Wall drill required

Soldato
Joined
3 Dec 2004
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2,570
Hi all,

Need a general wall drill for plugging and screwing round the house. Mixture of hollow and solid walls. Any recommendations?

I'm not the most handy person when it comes to DIY but I notice with wall plugs they seem to be rated by number, I presume this is the length in inches of the screw required?

Thank you,
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2003
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23,627
Ok, when you say wall drill :D
Do you mean coring through brick (SDS style) or simply putting small holes in for raw plugs (anything battery).

Normally wall plugs are depth and the size of the screw.

I managed to put in 15cm raw plug screws with a Bosch 18V battery jobbie (has 1.5Ah batteries x2 and a fast charge) .. the hammer action is good enough todo that - plus the ability to screw and use normal drill bits whilst holding in one hand is a bonus but with the option of a second removable grip. I used an SDS bit (normal drills can hold them).. and it take a little longer than an SDS drill.

If you're coring then it will be higher end battery or just going corded. However this usually means a two handed drill.

Would also advise you budget for a pipe/cable/stud sensor to check the walls for cables before drilling - just in the last week a mate decided to drill a hole above their lightswitch.. luckily the consumer box tripped.. another mate decided to rewire the downstairs landing switch with the upstairs lights still powered and he survived the shock.

Here's a demo - the green is a battery powered thing- perfect for the application you want.. the blue is a SDS-Plus drill. The bit being used was the SDS bit I put the large raw plugs in the wall with:

So I think we can safely say you want a battery jobbie :)
 
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Associate
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10 Nov 2004
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492
Location
Northampton
Heres a bargain in my opinion if you dont have anything to begin with:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-dh...drill-101-accessories/34224?_requestid=187160
Drill and most bits/accessories you'll commonly need.

Theres a dedicated thread on drills around here somewhere which may be of interest.

For solid walls youll need to use rawl plugs to securely hold the screw in the wall. The screw should be longer than the plug so it penetrates the plastic and forces it to expand when screwed in (oh err missus!).

For partition or plaster board walls I use spit screws and never had a problem.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/spit-driv...etal-35mm-pack-of-100/11923?_requestid=192147
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2003
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23,627
13mm chuck on that makes able to take large bits easily too..

Actually I have the same drill package (without the drill). The bits are ok for DIY but I noted the masonry bit heads are weak (broke one bit of the head) and the metal bits can easily blunt of you don't use something to keep the temperature down.
 
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Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2007
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8,704
Get a basic makita set with bits for £100 and it'll do what you want no problems.

If you ever get into diy and need a decent drill then upgrade.
 
Soldato
OP
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3 Dec 2004
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2,570
Thanks guys will look into suggestions now.

Something i'm confused on though, how much longer should the screw be then the plug? Is the a rule to follow?

I presume the depth of the hole to pre-drill should be very slightly longer then the screw itself?

Thanks,
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2003
Posts
23,627
Thanks guys will look into suggestions now.

Something i'm confused on though, how much longer should the screw be then the plug? Is the a rule to follow?

I presume the depth of the hole to pre-drill should be very slightly longer then the screw itself?

Thanks,

It doesn't have to be much longer - the idea is that the taper of the screw pushed the plug ends out. So that depends on the taper. Not more than 1/2 to 1 cm.

Plasterboard plugs work by expanding the metal out behind the board when the screw is turned. The key here is to get the grip. If the plug rotates then it starts drilling into the plasterboard itself.

Read up on the different types, especially for heavy objects with plaster and into brittle/unstable block as they may need some work.

Lastly - If found these great little things that are bags that stick onto the wall in B&Q - you then drill through the bang and the dust is captured in the bag. The Mrs thinks they're wonderful, and for the small jobs they're great as they lessen the mess. In the end nothing beats a vacuum... have a look at a cheapy henry hoover for DIY dirty work - it will prevent the mrs from going up the wall when the house hold vacuum is coated in plaster dust..
 
Soldato
OP
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Thank you Nick, advice much appreciated.

On the video you linked in above, I notice you have an SDS to Normal drill chuck (allowing pozi head screwing etc), are there any limitations using the drill in this way - at the least, would it be ok to put in the screw after the hole is drilled?

With such a drill, approximately what is the smallest to largest bit I can use?
And to confirm, when I am drilling the hole (into brick) I should be using hammer action?

I can see the advantages using a high-powered battery drill from a flexibility view, I do have a basic dewalt - good for screwing but not enough power for drilling. I think getting an SDS type drill would be the best option for me providing it will allow me to drill small holes also?

Thanks again,
Richard
 
Soldato
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13 Jan 2003
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I can see the advantages using a high-powered battery drill from a flexibility view, I do have a basic dewalt - good for screwing but not enough power for drilling. I think getting an SDS type drill would be the best option for me providing it will allow me to drill small holes also?

To be honest - I think you'd be ok with a normal battery drill-driver. I use the battery drill for small stuff because the it doesn't need the SDS. My battery drill has done me proud for 3 years - wood, masonry and metal.

For screwing the battery wins - it's features of toque limiting, lighting the area, light enough for one handed operation and small enough for confined spaces win outright.

The SDS can screw but it's not featured it's a drill that has enough low down torque to screw at slow speed.. so it will apply full torque when the screw is fully sunk.. with head stripping/snapping the screw/burying the screw being the result. I would not use the SDS for screwing if I had a choice (tried and having a two handed drill leaves no hands to hold the screw then at the end it stripped the head in a blink of an eye at full speed :D).

For drilling the battery drills aren't slouches - they will do the job. If it has a second attachable handle then it's even better (mine has, as do most).

The battery drill is beaten by the SDS in drilling and hammering performance. Yes. However the form factor of a small drill really is a benefit (having a hand free for example). With a DIY handy drill/driver.. a bit slower/less power is trade off against the flexibility of use will be a winning move..

The SDS chuck states don't use hammer action. So I use it for wood and metal rotary drilling only. The battery drill will do hammer quite nicely (the last few moments of the video show the battery hammering) and you will not have to be a gorilla to hold it. I've used the battery hammer to put the bolts-brick in my garage. The differences is the SDS litereally pokes straight through brick when I tried it - so I was scared to demo it on the floor lol (I figure that it's about 4 times+ the hammering force).

Battery drill + good bits will do. The Makita drill bits have done me for the 3 years for the flexibility. If I was to pick one of the drills - I love the SDS but the battery one has more flexibility..
 
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Soldato
OP
Joined
3 Dec 2004
Posts
2,570
Great advice, thank you. That's made things much clearer, I now think a high powered battery drill is the best solution for my needs.

Going back to wall plugs, when you are drilling the hole - are you using a stop gauge for getting the correct depth of hole?
 
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Associate
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16 Nov 2005
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Maybe a little extreme but I highly recommend a Bosch 36v GBH I've had mine for 5 years and used daily for chisel and hammer & the battery life is great.
 
Associate
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Maybe a little extreme but I highly recommend a Bosch 36v GBH I've had mine for 5 years and used daily for chisel and hammer & the battery life is great.

36v for banging wall plugs in? Highly extreme.

OP, if it's just general plugging and screwing around the house you need a £30 Tesco SDS drill. Depth can be gauged by offering up a wall plug, wrapping a bit of tape around the bit and cracking on.
 
Associate
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to be honest you don't need an 'SDS' drill at all, as all that is is the chuck system and that is ideally for heavier duty jobs. ie; drilling solid brick/concrete and chiselling work where you need a solid hammer action. and if you was to get an SDS drill you would need an extra chuck adapter to fit normal drill bits in.

one of these would be ideal and would handle any anything you plan on doing with it and more, http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dc100ka-gb-18v-1-3ah-ni-cd-cordless-combi-drill/73596

that is a 13mm chuck and will take nearly any drill bit you would want to use, just make sure you get a masonry drill bit set and use the right drill bit for each rawl plug
 
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