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nswelton
Aug 16, 2004, 5:50 PM
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Registered: May 30, 2001
Posts: 31
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Howdy -- Just wondering how important it is to have a Bosch Bulldog or other top of the line drill. I see there's a Craftsman 24v 1/2" rotary hammer drill available now for $220, which is a lot cheaper than a Bosch. Is it going to work as a rock drill? I'd be putting holes mostly in sloppy sandstone... Not really in granite ever. Are the Bosch drills really twice as good? Am I going to break a craftsman drill? It's pretty cheap, and hella powerful, so... why not? Please, real fair advice here... it really is a lot less expensive and awfully tempting. I can't fork out $500 for a drill.
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ullr
Aug 17, 2004, 1:16 AM
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Registered: Jan 29, 2004
Posts: 338
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My first advice is: Don't buy ANYTHING other than Bosch or Hilti. It is a waste of your time, and more importantly your money. You need a rotary pneumatic hammer drill, not some pansy ass hammer drill that doesn't hit hard. I have a Hilti, it's a beast, and pricey. If you are on a budget, buy a Annihilator and eventually save your pennies for a 3 amp hour battery. Bosch is a bit lighter than the Hilti, and much cheaper. If you buy a budget "hammer" drill, you will be disappointed. Sure, it will drill sandstone, but not without significant effort and time. I had a DeWalt "hammer" drill that drilled sandstone OK, but wouldn't even scratch basalt or quartzite. I got rid of it in the 90 day return policy and bought a Hilti. I repeat: Do not buy a cheap drill, you will only waste your time and hard earned money. Don't think you can cheat the common saying " You get what you pay for." Second tip: Do a search here. Tons of good advice and opinions.
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chalked4dyno
Aug 17, 2004, 1:26 AM
Post #3 of 6
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Registered: Jun 30, 2004
Posts: 150
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Unless your gonna be bolting up a hole crag, you may want to look into renting a drill. Check the Home Depot. Or, if you really wanna buy one, rent one first, see how it works. A few extra bucks, but will save you some guess work.
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andy_reagan
Aug 17, 2004, 6:48 PM
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Registered: Jan 12, 2004
Posts: 1075
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I wonder if their insurance you can buy (probably) for the drill when you rent it would cover you if you fecked it up whilst hanging on the side of a cliff bolting? Anyone know?
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peterpan
Aug 18, 2004, 3:21 AM
Post #5 of 6
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Registered: Mar 30, 2003
Posts: 36
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I bolted about 50 pitches in my life, most of them on lead, and I know all about it. First choice: Hilti Second choide: Bosch, or the private label Spit (same machine) Must be the SDS drill bit fastening system to get the bits in and out fast. Drill bit is another most important. Select the double flight bit from Hilti with a double blade tip. Combined with the performance of the Hilte drill, you'll get three times faster through any kind of rock. Moreover, faster drilling preserves the drill bit and battery longer, thus lowering your cost. I tried cheaper ones. Terrible experience, wasted full days. A reasonable other I tried, was the gas powered Ryobi. However, with that one, you can only do it top rope (pulling the string to start the engine).
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chalked4dyno
Aug 18, 2004, 3:36 AM
Post #6 of 6
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Registered: Jun 30, 2004
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In reply to: I wonder if their insurance you can buy (probably) for the drill when you rent it would cover you if you fecked it up whilst hanging on the side of a cliff bolting? Anyone know? I work indirectly for The Home Depot, I know they get a credit card and pre-authorise a deposit for some tool rentals. If the tool comes back damaged, they'll keep it. If the tool doesn't come back at all, they have enough of your vital info to sick a collection agency on ya. In a way, it's kindof like a mandatory insurance because the deposit is actually much less than the amount of damage that can be done. example: For a van rental, the deposit is 500$ (Canadian). I'm not sure what they'd do if you happened to cause more than 500$ worth of damage to the van. I don't think anybody would charge you if the tool was damaged in normal usage. As long as you keep it tied in to you so it doesn't take a 100footer, you'll be alright.
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