about 60 gallons of rock a day. I want 100 gallons and I know its possible. Faster holes would make me more willing to drill more holes and more holes = more rock removed.
Any thoughts on a slightly more powerful machine that will still work with a 1400 watt generator?
Talked to my buddy on the phone, He says he didnt even have to take it apart. He blew it out with an air compressor and tested it and he said its working great. Sounds like its working better from what I could hear over the phone. I’m guessing it was dirty contacts.
Hilti has that gyro system that protects you from a binding situation. I think most newer rotary hammers have either that or a clutch system for liability reasons. What are you mining for if you don’t mind to answer?
Thanx for the head up on the Hilti, I’ll check it out. I’ve been mining for Herkimer Diamonds. They’re a double terminated quartz crystal. I took my drill back to the mine today, drilled 5 holes and dead. Back to square one. Still have reverse just no forward. I’m thinking its still gotta be the forward/reverse switch. My buddy blew all of the crap out of it but never took it apart to see what else might be wrong.
Oh and on another note. I buried the 18″ drill bit a few times today and it got a bit doggy at the last 5 or 6 inches but didnt bind. Come close to but it did seem to run a little better. So I’m guessing the dust was a factor in the drills performance.
Your line of work may actually justify the price of the Hilti as surprising as it may be. That is the type of work they design for.
Yea a Bosch bulldog while a great sds for most people was never designed to drill with bit’s that big. It’s a middle of the road sds drill. Bosch does have some bigger sds drills as well as Makita. The 1400 watt generator is kind of limiting though they really big ones I looked at really quick drew more that that and I don’t know if that was even the starting wattage.
I was thinking about upgrading my generator too but its all time n money right now. It would free up my choice on power tools a bit more. If hilti’s were made for tearing through hard rock then it sounds like the way to go. Right now my bulldog is dead and I’m using a 1983 Skill roto hammer 726. Its a hex bit but I’m not sure what name to actually look for when shopping for bits. I’m guessing 1″ hex (spline?) bits? Do the make a hex bit to sds adapter? I tested it out today and it does drill, it doesnt have a lot of power but its as fast if not slighty faster then my bulldog but the bits look like they are from 1983 as well. I’m wondering how it would preform with a new 1″ bulldog xtreme bit. Ok time to go window shopping for hilti’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXAhve6Rmuw
Hilti has this which gives corded performance but it’s cordless. It also saves a few bucks by not having to buy a larger capacity generator for a larger rotary hammer.
Here is a small article about bit types.
Not sure I wanna go cordless. The ol’ 726 seems to drill fast enough. I can see the bit sink into the rock so thats good but it doesnt have enough nut to keep going the whole length of the bit without stopping and cleaning out the hole a couple times. I think its slightly faster then the Bosch which I’m happy with the speed just wish the bit would go non stop. I think I could be happy with a drill that goes the speed of this one non stop for an 18″ hole. Actually thinking about a Skil 736. So many to choose from and look at. Any education is welcome at this point and you guys have been awesome. Thanx for all the advice and help guys.
You can get a nice Hilti in the 800-900 watt range in the $500 neighborhood by shopping around. Once you get into the 1000+ watt range they get expensive.
What is your budget?
I could probably do $500. Just gotta do some wire wrapping and sell some crystals. Gave the Skil a work out today and it returned the favor. Its not a bad drill but man does it send vibrations through your hands. If I’m gonna do this long term then I’m gonna have to save and buy better equipment. Opened up a pocket just before I left today so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see what Ma Nature has to offer. Hopefully enough to get a pionjar lol. A good Hilti sounds good though. Back to window shopping lol
I’m liking the looks of the Hilti TE50. I just watched a comparison video with the Hilti against a Bulldog and it blew the bulldog away. Looks like I might be able to snag one for $325 to $500 if I can keep an eye on the auctions and shop around a bit.
Yea, you can get a Hilti to satisfactorily fit your needs for $500.