Hammer drill

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My Hilti has given up hammering ( maybe the ghost we shall see ), sent wife to the hilti repair store and they took one look at it and said too old, no parts ( I feel like that sometimes )Meantime back at the ranch I need a hammer drill, soon like next weekend for anchors into concrete ( exactly 28 holes into a 4-6 inch slab ).I won't buy junk tools so don't even bother recommend harbor freight. I might have to live with this for a couple of years till I find the parts for my Hilti.Deep holes in concrete is a must, and durabilty, with quick change drill bits.So my last hammer drill purchase ( my Hilti ) was about 37 years ago, and I know squat about the new ones. Budget is between 200-300 dollarsAnything decent out there in that range? Need it by next weekend so I am buying now.And if any Hilti gurus are out there what should I check for when I figure out how to fix my old one?Thanx
Reply:Go with a Ridgid. They are good tools, have a lifetime warranty (make sure you register within 90 days) and you can pick one up at home depot. I have two of their angle grinders that are still going strong after 2 years, but I haven't used the hammer drill much.Millermatic250Miller Spoolmate 200Miller Spoolmatic 1Lincoln tombstone with century DC converter1945 K.O. Lee company stick welder (looks like R2D2)Miller 30E feederHobart AH27 FeederMiller Thunderbolt AC/DC
Reply:Bosch Bulldog, reasonably priced and you can beat the snot out of it with no ill effects.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Hilti would be my #1 choice, Bosch #2. I've got one Hilti and one older Bosch in the big drills and 2 smaller Bosch drills.. Newer large drills mostly take the SDS max type bits. Older ones take the spline drive bits. I have a tougher time finding a decent selection of bits for my spline drive Bosch compared to my SDS max Hilti. The smaller drills are both take the smaller SDS bits.We still have two other older spline drive Bosch drills that my buddy had prior to his death that we use occasionally as well..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:My home depot has Bosch 328 VC ( corded ) on clearance for $284.00 one line there 315-410.What do you think on that one?
Reply:It is $259 with free shipping from Amazon.comIf you are drilling 3/4" or smaller diameter holes, go with SDS+, not SDS MAX.  Nobody still pushes spline any more.That's a very nice drill.  I have the older version of that, and it is excellent.  Mine was lacking the vibration cushioning grip, but truth be told, SDS is very easy on the hands, no matter what.  It is great at putting the impact on the drill bit, and hitting hard so it drills fast.The "bulldog" is similar, except in a straight body.  This is a better configuration IMHO.If your Hilti was a hammer drill, and not a rotary hammer like this, you will be amazed at the improvement in performance, but you will need new drill bits.
Reply:We have the bull dog and also the next size bigger not sure of the model but both have held up well. Drilled 1000's of 1/4" holes and countless larger up to 1"Millermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:I've been using an already seasoned SDS Hilti TE-5 for 15 years on thousands of 1/4" anchors and 3/8", 5/8", and sometime bigger DEEP holes. It company owned. Poured structural decking concrete is hard and has some stones in it, and it makes a drill work hard. I've pushed some beat bits with it when I knew better but had to get the job done.I don't know if the build quality on the Hilti brand has declined recently, but I have never asked more from any single tool and it never let me down, ever. The clutch may be getting worn and sometimes gives now more than in the past, but damn. I've also had it bind, spin over and take my wrists with it and hit me in the face, but I love that drill.Lincoln AC/DC 225/125 and WP17. 75A AC is for pipe thawing!HH 140 - new addtion 9/2012.I didn't agree, but hoped for Hope and Change.I got change for myself and my family: for the worse.This is the reality of: Barackalypse Now. Again.
Reply:Bosch and dewalt are the current ones we have. Bosch is my favorite but dewalt is close . See what you get the best deal on.
Reply:Hilti are hard to beat. I have been impressed with bosch chipping hammers lately. We used one boschchipping hammer to rip up 250 hotel bathroom floors. I personally would stay away from rigid tools very disappointed. Lifetime waranty sounds great but when they are always sent in for repair they dont do you any good. Seen this with there cordless tools and grinders.
Reply:I have a couple hilti hammer drills at present but I have used other contractors milwaukee hammer drills and find them to drill as good as the hilti, cheaper to purchase and milwaukee has always been easy to get parts for at reasonable prices.  Most hilti parts are unavailable once they upgrade to a new model and you have to scrap the tool.  Hilti are very good tools but my next new hammer drill will be a milwaukee."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:price meets durability X2 on the bosch bulldogVantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Is there an electrical or plumbing contractor in your area that you can loan thier hammer drill from, if so offer to buy the drill bit and give it to him afterwards?  That is not a lot of holes and should be easy with the drill.  Just my thoughts.  Bob
Reply:Get another Hilti, they are probably still the best.I currently have Milwakee & it's been fine so far.Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:I have a Milwaukee (rotary hammer) that lasted around 10 years with commercial use. When it got weak I took it to the shop and they said it would cost $180 to fix and sold me a Bulldog for $229. Meanwhile I ordered the parts for the Milwaukee and rebuilt it myself for $35.Fast forward about 5 years the Bulldog is getting very weak, the Milwaukee is still going strong. We always pull out the Milwaukee when the masonry is extra hard.Not sure if you are talking hammer drills or rotary hammers, mine are both rotary hammers, can't do much with hammer drills cept maybe pipe straps.That being said I am not sure where I will turn next in tool purchases, seems some of the new Milwaukee stuff is now China made. We have rented the big Hilti before for coring 3" and it worked great.Last edited by bigb; 01-21-2013 at 08:39 AM.Miller Challenger 172Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150Miller Maxstar 150 STLVictor 100CVictor JourneymanOxweld OAHarris O/ASmith O/A little torchNo, that's not my car.
Reply:[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-RH228VC-8-Inch-SDS-plus-Rotary/dp/B006030DQM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358796956&sr=8-2&keywords=bosch+bulldog+extreme+max[/ame]That drill by Bosch is a BEAST.  I bought one about 4 months ago and haven't looked back.  My company has been using Bosch Bulldogs for all of our hammer drills (5 in total).  We are a concrete company (flatwork) and use them for drilling rebar.  We use 1/2" rebar on 4' centers on all garages, porches, patio's we pour.  Last year we did 64 houses new construction, lots of patio add ons, tear outs, etc.  These drills get used on a daily basis and LAST!  I can tell you the drill I listed above is rated at 1 1/8" while all of my other drills are 7/8" rated.  The 1 1/8" will drill I would say 40% if not close to 50% faster than the smaller rated Bosch Bulldog drills.  If you go with the Bulldogs you will be pleased.
Reply:so open up the hilti and see if you can get it to switch to hammer and work. perhaps the mechanism is wonky  or dirty.Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:We've had probably over 100 hammer drills over the years and most of them were either Bosch Bulldogs or Hilti, for anything bigger (running a 3/4+ bit consistently) we run pretty much all Hilti. They seem to hold up pretty well. Chances are good something is stuck, the grease dries up and gets full of crud over the years and something is bound to stick. Get an assembly diagram and start disassembling. If you find something broke at least you tried, if you cant get it back together, at least you know not to try it again.
Reply:bosch bulldog, residential/commercial.  Small, compact, lots of horsepower.
Reply:I like my Makita HR3000C.  I would also recommend the Hilti.  The Bosch Bulldog is what I would call a throw away tool...cheap, but I've broken four of them and they aren't worth the cost to repair.--Wintermute"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience." - John Lockewww.improvised-engineering.comManufacturer Agnostic:Blood----------Sweat---------Tears----|------------------|----------------|----Lincoln Red, Miller Blue, Esab Yellow
Reply:If the tool break just take it back.  If it keeps breaking then you not using the right one, probably too small.  How do you break 3, then use a 4th expecting different results
Reply:Got the first two for free...got replacements for them when they broke under warranty.  Then broke the replacements and figured it costs more in my time to deal with the warranties than to just use a better tool.--Wintermute"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience." - John Lockewww.improvised-engineering.comManufacturer Agnostic:Blood----------Sweat---------Tears----|------------------|----------------|----Lincoln Red, Miller Blue, Esab Yellow
Reply:I wanted the Hilti but it was more $$$ than I wanted to pay.  I got the Bosch instead.  I got the one that's a notch bigger than the bulldog.  1-1/8 I think.  It's been used lots, but not really abused.  No problems out of it yet.  I'd have no hangups buying another one.Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE
Reply:Got the Bosch 1 1/8 worked well, no issues, but I didn't work it ard about 25ea  3/8" holes, we shall see how it holds up, like my old Hilti better but thats a whole different price range and story.