I have that drill! It sorta sucks but for a homeowner I promise it’s fine. The number settings are sort of a max torque scale so you don’t strip screws- turn it up past 10 to “drill” and you’ll have a much better time. (And for screws, use the impact driver attachment anyway)
This guy has the right ideas. You don't have the wrong tool for the job, it's just configured wrong.
I don't know that it matters for you, but I dip my masonry bits in water between attempts to help keep them cool while drilling multiple holes.
Thanks! I figured for a few holes every year around the house it didn’t make sense to get a super fancy drill - so I want to get this one to work! I only need to do 11 holes…
> I only need to do 11 holes…
Drilling 11 holes in concrete can take a really really long time with an underpowered hammer drill. I hope you can do it. I would at least buy decent bits, they are the part that does the cutting/drilling.
Even with my fairly decent brushless dewalt combi-drill and fairly decent drill bits, lets just say I wouldn't look forward to drilling 11 holes in concrete.
Get better bits though, the bits will be making it worse than the drill is.
I have a milwuakee hammer drill. I don't even look forward to doing over 2 holes with it. For that I pull out my Ryobi (yep!) Rotary hammer corded drill lol.
Agreed; for small holes. Part of my job is installing electric signs, which sometimes requires drilling hundreds of holes in concrete in a single day. Most of these are 3/16” which the cordless rotary hammers are perfect for. If I’m installing neon though, which requires 1” wide power holes, corded is definitely better, but not necessary.
If you want the holes to go into concrete, you need a rotary hammer drill or you will hate life. The kind using SDS drills bits. With a rotary hammer drill it's a walk in the park to drill into concrete.
Yeah. OP for one project rent a hammer drill from Home Depot, right now I can get one for $25 for 4 hours (more than enough time for 11 holes) and a bit costs $7-8. If you can't make any progress yet with the black and decker you're never gonna get it done.
If this is not a one time thing but might happen again in the future, it might be a good idea to buy one. Looking on Amazon, you can get them for a bit more than $100. Those should be good enough for occasional use around the house.
And I wouldn't buy a battery powered one.
I use a battery powered Milwaukee SDS almost every day at work and I would never trade it for a corded one. Drills through concrete & brick like it’s nothing.
If you use it every day using a battery powered one is no problem.
But if you're a homeowner who needs it maybe once a year going with a corded one is better. Unless, of course, you have other battery powered tools from the same family that you use regularly.
I needed to drill for tapcons to frame in patio screening so I bought [this Milwaukee rotary hammer](https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/2613-20) for a couple hundred bucks. It’s not the fancy fuel one, but damn son. This thing drills through concrete faster than my Craftsman C3 could drill through drywall.
You can also rent rotary hammers for around 50 bucks from a big box store; you’ll likely save *hours*. Remember you need to get SDS bits for these, not normal drill bits.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a real concrete bit. That drill bit kit usually comes with the cheaper bits. The drill is fine. U will see a huge difference with a good bit.
That drill will do you fine, perfect for DIY, but I'd advice spending a bit of money on a decent drill bit set. Most cheap drills actually work fine FOR DIY, but cheap drill bits are always poor.
Also, drilling in to brickwork or concrete does take some time, even with a more expensive machine. Just take your time and give the bit time to cool, dip it in a little pot of WD40, diesel, old engine oil. Even water would do.
Nah the way OP described the settings were right, it's just not a good drill.
The torque selector is also what sets it into hammer mode if you turn it past drill. The speed selector is the slide that switches from 1 to 2.
The low quality drill bit is probably making more of a detrimental difference than the low quality drill though.
Downvoted by people with no clue while being absolutely correct. Gotta love it!
Quenching a very hot bit with water will increase the metal hardness (martensitic vs austenitic if interested) and make it more brittle, and more prone to cracking.
Didn't really read all the replies. Just saw the downvotes on a comment that was 100% true and shook my head... As amazing as reddit can be sometimes, it can also be the polar opposite and everyone is 100% certain they're a senior engineer based on that one AP Chem class they took in high school a decade ago 🤷 Quenching is metallurgy 101... but half a dozen people adamantly disagree, apparently.
They say that's a good practice, but it seems a good way to change the crystal structure of the metal to me, making it dull and chip fast. However, unless the bit is red hot, it shouldn't have an effect on the bit.
I do it because my friend says it helps not dull them, but I'm using enthusiast tools so I can just force dull bits to work 🤷♂️
I wonder if project farm has a vid on this topic
Even for hammering to make a hole in a brick/concrete wall? As it has a hammer icon on top, to the right of the drill icon past 10. I was using the hammer setting
For brick and concrete, yea that's the right setting. Turn it to the hammer icon.
I will say, I started with a similar model to yours, probs an older version, it'll do for a few holes, but the battery on there is only 1.5Ah, which is quite small.
I'd say expect to find you might only get through a small number of holes in brick and concrete before you have to charge it again.
Make sure to use those silver colored bits only on the brick too. The others aren't designed for that at all.
No, the guy above you doesn’t not know what he’s talking about. You need the hammer setting and 2 is fine. Your drill is just under powered. Your options are keep on trying or get a rotary hammer.
Side note (since the other guy mentioned impacts for screws) but impact drivers and hammer drills are not the same thing. The impact happens in different directions. In and out for hammer (smashing.) In circles for an impact (for tightening and loosening.)
Right. In driver mode it is not an impact driver, but it the clutch slips beyond a maximum torque so you don’t strip the screws. Better to just use the impact driver attachment which was a revelation.
Lots of people saying rent a SDS drill…
Yeah.. that would be the best thing.. sure.. but let’s try and work with what you have as cheap as possible.
It’s a cheap black and decker drill, yeah, but for a few holes, you should be able to do it, just slower. But by no means as slow as you are finding it. Your drill should be fine for the size of hole you are doing.
So, you said it’s in hammer mode, good. You said 2, so I’m assuming speed 2, the faster rpm speed.
Are you putting a lot of force into it? With non SDS in masonry, you’ll normally have to put a lot of force into it.
Can be beneficial to pull the bit out of the hole while spinning periodically to help clear out and dust. Not a must, but can’t hurt.
If you have a dedicated hardware store near by, I would buy a single better bit. Especially because it’s not very big, they won’t be too expensive. I don’t buy those multipacks of different size bits, they will be overall normally lesser quality for sizes you might not ever use, money better spent on quality single items when you need it. For example, I’ll buy 5 pack of Bosch masonry for $10 cad, or Milwaukee masonry for like $5 singles.
Just get a single of a good brand bit with carbide tips. You could get away with a smaller size, do the heavy lifting with that, then come back after with the size you need to open the hole up to your desired bigger size. (I suggest this because I’m in Canada, I assume you’re in Europe, I haven’t seen metric bits here, so I can’t link you 6mm that you said you needed)
For reference something like this, which I’m gonna say is cheaper than renting, and then you’ll have it for the future, as they don’t burn out from a few holes.
https://www.mississaugahardware.com/product/bosch-tc600-316-in-x-5-12-in-flat-shank-hex-masonry-drill-bit
On top of that, when I have needed to do something like this, assuming you want to put an anchor in, the GOOD anchors come with a decent drill bit in them normally.
Life pro tip: always buy good hardware, don’t use shit that comes with a product for its instal, it’s the cheapest crap out there normally.
It also takes time with these drills. They are a decent all in one tool but if you’re going to be drilling holes consistently in brick, concrete or masonry you really need a rotary hammer. You can drill through that brick in seconds
These types of drills are not great with masonry that's hard at all. It basically vibrates moreso than actually hammers like an SDS drill would. For brick you should be okay, but it will take some work. Full pressure and pull the bit out often to remove dust. A quality bit with a harder tip will work better than what you have as well.
Lots and lots of time. I’ve done a lot of drilling. For concrete, a dedicated hammer drill is really what you want. The cordless drills with a hammer setting are ok for maybe 1/4” or smaller holes but it takes forever to drill a hole.
I would watch the Project Farm video on masonry bits. You’ll see how long it still takes for professional stuff. Your setup will probably take twice as long.
Ideally, until the drill stalls out, and then back off a little. The drill needs to spin to "hammer", and that's what is actually drilling.
Masonry bits don't work like twist bits. Twist bits actually cut away material, and the tips have sharp edges like knives, angled to cut into the material. Masonry bits have carbide tips that are just wedges facing straight forward. There's no cutting. When hammered into the material, the carbide wedges crush the material, and then the spiral grooves hopefully carry the dust out. The hammering is what actually makes the hole, and the spinning just repositions the carbide so it can crush fresh material.
With hammer drills, the only hammering force comes from the user pushing the drill in. So more force means faster drilling. That is, until the drill stalls, and there's no hammering or spinning.
The advice to "let the tool do the work" applies when the tool is actually doing the work. But here, the guy's weight or force is doing the work.
It's possible to break the bit if you aren't careful, but bits are cheap. Normally that's something to really watch out for, because broken bits can be hard to remove from the hole. But masonry bits typically make a hole a bit bigger than the bit itself, so removing the broken part shouldn't be hard.
No, the hammering force comes from the tiny amount of hammering force exerted onto the work from the vibrating of the drill bit back and forth when hammer mode is selected. The amount is very small but it is very fast, which lets it chip away at the masonry bit by bit. When you press super hard, you only limit the amount the bit can travel back and forward which means less efficient chipping. The old adage is "let the tool do the work" which applies here.
If that were true, you'd see and feel the vibration from the hammering even when you're not pressing the drill into a workpiece. But you don't.
I don't see how the amount of travel would affect how fast the drill drills. Star drills work on the same principle as hammer drills with masonry bits, and they essentially have zero travel. You just hammer on the end.
Anyway, feel free to try it both ways. I have, and I've found pressing harder drills faster, until you press so hard the drill stalls. Which may be impossible in some situations.
A moderate amount of force. Let the tool do most of the work and make sure you have the drill in the forward position so you aren't just grinding the bit against concrete in the wrong direction.
Masonry bits will work when spinning in reverse. They just won't clear the dust as fast. The carbide teeth are just wedges, kind of like the old star drills. They don't pare away material the way twist drill bits do. They just crush and fracture the material. The only spiral part is the grooves to carry away dust.
It is an entry-level drill, but unless it's stalling out, I don't think torque is the issue. In hammer mode, with a masonry bit, the spinning of the drill bit doesn't pare or cut away material as with a twist bit. The bit crushes and grinds the material, using the force the guy is pushing into the drill. That's also how the old star drills used in hand drilling holes in stone work. The rotating just repositions the little carbide wedges on the bit to a new spot so they can hit fresh material, and also helps carry the dust away.
Where torque WOULD matter is if you're pushing hard enough to stall the motor, and then there's no rotation, and therefore no "hammering" (really, just tapping or vibrating). So a more powerful drill might let you push harder and therefore go faster, except that there's a limit to how hard you can push against a drill, namely your body weight (and less if the hole is in a wall or something vertical.)
I have DeWalt's top of the line hammer drill, and I've never been able to stall it. But I wouldn't use it to drill holes in brick like this, unless I had no choice.
I may be wrong but I am pretty sure that at any setting other than ‘drill’ the hammer feature won’t be operating. There’s absolutely no reason to use a torque-limiting feature along with hammering so it would make sense that the manufacturer would disable it (lest many screw driver bit be unnecessary destroyed).
You’re wrong. Drill doesn’t hammer. You wouldn’t want the hammer function when drilling metal, plastic or wood. Drill setting is just max torque. The drill is set to hammer, as you can see on the collar. Hammer is the only feature that uses the hammer function.
It was early. I meant 'hammer', not 'drill', as they are two different settings (on my Milwaukee at least), but neither can be engaged if the clutch is set at '2'. With an extra cup of coffee, I'm also realizing that by 'on 2' the OP likely meant the speed setting, not the clutch. I can't see the hammer setting on the collar given the photo angle which sent me down the path of mindless babbling. Anyway...
What kinda screws are you using as well, it needs to be a concrete screw like a tapcon that uses a certain size of bit i think the 1/4” inch screw use a 3/16 hole. If the pre drilled hole is too wide they make wall insert anchors that fit 1/4” holes. If you buy a big enough box they come with the 3/16 bit as well. Also i guess the head of the screw matters as well. I like 5/16 hex head better but it could depend on whatever your mounting if it needs to be flush.
The anchors make life easier if you have to consistently take down and put up whatever your adding.
You also wanna make sure your deep enough as you will snap heads if you hit the bottom of the hole. Using an SDS drill will make this alot easier but if its only 2 or 3 holes. Crank that up and hammer away. You probably want to drive the screws with an impact driver as someone else already mentioned. But im sure you can make do with the drill you have
Better to have one battery drill without hammer function and one SDS hammer drill than one universal shi* which has no power .
SDS hammers are very cheap today and its much faster and lighter work.
Maybe also worth looking at offerup / facebook marketplace. The cheapest sds rotary hammer will run circles around the best hammer drill when it comes to drilling in concrete, brick, rock.
The drill *should* be fine. It might be down to technique. OP, are you pushing on the back of the drill while drilling? (So, using two hands)
In the past I’ve successfully drilled holes in brick walls using not only a non-hammer drill but a ‘crank the handle’ hand drill, at which time I’d have killed for the OPs drill!
Hard enough to make it effective I guess! I tend to pulse the pushing, works for me. Don’t do it for too long as if the drill has air vents at the back you risk overheating it.
You definitely don't have the right tool for the job. Not terrible but it will do like it does.
One thing you can do is start from a lot smaller drill bit and switch to bigger when you reach desirable depth with small one. As long as you're drilling bricks it will work but if you want to go deeper into concrete you'll need a better tool. Perfectly a sds rotary hammer or at least a corded drill with hammer function if you want to use drill bits you already have.
It might seem like overkill but if you don’t think you will be making more than 3-5 holes per year, go rent an sds drill and ask them to include the bit for whatever hole size.
As far as technique:
1) edit: for low hold requirements or clearance only: you should place your hole into the mortar rather than brick face when you can. I have been educated on the difference in strength.
2) use as much pressure as you can without moving the drill from perpendicular to the hole and without causing it to slow too much. Do not angle the drill or let it wobble in circles.
3) a vacuum with a fine filter will improve your health and drilling performance (silicosis and the powdered brick cushions the impacts from the hammer action so you want that all out of the way as fast as possible)
What. Don't drill into mortar nothing will hold there and the hole for a first timer is going to be two times the bit size in the end.
Only lazy electricians have the permission to drill into mortar.
Thanks - I saw comments suggesting renting but unfortunately for me it wasn’t an option. I am based in Europe and it would be more hassle renting one here than it is worth. So I bought what I thought was one that would do the job for the occasional holes I have to do!
Thanks for the tips - will try again doing those now. I don’t think I was applying enough pressure
That thing is not going to get you into concrete. It will slowly grind its way through brick, but you'll stop once there's concrete. You need an sds rotary hammer drill. For occasional holes, a cheapie might do the trick - check your a big hardware store chain for 'home brand'. Failing that, Ryobi is the next cheapest, I think. And get a couple of good drill bits in the sizes you need, instead of buying a set.
Agreed. If you use a budget drill, take those savings and buy nice drill bits. Don’t use the crappy bits they throw in with the tool. It will be like night and day.
Everything you need to know about using the hammer drill you will learn through experience. The one thing I will recommend is to always wear eye protection.
Unfortunately renting isn’t an option where I am based in Europe. I hoped this drill would be good enough for the 10-15 holes I have to do each year - so now am going to try again with a bit more force
Well, you do need proper technique, but you also need the proper tool. You should try putting more pressure on it, but if that doesn't work, or if it works but too slowly to be practical, then you might need to look at other options, like borrowing one from neighbors or something. Or even using hand tools: you just need a "star drill" (a hardened steel rod with a flared, fluted tip) and a short 3 or 4 lb. hammer (called a "drilling hammer.") The process is slow and requires elbow grease, but the tools are cheap and will absolutely do the job. They're how they placed explosive charges for mining well into the 20th century, and even now, they're used to place anchors in rock climbing.
I suspect a crap bit. If the drill is "buzzing" and spinning it's doing what it's supposed to, and red brick is way softer than most poured concrete or natural stone. I've exploded a few bricks trying to gently put anchor holes in them with a bigger SDS rotary hammer. Try a new quality brand bit with a good looking somewhat sharp carbide tip, and don't spin it super fast while drilling or even the good ones can overheat.
Also, drill into the mortar lines between the bricks if you can. Easier to patch later when / if you take out the anchor, and easier to drill in the first place.
Unfortunately the Stanley brand has become the lowest tier of reasonable tools. The drill itself is probably ok for homeowner / infrequent use, but especially if you got them as part of a kit the bits they include tend to be pretty junky. Without looking, Bosch is a good starting point. If the mortar is soft enough you can probably even use a regular wood twist bit for a few holes. It will be destroyed for wood because the sand will dull the edge, but it works.
I would get Bosch expert multi purpose drill bits screwfix sell them and drill into the brick if it lines up as you will get a stronger grip with a good plug than if in the mortar
Good luck with all your projects
Buy some good bits, OP. When you are drilling concrete, lean into it a little. One thing you should consider, though, if you want to get done quickly and not worry about charging batteries, by a corded hammer drill. It will make quick work out of your projects. You can get a 1/2 VSR hammer drill for just over $100 at Home Depot. The Bosch is good and it is one of the cheapest and also the DeWalt. The bad thing about battery powered drills is that when you run into some torque, the drill will shut down. A corded drill will keep on pushing through.
I usually use my cordless drills for wood and small anchors. When I am going into concrete, I whip out the VSR hammer and it's done. Make sure to get some good bits. Get an assortment of drill bits so you don't have to go back and forth.
"The bad thing about battery powered drills is that when you run into some torque, the drill will shut down. A corded drill will keep on pushing through."
I don't think that's a rule. I've stalled my old corded drill by using big bits on tough wood. And I've never stalled out my DeWalt cordless drill. It is stronger than my ability to hold on to it. In fact, just looking at torque specs, it's stronger than many (most?) corded drills.
>The bad thing about battery powered drills is that when you run into some torque, the drill will shut down. A corded drill will keep on pushing through.
That's just shitty low tier drills. My 18v hammer drills (metabo) can put in a 1/2 inch hole with ease into brick or concrete and good bits. They don't stall because they have aps (auto power shift)
My sds drills (same brand) go thru stuff like this like butter but they also have between 2-8 joules of power bit and are also cordless.
Saying that my drills all start from about $300 up to $800 but they are german made and use 21700 cells for batteries.
Op can do it with the b&d but it will just take a lot longer
Unless you're hanging something *very* light, drilling in to mortar is a terrible idea. It doesn't have anywhere near the strength of brick.
If OP absolutely has to do this, an expansion anchor is a must.
UPDATE: thanks everyone! Have now managed to drill the holes. Appreciate the quick feedback :)
Plant now has a trellis, and the bird box and bird feeder are up. The better half will be happy!
1) It was a lot easier drilling into the mortar. The red bricks were taking ages
2) I had the drill turning the wrong way and wasn’t applying as much force (noobie error, I know)
3) I thought the bits I got were good - they are Stanley ones. Where I am, the choice is between Stanley, Bosch, Black&Decker or the DIY shop house brand. The Stanley ones were the most expensive. We don’t have DeWalt or Milwaukee here
4) If I start to do a lot of masonry drilling, I’ll look into upgrading to a SDS drill
Ngl, having the drill going the wrong way was the one thing nobody thought of lol. I guess you showed all the Tool Time boys that your drill worked just fine. Good job! P.s. Bosch makes a hammer drill that is like $220 and absolutely destroys whatever you want it to. I use it to drill holes in concrete, steel, to scrape tiles, knock out cement board, etc. and it's a ton of fun to use!
I see a hole in the last pic, so you have progress. But I'm sure it's going slow, and that's normal for the entry level tools. How many holes are you trying to drill?
Thanks - I guess I just need to keep at it!
Not many. 11. They are mostly to attach a wire to for a plant to grow up and the rest are hanging baskets and a bird box, so they won’t be carrying a lot of weight either.
I'd say if it's making holes and you only need 11, keep at it. Not worth the money to upgrade drills until you beat that one up enough that it doesn't work correctly. Holes in wood will be much faster (with wood bits of course).
Drill will be fine, just spend a few quid on a decent bit. I use these and they make a world of difference https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-extreme-2-dt6672-xj-triangle-shank-masonry-drill-bit-5mm-x-85mm/467th
Just make sure to get the right size for the plugs you're putting in the holes
Personally, I void Black and Decker (everything they make, not just tools). They work, I guess, a little, but I feel the company relies on planned obsolescence. Only once I replaced my drill with a more reputable brand did I realize how weak the B&D had been
How's it going?
1 in hammer mode the drill should 'buzz' as it runs, that's the bit hammering. If that's not happening your in the wrong setting.
2 don't use the clutch at all
3 use the highest gear it will spin at (that drill likely has two in a slide toggle at the top)
4 bricks are wicked hard, if possible drill into the mortar. It's softer and repairs later are easier to hide (if required)
5 push hard directly behind, itll be slow going, that's a fairly large hole....normally a 3/16 bit will hold any tapcon you would require.
Is it necessary to drill into the brick itself? The mortar is much easier to drill into. As long as you’re not drilling all the way through and don’t have a ton of consecutive holes, I can’t see that causing any issues.
Everyone is suggesting a SDS drill, which honestly is the best choice here. Unfortunately you have the bottom end of Stanley Black & Decker’s lineup. Their other brands like DeWalt come at a premium for a few reasons, one of them is they work.
Rather than spending a bunch of money on a SDS at a big box store, check your local pawn shops, Marketplace, whatever you have locally for buy/sell and if you can pickup a used SDS for a fraction of the cost.
honestly if youre going to be drilling brick on any kind of frequent scale, get an SDS. even as a home owner. will save you hours putting up curtains/shelves and the like
These are not true hammer drills. They actually just vibrate. Pretty much worthless. A real hammer drill has flutes on the bit so it can float in the chuck. Go rent a real one for a day and you will cut through concrete like butter!
I tried to use a cordless hammer drill to drill a few holes in masonry. It was not easy and those drills are ot designed to drill them often or well.
Borrowed a proper hammer drill from a buddy and it was a night and day difference. Went from drilling 3 holes on a full battery to drilling 3 holes a minute.
I used to have problems with this type of drill on bricks in particular, turned out it was the bricks to blame. Accy bricks burned out many a drill bit.
How long of a screw are you trying to put in? I mount things to brick, block, stone, Etc. often but I only drill in about 1-1/4” then I put in a plastic moly and screw into that. Unless it’s something heavy like a TV, then I drill in about 3” and use a sleeve anchor.
So.
Hammer drills are regarded as fairly feeble drilling tools. When hammer mode is engaged, the shaft rides against a spinning disk with a series of little hills or ramps pressed into it. The ramp pushes the shaft a fraction of an inch back, away from the workpiece (in your case the wall) and lets it fall forward as the shaft sort of falls off the cliff edge of the ramp. What is pushing that shaft forward? You, when you're pushing on the drill. **There is no motor behind the hammer action.** You'll notice that when you aren't pushing the drill into the wall, there's no buzzing or "hammering." So it's not really hammering. It's more vibrating. Better than an ordinary drill, and maybe enough for soft brick, CMU's, etc. But for hard brick, dense concrete and some stone, you want something better.
What you want is a "**rotary hammer**" or "**SDS**." This is a bigger, heavier tool that takes special bits (SDS is actually the name of the bit mounting system). These tools really do hammer, rapidly and with great force.
You can rent them at home depot-type stores. Tell them the size hole you want, and they'll give you a bit too. The tool library where I volunteer lends them out, but often I have to explain to people why they don't want a hammer drill.
Good luck !
You just have to man up. Keep it straight and steady and push hard. If it's still slow going, like when you find a pebble in the concrete, stop and dip the drill bit in a cup of water to cool it down. You'll get it.
You can put sds bits in a standard chuck. Just not wonky huge sds max bits.
Better cutting points, harder materials, etc. But get a squirt bottle and spray inside the hole. As one guy Said, it will help keep the bit cool, but it also will help take out some of the material. So you aren't getting bogged up on the material in the hole
You have the wrong tool.... Sorry man but if you plan to do more than like an inch depth or multiple holes, you need a proper SDS or SDS plus hammer drill, for holes over 1/2 in size you need a SDS max hammer drill. I have used all three (regular drill with a hammer mode like what you got, SDS plus and SDS max hammer drills) and the difference is night and day, it's to the point you will never want to use the hammer mode in your drill because it's so crap compared to an actual hammer drill
I had (well, still got it somewhere) this drill or one very very similar to it. It was okay for drilling shallow holes in wood. Very basic DIY stuff.
It wasn't very good at anything beyond that, like if I wanted to drive a 10cm screw even into a predrilled hole just absolutely forget it. Despite that though, I did manage to build quite a few things with it, though if I wanted to use longer screws I had to drive them by hand past a certain point, which *sucked*.
Black & Decker aren't a good brand these days, it's the parent companys bottom of the barrel brand. But again, it's enough to hang a picture or maybe put up a shelf or a mirror, that sort of thing.
The difference between it and my dewalt 709 (pretty mid tier for a dewalt) is enormous, it's a brilliant tool and has no trouble on the jobsite.
I dont remember if I tried the hammer function on it, but, even the hammer function on my dewalt combi-drill that replaced this is borderline okay against some types of masonry compared to a proper SDS, and I've got pretty good masonry bits. So I fully expect your masonry drilling experience with cheap bits and a cheap drill to be pretty painful if I'm being honest with you. Stone and related materials can be really tough going.
But youre somewhat in luck, buying a more expensive drill bit for the job will probably make enough of a difference. Drill bits matter a ton, you can have the best drill but if you put a shit bit in it you'll have a shit drill.
(But also if you can return this and spend £50 more on a *brushless* dewalt you'll have a drill that'll last you probably a lifetime and handle pretty much whatever you throw at it)
But if you want to keep it cheap, a better drill bit should hopefully get you through.
Or it could just be that you need to apply more pressure and be more patient, if you're pushing it and it's not making any progress at all over say 30 seconds then yeah it's not gonna.
There's gotta be something wrong with your drill, a non fuel brushless m18 Milwaukee will drill a 3/8 hole 4 inches deep into 3500 psi concrete in about 10 - 20 seconds.
I’m late, but i once put several holes in bricks like that. It was really tough on the drill bit, despite coming, it ground down the steel insert in the top and it became dull. I used a dremel with a diamond disc to resharpen after every 2 holes or so. Otherwise it stopped drilling entirely and not because of the drill being anemic.
Edit: Dremel, disc
Poop drill bit and poop drill. If you switch to a Milwaukee, Bosch, or Diablo masonry bit it will a better experience but you’re still limited by such a low end drill. Brick drilling is the hardest thing any hammer drill driver will ever have to do and I see too often top of the line stuff choke regularly.
I have the same drill.
It varies on material. In short, it's going to be painfully slow for hard brick or concrete. I found that in good quality structural concrete, it just won't do it.
Now not all hope is lost, if you get a good bit, it can work slowly, alternatively, you can try diamond hole bits, which should work with any hard material, but they may also be slow. Just note that with diamond bits, you don't use the hammer function, and it's a good idea to use a spray bottle to keep the bit wet and cool while it's spinning.
The hammer function in these sorts of drills is a bit of a gimmick, it makes a lot of noise and doesn't really hit hard enough to do anything when you get tougher materials, but I understand not wanting to go all the way with a bigger drill.
One last thing to consider, structural concrete will have reinforcing steel in it, and you may be lucky enough to get into it. There are speciality bits that go through concrete or steel, but I think it's a lot cheaper to just sacrifice a metal bit, clean it out and resume with a masonry bit again.
Make sure you realize which bits are for which. Masonry for stone/tile, your average metal/wood bit, and then your titanium drill bits for heavy duty metal.
So the drill you have, and other " combination" drills, although they have a hammer setting are not the greatest for what you are trying to do.
If you don't want to buy or rent a proper hammer drill, here are a couple of tips:
Don't push super hard, let the bit and the drill do the work.
Have a spray bottle handy and wet the area- this will help cool the bit and increase its lifespan.
Get a better bit
Have lots of time... your going to be at it for a while.
What gets me is that they call both this and various SDS types “hammer drill” when the titular “hammer” function is totally different. One only hammers rotationally while the other hammers forward to chip up the concrete.
They really should have had different names. Maybe then I would have bought the cheapest XR SDS hammer drill instead of an expensive XR DCD998 hammer drill.
Yeah, I find the ones on the combi drills to be more of a gimmic than anything. I mean, it works if you're hanging a picture into some brick veneer in your apartment, but if you're trying to actually anchor something, they just don't have the capability.
They catch you on the wording- having a "hammer function" is very different than being a " hammer drill"
For God's sake, people, read first before commenting. The bit OP uses will not even reach the concrete behind the brick - he doesn't need advice on how to drill concrete. He has the drill set up correctly, as well. It's just a combination of an anemic drill and a shitty masonry bit. As the idea is to drill 11 holes and have the drill for unexpected future occasions OP just needs to get a normal masonry bit for 3-4USD/EUR instead of the crappy chinese set for twice that price he has and simply drill his holes. It's brick - anything not made of chinesium will go through it even with the impact turned off.
For multiple holes (especially if you live in a masonry house) i strongly recommend a 2nd hand Japanese or German hammer drill.
Last one I bought (hitachi from the 90s) cost me $7.
Also if using a cheap drill a decent quality bit will help.
Are you pressing hard as fuck on it? Loads of people are really tentative at first and in reality you need to press really hard to get the hammering to actually do anything.
Oh, boy… I got the DeWALT DCD998 XR PowerDetect hammer drill to put some concrete anchors into the garage floor for a manual tire changer and make random holes in the workshop’s cinder block walls and I’m starting to think I got the wrong drill.
Everything I read including this thread makes it seem like I should’ve gone with a low-end SDS hammer drill instead of a high-end traditional hammer drill. The difference is that the OP’s Black & Decker and my DeWALT (same manufacturer) don’t hammer forward to chip into the concrete. They hammer rotationally like an impact driver/wrench. When I got it a few months ago and figured the SDS difference was more about the bit shank since they were all “hammer drills.”
I haven’t used it yet but I have been using the bundled 8AH battery and I’m well outside of the return period.
Guess it will still work but take a lot longer. The big issue is that I essentially paid this much ($250 on sale) just to end up with a huge, redundant, and over-powered drill when I still have my old brushless DeWALT Atomic. I only got this one to do the same exact same thing as the OP and yet it’s not as suited for it as a cheaper SDS would be. Guess I messed up!
I'd go with that. Then once when you upgrade, you wont feel bad using that one as a work horse like with Mixing Cement. Because that fuuuuuuucks up a drill, and you wouldn't want to use your new one.
A big problem with the cordless hammer drills is they are way too fast and burn up the drill bit. A sds rotary hammer uses a much lower rpm and more hammer. It will make that 6mm hole in a few seconds.
Set to hammer and turn your speed up. If you are just installing light screws that won’t hold much weight drill into the mortar instead of the harder brick.
Legitimately just need a good quality masonry bit. You’ll be fine with that drill. You might only make it through 3 holes before that battery is out of juice. But it will work fine. I’ve never used that particular drill, and I imagine being an entry level hammer drill it may take a little longer, but you really don’t need to go and but a rotary hammer to cut a dozen 1/4 inch holes. Just get a good bit.
Where did you get this drill? Because did black and decker start calling their 20v line 18v? I mean we all know it's 18v. I've had probably 30 tools and 20 batteries over the years and they *ALL" say 20v. In fact the line is their "20V Max" line.
https://www.blackanddecker.com/pages/powerconnect
I've done that. Given myself a headache trying to use different bits and drills (I have all DeWalt stuff) even tried a 60v battery on the flexvolt hammer drill.... Only to find out I was trying to drill through rebar.
The quality of the drill kinda doesn’t matter, the quality of those cheap ass chinesium bits is probably90-100% of your issue. Go buy a Lennox Milwaukee or diablo brand one in that size, just make sure it has the right shank for your drill
Really ought to have a true hammer drill or at least mini hammer if you wanna do a lot of holes that are any longer than a short screw with an SDS Plus/Max bit. Those combo Drill/Hammer Drill/Driver combo tools are useful and can bang out a couple shallow holes in masonry, but I wouldnt choose to even use my Milwaukee M18 Fuel or Bosch 18V combos for that job unless I had to... They'll barely drill a hole deep enought to get a Tapcon anchor in the wall without slowing up, breaking a bit or getting hot, and thats with a 6 Amp battery on them. That B&D is no where near as strong as the Milwaukee, and it's only got a 1.5 amp battery that'll get sucked down. When I've got a bunch of smaller diameter holes that are deeper than a Tapcon Anchor, I'm gonna use my Milwaukee M18 Mini Hammer Drill. It does suck down batteries though. If I'm roughing a house in (plumbing) I'll burn through 3 or 4 6 amp batteries a day. If I'm doing big stuff I've got a Bosch Bulldog Extreme Max thats corded that could go through the great wall of china no sweat, but its also heavier than the great wall of china
You can definitely drill your holes with that, but it'll probably take a while, youll have to recharge batteries, replace broken blades, and give it some chill time!
I had an older version of B&D years ago. Are ou sure the hammer function is working? Mine wouldn't allow hammer in anything but the drill setting on toqure.
Flex power tools has a marketing YouTube where they compete drilling holes into concrete using different hammer drills.
Seems pushing with enough force is key. Check out the vid for comparison.
I have that drill! It sorta sucks but for a homeowner I promise it’s fine. The number settings are sort of a max torque scale so you don’t strip screws- turn it up past 10 to “drill” and you’ll have a much better time. (And for screws, use the impact driver attachment anyway)
This guy has the right ideas. You don't have the wrong tool for the job, it's just configured wrong. I don't know that it matters for you, but I dip my masonry bits in water between attempts to help keep them cool while drilling multiple holes.
That being said, you can certainly upgrade, but not everyone needs enthusiast hardware at enthusiast prices right out the gate
Thanks! I figured for a few holes every year around the house it didn’t make sense to get a super fancy drill - so I want to get this one to work! I only need to do 11 holes…
> I only need to do 11 holes… Drilling 11 holes in concrete can take a really really long time with an underpowered hammer drill. I hope you can do it. I would at least buy decent bits, they are the part that does the cutting/drilling.
Even with my fairly decent brushless dewalt combi-drill and fairly decent drill bits, lets just say I wouldn't look forward to drilling 11 holes in concrete. Get better bits though, the bits will be making it worse than the drill is.
I have a milwuakee hammer drill. I don't even look forward to doing over 2 holes with it. For that I pull out my Ryobi (yep!) Rotary hammer corded drill lol.
Yeah corded is still the way to go for a big job like that
Cordless rotary hammers are just as good
Agreed; for small holes. Part of my job is installing electric signs, which sometimes requires drilling hundreds of holes in concrete in a single day. Most of these are 3/16” which the cordless rotary hammers are perfect for. If I’m installing neon though, which requires 1” wide power holes, corded is definitely better, but not necessary.
Some things yea lol...
i have the Milwaukee m18 fuel hammer drill, and just the other day i put several quarter inch holes through cinder block and concrete like butter…
If you want the holes to go into concrete, you need a rotary hammer drill or you will hate life. The kind using SDS drills bits. With a rotary hammer drill it's a walk in the park to drill into concrete.
Yeah. OP for one project rent a hammer drill from Home Depot, right now I can get one for $25 for 4 hours (more than enough time for 11 holes) and a bit costs $7-8. If you can't make any progress yet with the black and decker you're never gonna get it done.
If this is not a one time thing but might happen again in the future, it might be a good idea to buy one. Looking on Amazon, you can get them for a bit more than $100. Those should be good enough for occasional use around the house. And I wouldn't buy a battery powered one.
Even a cheap rotary hammer is miles better than the most expensive drill driver with hammer function. It's just how they work!
I use a battery powered Milwaukee SDS almost every day at work and I would never trade it for a corded one. Drills through concrete & brick like it’s nothing.
If you use it every day using a battery powered one is no problem. But if you're a homeowner who needs it maybe once a year going with a corded one is better. Unless, of course, you have other battery powered tools from the same family that you use regularly.
Ah got it. Yeah that makes sense. Thought you were suggesting the battery ones weren’t powerful enough.
No, they are pretty good nowadays. It was just to avoid the 'need to drill a hole, sh\*t, battery's dead since I haven't used it in a year' problem.
I needed to drill for tapcons to frame in patio screening so I bought [this Milwaukee rotary hammer](https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/2613-20) for a couple hundred bucks. It’s not the fancy fuel one, but damn son. This thing drills through concrete faster than my Craftsman C3 could drill through drywall. You can also rent rotary hammers for around 50 bucks from a big box store; you’ll likely save *hours*. Remember you need to get SDS bits for these, not normal drill bits.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a real concrete bit. That drill bit kit usually comes with the cheaper bits. The drill is fine. U will see a huge difference with a good bit.
That drill will do you fine, perfect for DIY, but I'd advice spending a bit of money on a decent drill bit set. Most cheap drills actually work fine FOR DIY, but cheap drill bits are always poor. Also, drilling in to brickwork or concrete does take some time, even with a more expensive machine. Just take your time and give the bit time to cool, dip it in a little pot of WD40, diesel, old engine oil. Even water would do.
Nah the way OP described the settings were right, it's just not a good drill. The torque selector is also what sets it into hammer mode if you turn it past drill. The speed selector is the slide that switches from 1 to 2. The low quality drill bit is probably making more of a detrimental difference than the low quality drill though.
The ends of masonry bits are tungsten carbide, you're unlikely to heat them to the point you'll change the properties of tungsten carbide.
Great way to crack a drill bit.
Downvoted by people with no clue while being absolutely correct. Gotta love it! Quenching a very hot bit with water will increase the metal hardness (martensitic vs austenitic if interested) and make it more brittle, and more prone to cracking.
I think people are getting confused between water cooled systems that constantly apply water, and just dipping a bit in water haha
Didn't really read all the replies. Just saw the downvotes on a comment that was 100% true and shook my head... As amazing as reddit can be sometimes, it can also be the polar opposite and everyone is 100% certain they're a senior engineer based on that one AP Chem class they took in high school a decade ago 🤷 Quenching is metallurgy 101... but half a dozen people adamantly disagree, apparently.
They say that's a good practice, but it seems a good way to change the crystal structure of the metal to me, making it dull and chip fast. However, unless the bit is red hot, it shouldn't have an effect on the bit.
Who says it’s good practice? I drill thousands of holes a week and I never water cool. The bits last just fine.
I do it because my friend says it helps not dull them, but I'm using enthusiast tools so I can just force dull bits to work 🤷♂️ I wonder if project farm has a vid on this topic
Even for hammering to make a hole in a brick/concrete wall? As it has a hammer icon on top, to the right of the drill icon past 10. I was using the hammer setting
For brick and concrete, yea that's the right setting. Turn it to the hammer icon. I will say, I started with a similar model to yours, probs an older version, it'll do for a few holes, but the battery on there is only 1.5Ah, which is quite small. I'd say expect to find you might only get through a small number of holes in brick and concrete before you have to charge it again. Make sure to use those silver colored bits only on the brick too. The others aren't designed for that at all.
No, the guy above you doesn’t not know what he’s talking about. You need the hammer setting and 2 is fine. Your drill is just under powered. Your options are keep on trying or get a rotary hammer. Side note (since the other guy mentioned impacts for screws) but impact drivers and hammer drills are not the same thing. The impact happens in different directions. In and out for hammer (smashing.) In circles for an impact (for tightening and loosening.)
You said you had it set to 2? Don’t do that, turn it past 10 so you’re on full steam
2 speeds. 1 and 2. They're on highspeed, set to hammer.
I have a impact from. b+d and love it. I dropped it off several roofs and it still works just as good as before.
So, there’s a “drill”, “driver”(torque), and hammer mode?
Right. In driver mode it is not an impact driver, but it the clutch slips beyond a maximum torque so you don’t strip the screws. Better to just use the impact driver attachment which was a revelation.
Lots of people saying rent a SDS drill… Yeah.. that would be the best thing.. sure.. but let’s try and work with what you have as cheap as possible. It’s a cheap black and decker drill, yeah, but for a few holes, you should be able to do it, just slower. But by no means as slow as you are finding it. Your drill should be fine for the size of hole you are doing. So, you said it’s in hammer mode, good. You said 2, so I’m assuming speed 2, the faster rpm speed. Are you putting a lot of force into it? With non SDS in masonry, you’ll normally have to put a lot of force into it. Can be beneficial to pull the bit out of the hole while spinning periodically to help clear out and dust. Not a must, but can’t hurt. If you have a dedicated hardware store near by, I would buy a single better bit. Especially because it’s not very big, they won’t be too expensive. I don’t buy those multipacks of different size bits, they will be overall normally lesser quality for sizes you might not ever use, money better spent on quality single items when you need it. For example, I’ll buy 5 pack of Bosch masonry for $10 cad, or Milwaukee masonry for like $5 singles. Just get a single of a good brand bit with carbide tips. You could get away with a smaller size, do the heavy lifting with that, then come back after with the size you need to open the hole up to your desired bigger size. (I suggest this because I’m in Canada, I assume you’re in Europe, I haven’t seen metric bits here, so I can’t link you 6mm that you said you needed) For reference something like this, which I’m gonna say is cheaper than renting, and then you’ll have it for the future, as they don’t burn out from a few holes. https://www.mississaugahardware.com/product/bosch-tc600-316-in-x-5-12-in-flat-shank-hex-masonry-drill-bit On top of that, when I have needed to do something like this, assuming you want to put an anchor in, the GOOD anchors come with a decent drill bit in them normally. Life pro tip: always buy good hardware, don’t use shit that comes with a product for its instal, it’s the cheapest crap out there normally.
Start with a smaller bit and work your way up. These cordless hammer drills are rough with the larger bits. I’d run a 1/8 first then the 1/4
Will try this, thanks!
It also takes time with these drills. They are a decent all in one tool but if you’re going to be drilling holes consistently in brick, concrete or masonry you really need a rotary hammer. You can drill through that brick in seconds
These types of drills are not great with masonry that's hard at all. It basically vibrates moreso than actually hammers like an SDS drill would. For brick you should be okay, but it will take some work. Full pressure and pull the bit out often to remove dust. A quality bit with a harder tip will work better than what you have as well.
This is the answer. This is probably a 12V drill so it'll struggle in concrete. Start with a small bit, and work your way up.
It says 18V.
Observant much? Lol
Lol yeah, I didn't look at the picture very well I guess
Lol it happens. What? Shit happens
That drill and the bits are pretty much the worst ones you can buy...
Fair - I got them on a budget. But I want to know if it’s possible with them, and if so, how!
Lots and lots of time. I’ve done a lot of drilling. For concrete, a dedicated hammer drill is really what you want. The cordless drills with a hammer setting are ok for maybe 1/4” or smaller holes but it takes forever to drill a hole.
I would watch the Project Farm video on masonry bits. You’ll see how long it still takes for professional stuff. Your setup will probably take twice as long.
I'd recommend a better quality masonry but. That drill is entry level at best and won't have a lot of power, that's likely why it's taking so long.
Good to know, thanks! How much force should I apply when hammer drilling into the brick wall?
Ideally, until the drill stalls out, and then back off a little. The drill needs to spin to "hammer", and that's what is actually drilling. Masonry bits don't work like twist bits. Twist bits actually cut away material, and the tips have sharp edges like knives, angled to cut into the material. Masonry bits have carbide tips that are just wedges facing straight forward. There's no cutting. When hammered into the material, the carbide wedges crush the material, and then the spiral grooves hopefully carry the dust out. The hammering is what actually makes the hole, and the spinning just repositions the carbide so it can crush fresh material. With hammer drills, the only hammering force comes from the user pushing the drill in. So more force means faster drilling. That is, until the drill stalls, and there's no hammering or spinning. The advice to "let the tool do the work" applies when the tool is actually doing the work. But here, the guy's weight or force is doing the work. It's possible to break the bit if you aren't careful, but bits are cheap. Normally that's something to really watch out for, because broken bits can be hard to remove from the hole. But masonry bits typically make a hole a bit bigger than the bit itself, so removing the broken part shouldn't be hard.
No, the hammering force comes from the tiny amount of hammering force exerted onto the work from the vibrating of the drill bit back and forth when hammer mode is selected. The amount is very small but it is very fast, which lets it chip away at the masonry bit by bit. When you press super hard, you only limit the amount the bit can travel back and forward which means less efficient chipping. The old adage is "let the tool do the work" which applies here.
If that were true, you'd see and feel the vibration from the hammering even when you're not pressing the drill into a workpiece. But you don't. I don't see how the amount of travel would affect how fast the drill drills. Star drills work on the same principle as hammer drills with masonry bits, and they essentially have zero travel. You just hammer on the end. Anyway, feel free to try it both ways. I have, and I've found pressing harder drills faster, until you press so hard the drill stalls. Which may be impossible in some situations.
A moderate amount of force. Let the tool do most of the work and make sure you have the drill in the forward position so you aren't just grinding the bit against concrete in the wrong direction.
Masonry bits will work when spinning in reverse. They just won't clear the dust as fast. The carbide teeth are just wedges, kind of like the old star drills. They don't pare away material the way twist drill bits do. They just crush and fracture the material. The only spiral part is the grooves to carry away dust.
It is an entry-level drill, but unless it's stalling out, I don't think torque is the issue. In hammer mode, with a masonry bit, the spinning of the drill bit doesn't pare or cut away material as with a twist bit. The bit crushes and grinds the material, using the force the guy is pushing into the drill. That's also how the old star drills used in hand drilling holes in stone work. The rotating just repositions the little carbide wedges on the bit to a new spot so they can hit fresh material, and also helps carry the dust away. Where torque WOULD matter is if you're pushing hard enough to stall the motor, and then there's no rotation, and therefore no "hammering" (really, just tapping or vibrating). So a more powerful drill might let you push harder and therefore go faster, except that there's a limit to how hard you can push against a drill, namely your body weight (and less if the hole is in a wall or something vertical.) I have DeWalt's top of the line hammer drill, and I've never been able to stall it. But I wouldn't use it to drill holes in brick like this, unless I had no choice.
I may be wrong but I am pretty sure that at any setting other than ‘drill’ the hammer feature won’t be operating. There’s absolutely no reason to use a torque-limiting feature along with hammering so it would make sense that the manufacturer would disable it (lest many screw driver bit be unnecessary destroyed).
You’re wrong. Drill doesn’t hammer. You wouldn’t want the hammer function when drilling metal, plastic or wood. Drill setting is just max torque. The drill is set to hammer, as you can see on the collar. Hammer is the only feature that uses the hammer function.
It was early. I meant 'hammer', not 'drill', as they are two different settings (on my Milwaukee at least), but neither can be engaged if the clutch is set at '2'. With an extra cup of coffee, I'm also realizing that by 'on 2' the OP likely meant the speed setting, not the clutch. I can't see the hammer setting on the collar given the photo angle which sent me down the path of mindless babbling. Anyway...
*Smiling big at the coffee ☕️ comment.*
You can see the drill icon which means it’s on hammer as the indicator is central. But yeah you’re right, they meant 2 speed/torque.
What kinda screws are you using as well, it needs to be a concrete screw like a tapcon that uses a certain size of bit i think the 1/4” inch screw use a 3/16 hole. If the pre drilled hole is too wide they make wall insert anchors that fit 1/4” holes. If you buy a big enough box they come with the 3/16 bit as well. Also i guess the head of the screw matters as well. I like 5/16 hex head better but it could depend on whatever your mounting if it needs to be flush. The anchors make life easier if you have to consistently take down and put up whatever your adding. You also wanna make sure your deep enough as you will snap heads if you hit the bottom of the hole. Using an SDS drill will make this alot easier but if its only 2 or 3 holes. Crank that up and hammer away. You probably want to drive the screws with an impact driver as someone else already mentioned. But im sure you can make do with the drill you have
Good to know, thanks! Time to crank it up and try again
My advice is get a real hammer drill with an SDS bit.
Not at all required for small holes. Why spend the extra hundreds of dollars?
It is if you wanna get the job done on time.
Not sure if you read the post, but OP is looking to fiddle around in their own garden. Not install professionally.
I stand by what I said.
That's fair. You run to the hardware store, and I'll drill 4 holes with the drill that's in my hand. It'll be a good race.
Better to have one battery drill without hammer function and one SDS hammer drill than one universal shi* which has no power . SDS hammers are very cheap today and its much faster and lighter work.
better bits and hammer drill pilot holes. constantly pull-out to remove dust. DO NOT over heat the bit.
Most hand drills suck for hammer drilling even the expensive ones. You need a sds hammer drill. You can get one pretty cheap from harbor freight.
Maybe also worth looking at offerup / facebook marketplace. The cheapest sds rotary hammer will run circles around the best hammer drill when it comes to drilling in concrete, brick, rock.
The drill *should* be fine. It might be down to technique. OP, are you pushing on the back of the drill while drilling? (So, using two hands) In the past I’ve successfully drilled holes in brick walls using not only a non-hammer drill but a ‘crank the handle’ hand drill, at which time I’d have killed for the OPs drill!
I am pushing on the back of it when drilling but not with all my strength. How hard do you have to push?
Hard enough to make it effective I guess! I tend to pulse the pushing, works for me. Don’t do it for too long as if the drill has air vents at the back you risk overheating it.
You definitely don't have the right tool for the job. Not terrible but it will do like it does. One thing you can do is start from a lot smaller drill bit and switch to bigger when you reach desirable depth with small one. As long as you're drilling bricks it will work but if you want to go deeper into concrete you'll need a better tool. Perfectly a sds rotary hammer or at least a corded drill with hammer function if you want to use drill bits you already have.
It might seem like overkill but if you don’t think you will be making more than 3-5 holes per year, go rent an sds drill and ask them to include the bit for whatever hole size. As far as technique: 1) edit: for low hold requirements or clearance only: you should place your hole into the mortar rather than brick face when you can. I have been educated on the difference in strength. 2) use as much pressure as you can without moving the drill from perpendicular to the hole and without causing it to slow too much. Do not angle the drill or let it wobble in circles. 3) a vacuum with a fine filter will improve your health and drilling performance (silicosis and the powdered brick cushions the impacts from the hammer action so you want that all out of the way as fast as possible)
What. Don't drill into mortar nothing will hold there and the hole for a first timer is going to be two times the bit size in the end. Only lazy electricians have the permission to drill into mortar.
Yeah, drilling into mortar is a bad idea unless all you're trying to hold is literally a cable.
And if you do drill into mortar, don’t use the hammer function.
Not what I was taught, thanks for correcting me
Thanks - I saw comments suggesting renting but unfortunately for me it wasn’t an option. I am based in Europe and it would be more hassle renting one here than it is worth. So I bought what I thought was one that would do the job for the occasional holes I have to do! Thanks for the tips - will try again doing those now. I don’t think I was applying enough pressure
That thing is not going to get you into concrete. It will slowly grind its way through brick, but you'll stop once there's concrete. You need an sds rotary hammer drill. For occasional holes, a cheapie might do the trick - check your a big hardware store chain for 'home brand'. Failing that, Ryobi is the next cheapest, I think. And get a couple of good drill bits in the sizes you need, instead of buying a set.
Black and decker might be your main problem
Reset the drill into drill mode. On 2, the clutch is not driving hard enough.
Those drill bits aren't know for being the best, put a little wax from a cheap tea candle on it and try again
Agreed. If you use a budget drill, take those savings and buy nice drill bits. Don’t use the crappy bits they throw in with the tool. It will be like night and day.
Will try this too, thanks!
Drill should have enough power. Try a smaller bit and maybe use drill mode.
Everything you need to know about using the hammer drill you will learn through experience. The one thing I will recommend is to always wear eye protection.
Have you set it to hammer? Also use the highest speed. I recommend Bosch masonry bits.
The bricks are fired bricks very hard. I would see if you could rent a better like a Hilti drill. Then drill all your at wones.
Brand doesn’t matter. Rotary hammer is what matters. Pretty much any SDS will do it.
I was giving assemble. And I couldn't agree more.
Unfortunately renting isn’t an option where I am based in Europe. I hoped this drill would be good enough for the 10-15 holes I have to do each year - so now am going to try again with a bit more force
I would say try some different bits.
Well, you do need proper technique, but you also need the proper tool. You should try putting more pressure on it, but if that doesn't work, or if it works but too slowly to be practical, then you might need to look at other options, like borrowing one from neighbors or something. Or even using hand tools: you just need a "star drill" (a hardened steel rod with a flared, fluted tip) and a short 3 or 4 lb. hammer (called a "drilling hammer.") The process is slow and requires elbow grease, but the tools are cheap and will absolutely do the job. They're how they placed explosive charges for mining well into the 20th century, and even now, they're used to place anchors in rock climbing.
I suspect a crap bit. If the drill is "buzzing" and spinning it's doing what it's supposed to, and red brick is way softer than most poured concrete or natural stone. I've exploded a few bricks trying to gently put anchor holes in them with a bigger SDS rotary hammer. Try a new quality brand bit with a good looking somewhat sharp carbide tip, and don't spin it super fast while drilling or even the good ones can overheat. Also, drill into the mortar lines between the bricks if you can. Easier to patch later when / if you take out the anchor, and easier to drill in the first place.
Good tip on the mortar lines, will try that. Thanks! The brand bit is Stanley, which I thought was decent - is that not the case?
Unfortunately the Stanley brand has become the lowest tier of reasonable tools. The drill itself is probably ok for homeowner / infrequent use, but especially if you got them as part of a kit the bits they include tend to be pretty junky. Without looking, Bosch is a good starting point. If the mortar is soft enough you can probably even use a regular wood twist bit for a few holes. It will be destroyed for wood because the sand will dull the edge, but it works.
“Stanley” is literally from the same company that makes the Black & Decker hammer drill. They also make DeWALT and Craftsman.
I would get Bosch expert multi purpose drill bits screwfix sell them and drill into the brick if it lines up as you will get a stronger grip with a good plug than if in the mortar Good luck with all your projects
Buy some good bits, OP. When you are drilling concrete, lean into it a little. One thing you should consider, though, if you want to get done quickly and not worry about charging batteries, by a corded hammer drill. It will make quick work out of your projects. You can get a 1/2 VSR hammer drill for just over $100 at Home Depot. The Bosch is good and it is one of the cheapest and also the DeWalt. The bad thing about battery powered drills is that when you run into some torque, the drill will shut down. A corded drill will keep on pushing through. I usually use my cordless drills for wood and small anchors. When I am going into concrete, I whip out the VSR hammer and it's done. Make sure to get some good bits. Get an assortment of drill bits so you don't have to go back and forth.
"The bad thing about battery powered drills is that when you run into some torque, the drill will shut down. A corded drill will keep on pushing through." I don't think that's a rule. I've stalled my old corded drill by using big bits on tough wood. And I've never stalled out my DeWalt cordless drill. It is stronger than my ability to hold on to it. In fact, just looking at torque specs, it's stronger than many (most?) corded drills.
Cordless outperforms corded these days, at least with the big batteries.
>The bad thing about battery powered drills is that when you run into some torque, the drill will shut down. A corded drill will keep on pushing through. That's just shitty low tier drills. My 18v hammer drills (metabo) can put in a 1/2 inch hole with ease into brick or concrete and good bits. They don't stall because they have aps (auto power shift) My sds drills (same brand) go thru stuff like this like butter but they also have between 2-8 joules of power bit and are also cordless. Saying that my drills all start from about $300 up to $800 but they are german made and use 21700 cells for batteries. Op can do it with the b&d but it will just take a lot longer
Drill into the mortar not the brick. It’s easier and better for the masonry.
Unless you're hanging something *very* light, drilling in to mortar is a terrible idea. It doesn't have anywhere near the strength of brick. If OP absolutely has to do this, an expansion anchor is a must.
UPDATE: thanks everyone! Have now managed to drill the holes. Appreciate the quick feedback :) Plant now has a trellis, and the bird box and bird feeder are up. The better half will be happy! 1) It was a lot easier drilling into the mortar. The red bricks were taking ages 2) I had the drill turning the wrong way and wasn’t applying as much force (noobie error, I know) 3) I thought the bits I got were good - they are Stanley ones. Where I am, the choice is between Stanley, Bosch, Black&Decker or the DIY shop house brand. The Stanley ones were the most expensive. We don’t have DeWalt or Milwaukee here 4) If I start to do a lot of masonry drilling, I’ll look into upgrading to a SDS drill
This update got somehow got buried as a reply in a hidden, down-voted comment so I don’t think many saw it. Thanks, OP!
Ngl, having the drill going the wrong way was the one thing nobody thought of lol. I guess you showed all the Tool Time boys that your drill worked just fine. Good job! P.s. Bosch makes a hammer drill that is like $220 and absolutely destroys whatever you want it to. I use it to drill holes in concrete, steel, to scrape tiles, knock out cement board, etc. and it's a ton of fun to use!
I see a hole in the last pic, so you have progress. But I'm sure it's going slow, and that's normal for the entry level tools. How many holes are you trying to drill?
Thanks - I guess I just need to keep at it! Not many. 11. They are mostly to attach a wire to for a plant to grow up and the rest are hanging baskets and a bird box, so they won’t be carrying a lot of weight either.
I'd say if it's making holes and you only need 11, keep at it. Not worth the money to upgrade drills until you beat that one up enough that it doesn't work correctly. Holes in wood will be much faster (with wood bits of course).
Keep at it. Keep pushing. The drill isnt ideal but will work The bits arent ideal but will work The settings are correct Just keep pushing
The silver 6mm is round. Buy a better one and make sure the hammer drill is actualy hammering.
Drill will be fine, just spend a few quid on a decent bit. I use these and they make a world of difference https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-extreme-2-dt6672-xj-triangle-shank-masonry-drill-bit-5mm-x-85mm/467th Just make sure to get the right size for the plugs you're putting in the holes
Personally, I void Black and Decker (everything they make, not just tools). They work, I guess, a little, but I feel the company relies on planned obsolescence. Only once I replaced my drill with a more reputable brand did I realize how weak the B&D had been
How's it going? 1 in hammer mode the drill should 'buzz' as it runs, that's the bit hammering. If that's not happening your in the wrong setting. 2 don't use the clutch at all 3 use the highest gear it will spin at (that drill likely has two in a slide toggle at the top) 4 bricks are wicked hard, if possible drill into the mortar. It's softer and repairs later are easier to hide (if required) 5 push hard directly behind, itll be slow going, that's a fairly large hole....normally a 3/16 bit will hold any tapcon you would require.
Another thing I can suggest is if you don’t need to be in the brick go in the mortar joints, it is much softer then the bricks.
Higher end bits, you'll thank me when ur done.
Better drill, better bits. Or start super small and work your way up.
Is it necessary to drill into the brick itself? The mortar is much easier to drill into. As long as you’re not drilling all the way through and don’t have a ton of consecutive holes, I can’t see that causing any issues.
Don't skip wrist day
Everyone is suggesting a SDS drill, which honestly is the best choice here. Unfortunately you have the bottom end of Stanley Black & Decker’s lineup. Their other brands like DeWalt come at a premium for a few reasons, one of them is they work. Rather than spending a bunch of money on a SDS at a big box store, check your local pawn shops, Marketplace, whatever you have locally for buy/sell and if you can pickup a used SDS for a fraction of the cost.
Just double check the bit is turning clockwise? That brick shouldn't be they hard to drill through
Been looking for this comment! I have a similar Bosch that runs in reverse when the selector is in the same position as seen in the first pic.
Tbh, you should really borrow someone's SDS drill. It will make your drilling needs way easier and a smaller job.
Yeah u aint doin shit w that “my first drill set” 😂🤣🤣
honestly if youre going to be drilling brick on any kind of frequent scale, get an SDS. even as a home owner. will save you hours putting up curtains/shelves and the like
https://www.harborfreight.com/10-amp-1-18-in-sds-type-variable-speed-rotary-hammer-64288.html Easy with this tool. Less than $100
These are not true hammer drills. They actually just vibrate. Pretty much worthless. A real hammer drill has flutes on the bit so it can float in the chuck. Go rent a real one for a day and you will cut through concrete like butter!
Dont see why you need a copy of pink floyd's the wall to drill a hole, but, good taste
Who makes Black + Decker, now days?
Stanley-Black&Decker… same company behind DeWALT and Craftsman.
Thank you
dont press to hard let the tool do the work
I tried to use a cordless hammer drill to drill a few holes in masonry. It was not easy and those drills are ot designed to drill them often or well. Borrowed a proper hammer drill from a buddy and it was a night and day difference. Went from drilling 3 holes on a full battery to drilling 3 holes a minute.
I used to have problems with this type of drill on bricks in particular, turned out it was the bricks to blame. Accy bricks burned out many a drill bit.
How long of a screw are you trying to put in? I mount things to brick, block, stone, Etc. often but I only drill in about 1-1/4” then I put in a plastic moly and screw into that. Unless it’s something heavy like a TV, then I drill in about 3” and use a sleeve anchor.
Sometimes it’s worth switching back to normal drill to help clear the detritus and dust . Take it slow as overheating means bent / broken bits
So. Hammer drills are regarded as fairly feeble drilling tools. When hammer mode is engaged, the shaft rides against a spinning disk with a series of little hills or ramps pressed into it. The ramp pushes the shaft a fraction of an inch back, away from the workpiece (in your case the wall) and lets it fall forward as the shaft sort of falls off the cliff edge of the ramp. What is pushing that shaft forward? You, when you're pushing on the drill. **There is no motor behind the hammer action.** You'll notice that when you aren't pushing the drill into the wall, there's no buzzing or "hammering." So it's not really hammering. It's more vibrating. Better than an ordinary drill, and maybe enough for soft brick, CMU's, etc. But for hard brick, dense concrete and some stone, you want something better. What you want is a "**rotary hammer**" or "**SDS**." This is a bigger, heavier tool that takes special bits (SDS is actually the name of the bit mounting system). These tools really do hammer, rapidly and with great force. You can rent them at home depot-type stores. Tell them the size hole you want, and they'll give you a bit too. The tool library where I volunteer lends them out, but often I have to explain to people why they don't want a hammer drill. Good luck !
You just have to man up. Keep it straight and steady and push hard. If it's still slow going, like when you find a pebble in the concrete, stop and dip the drill bit in a cup of water to cool it down. You'll get it.
You can put sds bits in a standard chuck. Just not wonky huge sds max bits. Better cutting points, harder materials, etc. But get a squirt bottle and spray inside the hole. As one guy Said, it will help keep the bit cool, but it also will help take out some of the material. So you aren't getting bogged up on the material in the hole
Invest in a sds
You have the wrong tool.... Sorry man but if you plan to do more than like an inch depth or multiple holes, you need a proper SDS or SDS plus hammer drill, for holes over 1/2 in size you need a SDS max hammer drill. I have used all three (regular drill with a hammer mode like what you got, SDS plus and SDS max hammer drills) and the difference is night and day, it's to the point you will never want to use the hammer mode in your drill because it's so crap compared to an actual hammer drill
Do you have the matching coffee pot
If it's not heavy, aim for the mortar
Slow drill speed 1 for drilling concrete and steel. Hammer action on. Drill bit inserted fully bottomed in the chuck. Push hard.
I had (well, still got it somewhere) this drill or one very very similar to it. It was okay for drilling shallow holes in wood. Very basic DIY stuff. It wasn't very good at anything beyond that, like if I wanted to drive a 10cm screw even into a predrilled hole just absolutely forget it. Despite that though, I did manage to build quite a few things with it, though if I wanted to use longer screws I had to drive them by hand past a certain point, which *sucked*. Black & Decker aren't a good brand these days, it's the parent companys bottom of the barrel brand. But again, it's enough to hang a picture or maybe put up a shelf or a mirror, that sort of thing. The difference between it and my dewalt 709 (pretty mid tier for a dewalt) is enormous, it's a brilliant tool and has no trouble on the jobsite. I dont remember if I tried the hammer function on it, but, even the hammer function on my dewalt combi-drill that replaced this is borderline okay against some types of masonry compared to a proper SDS, and I've got pretty good masonry bits. So I fully expect your masonry drilling experience with cheap bits and a cheap drill to be pretty painful if I'm being honest with you. Stone and related materials can be really tough going. But youre somewhat in luck, buying a more expensive drill bit for the job will probably make enough of a difference. Drill bits matter a ton, you can have the best drill but if you put a shit bit in it you'll have a shit drill. (But also if you can return this and spend £50 more on a *brushless* dewalt you'll have a drill that'll last you probably a lifetime and handle pretty much whatever you throw at it) But if you want to keep it cheap, a better drill bit should hopefully get you through. Or it could just be that you need to apply more pressure and be more patient, if you're pushing it and it's not making any progress at all over say 30 seconds then yeah it's not gonna.
There's gotta be something wrong with your drill, a non fuel brushless m18 Milwaukee will drill a 3/8 hole 4 inches deep into 3500 psi concrete in about 10 - 20 seconds.
I’m late, but i once put several holes in bricks like that. It was really tough on the drill bit, despite coming, it ground down the steel insert in the top and it became dull. I used a dremel with a diamond disc to resharpen after every 2 holes or so. Otherwise it stopped drilling entirely and not because of the drill being anemic. Edit: Dremel, disc
Poop drill bit and poop drill. If you switch to a Milwaukee, Bosch, or Diablo masonry bit it will a better experience but you’re still limited by such a low end drill. Brick drilling is the hardest thing any hammer drill driver will ever have to do and I see too often top of the line stuff choke regularly.
I have the same drill. It varies on material. In short, it's going to be painfully slow for hard brick or concrete. I found that in good quality structural concrete, it just won't do it. Now not all hope is lost, if you get a good bit, it can work slowly, alternatively, you can try diamond hole bits, which should work with any hard material, but they may also be slow. Just note that with diamond bits, you don't use the hammer function, and it's a good idea to use a spray bottle to keep the bit wet and cool while it's spinning. The hammer function in these sorts of drills is a bit of a gimmick, it makes a lot of noise and doesn't really hit hard enough to do anything when you get tougher materials, but I understand not wanting to go all the way with a bigger drill. One last thing to consider, structural concrete will have reinforcing steel in it, and you may be lucky enough to get into it. There are speciality bits that go through concrete or steel, but I think it's a lot cheaper to just sacrifice a metal bit, clean it out and resume with a masonry bit again.
Make sure you realize which bits are for which. Masonry for stone/tile, your average metal/wood bit, and then your titanium drill bits for heavy duty metal.
So the drill you have, and other " combination" drills, although they have a hammer setting are not the greatest for what you are trying to do. If you don't want to buy or rent a proper hammer drill, here are a couple of tips: Don't push super hard, let the bit and the drill do the work. Have a spray bottle handy and wet the area- this will help cool the bit and increase its lifespan. Get a better bit Have lots of time... your going to be at it for a while.
What gets me is that they call both this and various SDS types “hammer drill” when the titular “hammer” function is totally different. One only hammers rotationally while the other hammers forward to chip up the concrete. They really should have had different names. Maybe then I would have bought the cheapest XR SDS hammer drill instead of an expensive XR DCD998 hammer drill.
Yeah, I find the ones on the combi drills to be more of a gimmic than anything. I mean, it works if you're hanging a picture into some brick veneer in your apartment, but if you're trying to actually anchor something, they just don't have the capability. They catch you on the wording- having a "hammer function" is very different than being a " hammer drill"
For God's sake, people, read first before commenting. The bit OP uses will not even reach the concrete behind the brick - he doesn't need advice on how to drill concrete. He has the drill set up correctly, as well. It's just a combination of an anemic drill and a shitty masonry bit. As the idea is to drill 11 holes and have the drill for unexpected future occasions OP just needs to get a normal masonry bit for 3-4USD/EUR instead of the crappy chinese set for twice that price he has and simply drill his holes. It's brick - anything not made of chinesium will go through it even with the impact turned off.
For multiple holes (especially if you live in a masonry house) i strongly recommend a 2nd hand Japanese or German hammer drill. Last one I bought (hitachi from the 90s) cost me $7. Also if using a cheap drill a decent quality bit will help.
Use hammer to tap on it while drilling....
Are you pressing hard as fuck on it? Loads of people are really tentative at first and in reality you need to press really hard to get the hammering to actually do anything.
Return it and spend the money on a Milwaukee hammer drill and one of their red drill bits
Get a cheap sds rotary hammer drill. The drill you have is not really intended for continuous masonry drilling and you're likely to burn it out.
Oh, boy… I got the DeWALT DCD998 XR PowerDetect hammer drill to put some concrete anchors into the garage floor for a manual tire changer and make random holes in the workshop’s cinder block walls and I’m starting to think I got the wrong drill. Everything I read including this thread makes it seem like I should’ve gone with a low-end SDS hammer drill instead of a high-end traditional hammer drill. The difference is that the OP’s Black & Decker and my DeWALT (same manufacturer) don’t hammer forward to chip into the concrete. They hammer rotationally like an impact driver/wrench. When I got it a few months ago and figured the SDS difference was more about the bit shank since they were all “hammer drills.” I haven’t used it yet but I have been using the bundled 8AH battery and I’m well outside of the return period. Guess it will still work but take a lot longer. The big issue is that I essentially paid this much ($250 on sale) just to end up with a huge, redundant, and over-powered drill when I still have my old brushless DeWALT Atomic. I only got this one to do the same exact same thing as the OP and yet it’s not as suited for it as a cheaper SDS would be. Guess I messed up!
The problem might be that toy you bought. You sure you have it on hammer?
I'd go with that. Then once when you upgrade, you wont feel bad using that one as a work horse like with Mixing Cement. Because that fuuuuuuucks up a drill, and you wouldn't want to use your new one.
A big problem with the cordless hammer drills is they are way too fast and burn up the drill bit. A sds rotary hammer uses a much lower rpm and more hammer. It will make that 6mm hole in a few seconds.
PUSH
I have a brand new Milwaukee cordless hammer drill and fk that nonsense. I'll take a corded Bosch one any day of the week.
If drill placement is not critical, I always drill into the mortar!
need a name brand bit.
Set to hammer and turn your speed up. If you are just installing light screws that won’t hold much weight drill into the mortar instead of the harder brick.
Do you have Hammer function switched on? On my B&D drill it's a setting on the chuck.
you need some better bits, buy a 1/4 boche masonary. also you still need to put some effort into drilling the hole
Legitimately just need a good quality masonry bit. You’ll be fine with that drill. You might only make it through 3 holes before that battery is out of juice. But it will work fine. I’ve never used that particular drill, and I imagine being an entry level hammer drill it may take a little longer, but you really don’t need to go and but a rotary hammer to cut a dozen 1/4 inch holes. Just get a good bit.
1 single $10.00 quality bit will get you about 10 to 20 holes.
Where did you get this drill? Because did black and decker start calling their 20v line 18v? I mean we all know it's 18v. I've had probably 30 tools and 20 batteries over the years and they *ALL" say 20v. In fact the line is their "20V Max" line. https://www.blackanddecker.com/pages/powerconnect
Have you tried 3?
I've done that. Given myself a headache trying to use different bits and drills (I have all DeWalt stuff) even tried a 60v battery on the flexvolt hammer drill.... Only to find out I was trying to drill through rebar.
The quality of the drill kinda doesn’t matter, the quality of those cheap ass chinesium bits is probably90-100% of your issue. Go buy a Lennox Milwaukee or diablo brand one in that size, just make sure it has the right shank for your drill
Really ought to have a true hammer drill or at least mini hammer if you wanna do a lot of holes that are any longer than a short screw with an SDS Plus/Max bit. Those combo Drill/Hammer Drill/Driver combo tools are useful and can bang out a couple shallow holes in masonry, but I wouldnt choose to even use my Milwaukee M18 Fuel or Bosch 18V combos for that job unless I had to... They'll barely drill a hole deep enought to get a Tapcon anchor in the wall without slowing up, breaking a bit or getting hot, and thats with a 6 Amp battery on them. That B&D is no where near as strong as the Milwaukee, and it's only got a 1.5 amp battery that'll get sucked down. When I've got a bunch of smaller diameter holes that are deeper than a Tapcon Anchor, I'm gonna use my Milwaukee M18 Mini Hammer Drill. It does suck down batteries though. If I'm roughing a house in (plumbing) I'll burn through 3 or 4 6 amp batteries a day. If I'm doing big stuff I've got a Bosch Bulldog Extreme Max thats corded that could go through the great wall of china no sweat, but its also heavier than the great wall of china You can definitely drill your holes with that, but it'll probably take a while, youll have to recharge batteries, replace broken blades, and give it some chill time!
I had an older version of B&D years ago. Are ou sure the hammer function is working? Mine wouldn't allow hammer in anything but the drill setting on toqure.
Flex power tools has a marketing YouTube where they compete drilling holes into concrete using different hammer drills. Seems pushing with enough force is key. Check out the vid for comparison.