# drill for mixing mud



## 1910NE

I confess I do not understand enough about hammer drills to know if it should be able to do the job for you. I use a 1/2" cordless 18v, and it works great.


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## OhioHomeDoctor

I have a rigid drill I ONLY USE FOR MIXING. Its whole hog style.


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## Bud Cline

That hammerdrill should work. Did you start with your water and slowly add your powder? Starting off with dry powder and adding water is a mistake and will take out a drill-motor in short order.


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## Willie T

Cheap and powerful. But kind of useless for anything but mixing..... but great for that. Less than $100.

http://www.alstapingtools.com/acdelco12mixingdrill.aspx

I personally use an old 1/2" B&D that I picked up at a yard sale for $15.


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## jburchill

The drill I was using was a hammer drill and you can switch it to a regular drill. And I was mixing pre-mixed mud. I was trying to get all the air bubbles out of the mud.

I'll have to look for a drill at a garage sale or something for a cheap one.


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## Bud Cline

*I certainly hope you aren't installing ceramic tile with this "pre-mixed" mud* you have. What are you doing anyway?

Usually mixing with a power mixer entrains air, it doesn't remove it. That's the reason for using a special beater and a low rpm machine, it's to help keep the air out that is entrained typically by the mixing process.


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## jburchill

Pre-mixed drywall mud. I know my drill has too many rpms to mix mud so i try to feather the trigger to keep it from getting to fast. 

Worked well until the drill started smoking.


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## Bud Cline

You could have saved me a lot of time had you said what you were doing to begin with. Sometimes it's like pulling teeth around here to get any information. Hell...I was way off in another direction.

Add a little water and start mixing at the top only for a minute or two. Then start slowly working your way down to the bottom of the bucket. A little water won't hurt anything. Any 1/2" drill motor will mix that stuff easily if you thin it some. Don't go nuts with the water.


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## Maintenance 6

The high initial amp draw from feathering the trigger is likely what caused the problem. Use something with lower RPM if you need to.


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## bjbatlanta

I used to use an old Craftsman 1/2" variable speed drill I bought 20+ years ago, when I was finishing new construction and mixed several buckets of mud daily. Rebuilt it once, still running. The variable is nice for mixing "setting" compounds. Now I use my Ridgid 18v hammer drill (not on hammer setting), but on low speed. Works great and no cord to deal with....


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## oh'mike

I've got a Milwaukee 1/2" hole shooter---works just fine.


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## bjbatlanta

Yeah, pretty much any 1/2" corded drill will do the job. I just like the variable for mixing the "powders"...


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## oh'mike

The Milwaukee is a variable speed---tough drill---a slow speed 'jug handle' drill would probably be better---but there is only so much room for tools in the truck--so tools that can do 'double duty' make a lot of sense.


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## bjbatlanta

Didn't know the Milwaukee was variable. Don't see many that are (and I really haven't looked lately). And yes, the cordless takes up way less room in the box (and I've got a hammer drill on hand too for the occasional times it's needed). I've got to admit, I didn't think the cordless would spin a can of putty and I had the "smoking drill syndrome" when I first tried it. Switched to low speed and it works great. Again, I probably wouldn't count on it for several cans a day, but for my purpose these days, it's fine....


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## oh'mike

I smoked a lot of drills before I finally spent the big bucks on the Milwaukee.

Killed a Black and Decker in 4 hours once---


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## yeag6154

Any drill with high torque and lower rpms should work fine. Most variable speed drills were not built for mixing. They will work but you can burn them up pretty easily.


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## bjbatlanta

Gotta agree that the variables aren't as stout. The old Craftsman I referred to was bought somewhere in the 1980/81 time frame, I'm guessing, at a surplus store (rebuilt) for I think around $45.00 or so. It has literally mixed thousands of cans of ready mix and many bags of DuraBond (the main reason I got the variable). Had it rebuilt once (mainly as "preventative maintenance), probably in early '90 or so, and it still works. (I have to admit you could smell a bit of a "burning" smell at times after mixing several buckets non-stop, but it never quit.) I retired it because I don't mix that many buckets at a time any more.


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## GrooveMerchant

I had the same issue when I remodelled my kitchen. I bought a cheap variable speed corded power drill just for mixing thinset. The drill lasted until the second last batch. Now that I am remodelling my bathroom, I purchased a 1/2" low speed, high torque drill from Harbor Frieght for less than 50 clams. I mixed up one batch already and it works great. Plenty of power and no smoke.


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## oh'mike

GrooveMerchant said:


> Ipeed, I mixed up one batch already and it works great. Plenty of power and no smoke.



No smoke is a good start.


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