# hammer drill vs. drill/driver



## Clutchcargo

I tried to drill a hole in concrete with a regular drill once. I spent about 2 hours on one hole and broke down and bought a hammer drill. The hammer drill did the job in about 10 seconds. 
A hammer drill isn't actually cutting the hole like a drill/driver does. it chisels the concrete and moves the dust out. Metal is handled just like wood, the bits cut the material.
A good combo kit would be an impact driver and hammer drill.


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## angus242

Only you can decide if the extra $40 is worth it.
A hammer drill, in hammer mode, actually, pushes the bit forward some while drilling. This creates the "hammer" effect. Of course, it happens awfully fast. You can run that hammer drill in regular mode too.

As for your choice...top notch, TOP NOTCH. That Panasonic is perhaps the best cordless drill out there. Yeah, I said it....THE BEST. It's not the lightest, doesn't have the most volts and doesn't have some fancy features like some of the newer ones. However, it will work like a beast. My electrician uses the driver all the time. I've seen him drill 25-30 1" holes in studs to run conduit without so much as a slight drain in power. When I'm installing cabinets, I'll use the Pany to pre-drill holes and then my drill to run the screws in. Don't worry so much about the battery life. At 3.5Ah, it seems to run forever. 

The only complaint I could see a home owner having with it will be the weight. I don't use it for that reason. For me to one-hand it for 5 hours would make me a limp-wristed crybaby by the end of the day. Nope, I need light and powerful.....and light. However, when I'm working and I NEED to bust through something though, I'd grab the Pany in a heartbeat. Be forewarned, you need to "hold on" when using it's torque. You can (and probably will once or twice) just about snap your wrist off if not paying attention. You were warned!

BTW, if you have the correct drill bit, you can drill into concrete with a regular drill. I have drill 20+ holes in a basement wall with a cheapo Black and Decker 12v cordless...with the right bit!!! Of course, a hammer drill will do it MUCH faster. Good luck with your choice!


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## angus242

schmolze said:


> anyone use the dewalt dc927kl with lithium ion batteries?



Sorry, missed this the first time 'round.

Don't do that to yourself. If you're looking to spend that kind of money, seriously look into this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0HYGX9HGB7ZNC13GAVGA

I know, I just said the Pany was god-like and now, I'm pointing you elsewhere. Like clutchcargo suggested, overall, this is probably your best bet. A combo kit with both a driver and hammer drill. This is the better of the Makita offerings so it has 3.0Ah. This will make the battery a bit bigger and heavier but it will last! If you do occasional work....maybe a few hours here and there, considering going to the 1.5Ah setup for cost and weight savings:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0EHB7SZD7Z5FQ08GBF2D
That with a good masonry drill bit kit:
http://www.amazon.com/DW5207-7-Piec...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1210253585&sr=1-1
and you'd be all set.

Now if you plan on drilling 1/2" holes 5" deep into cement every other month, you'd benefit from a hammer drill. For the one day a year you might want to drill 15 holes in your basement for whatever reason, you'd get away with the Makita drill and some good carbide bits.


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## wombosi

thanks angus,
i appreciate the toughtful replies man.

so, assuming i can get the panny hammer drill on ebay, new, for less than the panny driver on amazon, it's a no brainer, right?

don't want to quite spend the $320 for the makita combo, but thanks.

the concrete drilling would definitely be very infrequent. mostly driving screws into wood, drywall, decking, etc...

i spent the last eight months renovating a section of my barn, with this total piece of junk $30 hardware store corded drill special. broke numerous times, got all kinds of wrist problems (gone now).

but did all the framing with it, subfloor, and drywalling. man, would've been nice to have the panny THEN.

i'm buying a house soon though, and want to invest in some top quality tools.

thanks again, friend.
b


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## Leah Frances

My hammer drill has become indispensable in my DIY projects. The timber in my house is 200 years old and hard as a rock (we had to pre-drill holes to drive staples into the joists). My cordless and corded drill would drill through them, and if I had six or seven minutes for each hole, no problem. I pulled out the hammer drill - 30 seconds. Seriously. I never would have thought to buy one. Now, it's part of my "must have" tool kit. 

FYI: Dewalt 18V cordless - the hammer drill came as part of a set - 

IMO: DIYers, are often better served to buy more expensive (read: *nicer*) tools. Even if the cost/job seems high. If it makes a job easier and faster, it makes for better DIY. I could kick myself for every time I used the wrong/undersized/inappropriate tool for a job, because I didn't want to spend the money on the right tool. I'm finally ready to drop the change on a Fein Multimaster after cutting one too many sloppy holes with my sawzall.


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## Lansing

With all the great , right on advice given above here you don't need any more from me...I have both types drills here and agree you all got it right...Hard to beat a hammer drill...and you do need to watch you don't break your wrist :thumbsup:


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## angus242

Double post on accident


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## angus242

To be honest with you, I think the Makita cordless set (the cheaper one) would do you just fine.
Personally, I use a Milwaukee cordless Litho Ion V18 witch is pretty much the same stats as the Makita Drill (not driver) and it goes and goes. I laid 350 sq ft of cement backer board (screwing about every 8"-10") and it just kept going. I doubt a typically DIYer would put any drill for a home project through that much stress. I'm telling you, going lighter on weight will be better served than going for pure power. My Milwaukee is actually MORE POWERFUL than the Pany. However, the Pany will last twice as long on a charged battery. That's the advantage of the 3.5Ah over 1.5Ah. But yet again, look at the Makita's recharge time....15-stinkin minutes!!! You could swap batteries and be on your merry old way again. 
I also tried a Milwaukee 28v hammer drill. Forget it. WAYYYYY TOOOOOO HEAVYYYYYY. With either the Pany or the big-boy Milwaukee, after no more than 15 minutes of continuous use, my wrist fatigues. Never had that problem with my Litho Milwaukee. Why? Because it's lighter!!! Let's look at the stats:

My personal Milwaukee: 4 lbs, 18v, 1.5Ah, 400 in-lbs, 30 min charge
The big guy Milwaukee: 6.7 lbs, 28v, 3.0Ah, 600 in-lbs, 60 min charge
Panasonic Hammer : 5.8 lbs, 18v, 3.5Ah, 425 in-lbs, 65 min charge
Panasonic Drill : 4.8 lbs, 15.6v, 3.5Ah, 390 in-lbs, 55 min charge
Makita Drill : 3.5 lbs, 18v, 1.5Ah, 450 in-lbs, 15 min charge
Makita Impact Driver: 2.8 lbs, 18v, 1.5Ah, 1280 in-lbs, 15 min charge

If you look at the power to weight ratio, it's kinda a no brainer. The Makita Drill has more power than the Pany hammer drill. Yes, the NiMH of the Pany will last longer but you can recharge the Makita battery in 15 minutes. I'm sure you can run at least an hour out of the one while the spare is charging. 
So if you look at it that way, that 1.5Ah Makita combo kit will do anything you throw at it. It has plenty of power and the rapid recharge will help keep 2 batteries going as long as you can.

...AND IT WILL SAVE YOUR WRIST FROM FATIGUE!!!!!!!!

As for the Pany and the Amazon price, if you're not in a hurry, check it daily. Amazon has had it for under $200 but that usually only lasts for a day. OR, just buy it from them and then watch. Amazon gives you a 30 day guarantee on their prices. If it lowers within 30 days after you buy something, just email them and they'll refund the difference...but YOU have to catch the price change, they won't do it automatically!


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## Brik

I will second the vote for the Makita LXT cordless. The combo with the impact driver is great. The drill can be had alone for less. The drill has driver, drill and hammer drill modes.

I did a test of 7 different drills here
http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/63/episode-9-drill-it
You can read the results and also listen to the podcast commentary by clicking on the play button near the tp of the article.
We tested two different hammer drills. We did not test non-hammer drills for drilling concrete. The corded drills outperformed the cordless. The Makita LXT was the only cordless of the ones in our tests that could complete the tasks (granted it was a limited selection of drills in the test).

Good luck in your decision making process, I hope you find this info useful.


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## LawnGuyLandSparky

Quoting to preserve original.



schmolze said:


> thanks angus,
> i appreciate the toughtful replies man.
> 
> so, assuming i can get the panny hammer drill on ebay, new, for less than the panny driver on amazon, it's a no brainer, right?
> 
> don't want to quite spend the $320 for the makita combo, but thanks.
> 
> the concrete drilling would definitely be very infrequent. mostly driving screws into wood, drywall, decking, etc...
> 
> i spent the last eight months renovating a section of my barn, with this total piece of junk $30 hardware store corded drill special. broke numerous times, got all kinds of wrist problems (gone now).
> 
> but did all the framing with it, subfloor, and drywalling. man, would've been nice to have the panny THEN.
> 
> i'm buying a house soon though, and want to invest in some top quality tools.
> 
> thanks again, friend.
> b


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