Drilling hard brick work

[gaz1]

Lots of hard fired bricks across the north, decent SDS hits them no problem

Coring is another matter, some can be easy, some can be an 8 hour mission while you question all your life choices

ive across many up in the north and some take some drilling ive even blunted a chisel bit with birkby bricks it took my 1/2hr to chisel half a brick out and that was pre spliting it with the sds first

My favourite story of just how good Victorian bricks were.

VERY interesting reading. Also a good reminder of how different people were in 1984. Fighting petrol tankers on fire in a tunnel

Summit Tunnel fire - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

there is 2 films that show this one is chemical the other is a fuel tanker

 

[brightspark]

The 32mm was done with out hammer
I just have the 6mm holes to do

bosch multidrill for hard bricks thats all i ever use day in day out , sharpen them twice on a green stone when blunt then chuck em https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-ex...dTttqfZWTPYQPp8WQGzO1Fs7aBLClCJsaAvCwEALw_wcB

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I bought a Makita 8406 core drill specifically to core a 5 inch hole in very hard bricks....well worth the money. It's specifically for core drilling...speed is a lot slower than my regular 240v drill.

 

[brightspark]

i run a bosch sds drill slow is 2 slow and the fast speed 2 fast bought a dewalt proper core drill and the speed is in between the 2 and is great, 240v 13000 watt 230 quid mind

 

[Agrismith]

Try an SDS heavy duty hammer on a slower speed on hammer with a new quality drill bit and take it in short bursts of pressure to get a pilot hole . Same with the bigger drill
If you don't have a heavy duty SDS hammer drill see if you can hire one for half a day but that will likely entail hiring a transformer as well these days for they tend to be 110v

Tbh I think an SDS drill isn't worth hiring. For the cost of a single hire, you can buy a cheap SDS drill, for 2 hires you can buy a Bosch or Hitachi.
If you have any inclination to do DIY a three mode SDS drill is definitely worth the investment. They are just so useful not just for drilling but with a floor or tile stripper or breaker point.

 

[Kayos]

I've used a DeWalt core drill, fantastic but the gearbox sprayed oil when hot
Makita was very snatchy ( and I'm a Makita fan)
Currently use a Metabo, best soft start and clutch on any core drill I've used

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Tbh I think an SDS drill isn't worth hiring.

The few times I've hired tools they've been very poor condition...basically just junk.

First wall I took down my builder said hire the props...what a waste of time. Next time round I bought them...I think buying them was actually cheaper too!

 

[gaz1]

fyi @fizzy

daylight 1996

the tunnel 2020

metro ( russian ) and the flood is water

 

[Agrismith]

The few times I've hired tools they've been very poor condition...basically just junk.

First wall I took down my builder said hire the props...what a waste of time. Next time round I bought them...I think buying them was actually cheaper too!

If you aren't a regular customer there is a fair chance you woont be getting the best service. It also depends on the company. The pay back on small tools means they rarely run them overly long.

 

[zzr1200]

I purchased my SDS Drill about 45 years ago from B&Q a Gray Pro Performance, cost about £50.00, its drilled hundereds of holes and chased walls.

I still use it, I've replaced the cable twice and it still works perfectly. So cheap drills do work for diy and light work, just look after them....

I've spent more on drill bits over the years than the drill, l agree with what other have said, buy decent drill bits, l prefer X point bits for large deep holes.

 

[reb78]

I purchased my SDS Drill about 45 years ago from B&Q a Gray Pro Performance, cost about £50.00, its drilled hundereds of holes and chased walls.

I still use it, I've replaced the cable twice and it still works perfectly. So cheap drills do work for diy and light work, just look after them....

I've spent more on drill bits over the years than the drill, l agree with what other have said, buy decent drill bits, l prefer X point bits for large deep holes.

Similar to this, I bought a corded Parkside one years ago and it's done similar. It was a game changer compared to a traditional hammer drill.

 

[Craig-SM]

I've spent more on drill bits over the years than the drill, l agree with what other have said, buy decent drill bits, l prefer X point bits for large deep holes.

The 4 cutter/ cross head sds drill bits are great to use. They don’t wonder off when starting to drill, faster and last longer too.

 

[Onoff]

I've drilled bricks with all of these:

Did a 100mm hole with this type kept wet with a garden sprayer:

Up to 125mm with these, drilled dry:

Use this type a lot, mostly 20/25mm generally for flexible conduits, again using a spray bottle:

 

[MattF]

It was a game changer compared to a traditional hammer drill.

They are. SDS is in a totally different league to a hammer drill.

 

[Onoff]

20mm hole in the top square recess drilled in normal bricks with the tungsten carbide grit hole saw kept wet with a garden sprayer. Same detail in the bottom recess but in engineering brick. No probs in either:

https://flic.kr/p/2nmF9Tz

https://flic.kr/p/2q9z3uG

 

[Dapph2]

I purchased my SDS Drill about 45 years ago from B&Q a Gray Pro Performance, cost about £50.00, its drilled hundereds of holes and chased walls.

I still use it, I've replaced the cable twice and it still works perfectly. So cheap drills do work for diy and light work, just look after them....

I've spent more on drill bits over the years than the drill, l agree with what other have said, buy decent drill bits, l prefer X point bits for large deep holes.

I had one of them but from a builders merchant 25 years ago @£93 cheap enough to chuck away if it died .. Two sets of new brushes on and several servicing's and a new lead later I finally binned it in 2023 when the trigger switch failed & I wanted a heavier more powerful drill for popping 35 yr old vibrated in concrete