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SDS Rotary Hammers


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I'm having to install the letters shown in the attached photo to the stone-faced monuments. Each letter has 3 or 4 studs, so I have to drill a 3/16" hole for each stud. There are 6 sets of these letters altogether, so when drilling that many holes, my mind always wanders to whether or not I'm using the best tool for the job.


I currently have a bunch of the DeWalt 20v stuff including the SDS rotary hammer which works great and is what I use for installs like the above one. I'm always reading up on new tools, specs, etc. though just to see how everything compares. So I figured this morning while I'm laid up sick, I would compare the various cordless SDS rotary hammers.


Milwaukee kills it in IPM and RPM but the Impact Energy is significantly lower than everything else. So that makes me wonder if there is a perfect combination of IPM, RPM and Impact Energy when it comes to rotary hammers or.......? It really makes me wonder how these would shake out in a head-to-head comparison. Take all the tools listed below, use the same brand bit in each, and drill twenty ¼" holes then twenty ½" holes....who wins?

Not sure if you installers use corded or cordless versions, but just wanted to get your thoughts.


Anyway, here's a breakdown (being sick let's you research stuff like this):


Hilti TE 4-A18


Weight: 7.3 lbs.
RPM: 1090
IPM: 5200
Impact Energy: 1.5 ft. lbs.


DeWalt DCH253


Weight: 6.4 lbs.
RPM: 1200
IPM: 4500
Impact Energy: 1.7 ft. lbs.


Milwaukee M18


Weight: 5.5 lbs.
RPM: 1300
IPM: 7000
Impact Energy: 1.0 ft. lbs.


Makita X2 LXT (specs are if using 2 batteries I believe)


Weight: 7.3 lbs.
RPM: 1200
IPM: 4800
Impact Energy: 2.21 ft. lbs.


Bosch RHH181-01
Weight: 5.7 lbs.
RPM: 1400
IPM: 4500
Impact Energy: ?? Not Published ??


Bosch RHS181K


Weight: 4.6 lbs.
RPM: 1050
IPM: 4950
Impact Energy: ?? Not Published ??


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Hilti corded for big jobs hands down

Installation & Maintenance Services

Brian Phillips | expresssignandneon@sbcglobal.net | P. 812-882-3278

Express Sign & Neon | 119 S. 15th Street - Vincennes - IN 47591

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Jobs like that are tough. In split face block it seams like a lot of holes end up on the edge of a rock not to mention all the different surface levels.

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80% makita 18 volt sds

20% corded hilti

when it was neon channel letters 1.25" holes, Hilti was steady

 

63 foot Elliott v60

50 foot 8 ton crane/auger

Skid steer with forks and dirt bucket


www.signworksinc.com

www.wehangsigns.com

Signworks Inc.
Toronto, Canada
416-653-7227
1-877-912-7446

 

 

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  • !llumenati

Hilti. We bought the 2 that Gary listed on here and the are great. corded by far is better for large jobs, cordless for a light stuff. if you are not going to do a lot like this go to harbor freight and get the chicago electric hammer.

GOOD things happen for a reason......

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I do a ton like this and a lot of the stuff isn't near electric. And I'd prefer to not have to lug around a generator and extension cord when the battery powered stuff they're making these days can basically keep up with the corded stuff when drilling smaller holes like this. Plus there's no way I'd personally put my trust in getting jobs like this done with a Chicago Electric tool.

Unbeknownst to me, there was a big comparison done here: click

Although my DeWalt cordless works great for what I do, the specs for the other options out there were all over the board with Hilti having some lower numbers/specs (ie: Impact Energy) than others. But according to the tests, bigger isn't always better. The Hilti cordless took 5.1 seconds to drill a 1/4" x 3" hole. The DeWalt (which I think is a great tool) takes 9.4 seconds to drill the same hole.

The specs on that chart are exactly what I was wondering about and looking for.

Anyway, I purchased a cordless Hilti TE 4-A18. Looking forward to seeing how it does.

Edited by PrecisionSignServices
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I personally dislike Dewalt tools

Installation & Maintenance Services

Brian Phillips | expresssignandneon@sbcglobal.net | P. 812-882-3278

Express Sign & Neon | 119 S. 15th Street - Vincennes - IN 47591

express%20neon%20sig.jpg

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  • !llumenati

Battery tools in general are great to use as long as they can do the job. Corded tools are much better in performance. We have them all, Hilti, Bosch, Dewalt , Milwaukee and Metabo, SDS and Spline We use both types to the extremes.

Generators, We have the big welder/generators on all the trucks. They work great but are noisey. We purchased a Honda 2000 recently. It works great and there is really no noise and you can carry it anywhere with one hand. At times you do not remember that it is running.

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totally agree on the Honda 2000 we have had one for a couple of years it is great!

Installation & Maintenance Services

Brian Phillips | expresssignandneon@sbcglobal.net | P. 812-882-3278

Express Sign & Neon | 119 S. 15th Street - Vincennes - IN 47591

express%20neon%20sig.jpg

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  • !llumenati

Back during my install days, years ago, I had a little Honda. Darn thing was great, running my big hilti doing the pk holes and my smaller hilti for the mounting holes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not drinking the Hilti KoolAid quite yet. Yes it's a nice tool, yes it performs better than the DeWalt, but marginally.

I may pick up the Bosch RHH181. It's performance is better than the DeWalt and just below the performance of the Hilti for about half the cost. Plus it includes a built-in LED light, it's brushless, has a dedicated chipping feature, and is over a pound lighter. Not to mention Bosch is coming out with 5.0Ah batteries.

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It is a lot of research, you're right. When I'm drilling 300 holes in concrete or stone in a sitting, I'd like to know I'm using the best tool for the job. When I see a review saying one tool can drill almost twice as fast as the tool I'm currently using, I get curious.

....Show you pictures of what...?

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The Hilti and the Bosch both will take ten times the abuse the cheap ass Dewalt stuff will

Installation & Maintenance Services

Brian Phillips | expresssignandneon@sbcglobal.net | P. 812-882-3278

Express Sign & Neon | 119 S. 15th Street - Vincennes - IN 47591

express%20neon%20sig.jpg

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Thanks for doing / sharing this Moze, I think this is the kind of research a lot of people can learn from. This is similar to the light testing we do here.

Just like the light testing, this can go to show that name brands don't mean squat.

Keep it up!

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. - Winston Churchill

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Not a problem. I'm a bit of a tool addict, so I don't typically just run out and buy stuff and hope it works. If it takes doing a comparison to see what the better tool is going to be for the next couple, few years, I'll do it.

I know everyone has their preferences, and that's cool. I've had my DeWalt cordless SDS for a year and a half and literally drilled thousands of holes in concrete and masonry and even with a heavily used battery, it still isn't too far behind a brand new Hilti which is supposed to be the unrivaled "king of concrete" tools.

Not bad for a "cheap" tool.

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I just have had too many dewalt tools take a shit after a couple of years. If I pay for a professional tool I expect it to last at the very least five years. And yes they are made cheap as hell.

Edited by chubbygumby

Installation & Maintenance Services

Brian Phillips | expresssignandneon@sbcglobal.net | P. 812-882-3278

Express Sign & Neon | 119 S. 15th Street - Vincennes - IN 47591

express%20neon%20sig.jpg

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Years ago I worked as the clerk in the service department of AEG Power Tool. They were probably the BEST tools I ever used. Then they were bought out by Atlas Copco to be combined with Copco's Chicago pneumatic....That's where the Chicago Electric came from. They took a great tool line and downgraded it to where Home Depot tools are now better. I still have AEG tools that are over 30 years old that are the top of my tool box all working fine and will beat out any of the tools on the market today. Good luck with the battery tools you better have a 12 v charger and lots of batteries.

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