Plylocks don't work for me. Need to put up plywood for storms. I was thinking the larger SDS type hammer drill, but a friend said it cracked some of his bricks. The smaller ones only run around $75-100 and use regular masonry bits. Any advice? I want to use Tapcons or similar.
Need to drill around 50 1/4" holes in brick....
- Thread starter rekit
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JHZR2
Staff member
Id think the SDS will be a better interface and capability. Not sure if some of them can be torque controlled. I have an SDS plus, and its a good mid-compromise. Its a bit larger and more powerful than a regular (cordless or corded) hammer drill, better handling for some work as a result... but also is limited by the SDS plus vs SDS max.
Brick is soft, so Id suspect that any drill will handle it fine. Are you going to be working on a ladder? Can corded work out for you? IMO the biggest thing is getting a good straight hole for whatever insert you might be putting in there. And dont press too hard.
Brick is soft, so Id suspect that any drill will handle it fine. Are you going to be working on a ladder? Can corded work out for you? IMO the biggest thing is getting a good straight hole for whatever insert you might be putting in there. And dont press too hard.
JHZR2
Staff member
Then I think an SDS type drill will be preferable if for no other reason than that handling it, vibration dampening, etc. will be better.
I have a Makita, got it in a package deal. Handles are bigger, better than a regular hammer drill... Though Ive used a regular hammer drill for far more holes than Ive ever used my SDS... But given that youre going to have a difficult time getting through this brick, something that offsets some of the vibration, and gives you a better grip is, IMO the better way to go.
I have a Makita, got it in a package deal. Handles are bigger, better than a regular hammer drill... Though Ive used a regular hammer drill for far more holes than Ive ever used my SDS... But given that youre going to have a difficult time getting through this brick, something that offsets some of the vibration, and gives you a better grip is, IMO the better way to go.
Find yourself a diamond bit and spring for that. When I had my custom wrought iron railing installed in Ohio, the blacksmith doing the work complained about how expensive the diamond drill bit was, but he said it worked great and went into that brick like butter!
For the exact same size in hardened old concrete and many holes to drill I used a corded Makita sds plus with a good concrete bit like Dewalt made in Germany. First I used a hammer drill a good one and it was so slow. The Makita literally did it so easily just drilled right in like nothing. The Makita wasn’t cheap but no regrets on the money five years later, it’s just a good reliable tool. The bit is not expensive in that size even for made in Germany. Mine is an older version of this one but cost the same then.
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Rotohammer pick your favorite color/brand
SDS-PLUS shank with multi-point bits
And the right type of anchors.....
SDS-PLUS shank with multi-point bits
And the right type of anchors.....
I own, drills, hammer drills Skill & Makita, non SDS, and SDS drills. Nothing can beat a Hammer drill rather than a regular drill. I have diamond and carbide drill bits. The key is a sharp drill bit. I take a brand new carbide drill bit and sharpen it using the diamond blade on my tile saw. The SDS are bigger, and heavier, and I only use them for bigger concrete jobs.
Have a look at this regarding the SDS. Enjoy.
Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and bought the $80 HF hammer drill. Thanks to you guys I practiced on some spare bricks and broke every one lol. Just when it was about 3/4" deep they would shatter....I'm gonna keep it cuz I have a small concrete area I need to demolish. I gave up on drilling the bricks and am going to use another method to jam some conduit in the space outside the plywood. If that fails I'll try the diamond bit.
A spare brick will blow out or crack much easier than one that is part of a wall. No different than trying to drill into a brick or concrete wall too close to an edge.
I'm not trying to tell you that you can definitely drill into your bricks you have without damage. But I am saying that without a doubt, drilling into a loose single brick is not the same as drilling into one in a wall.
I have no experience drilling in to spare bricks but there are solid bricks and hollow bricks. Most "newer" homes have hollow bricks. In a wall, the hollow bricks are somewhat filled with concrete making them less likely to shatter. A hammer drill shocks the brick especially a hollow spare brick but bricks shatter easily, they are not stones or concrete. You may be better off with a diamond drill bit using a regular rotary drill. However if it was me, I would follow the advice from others who have drilled in to bricks.
Take a spare brick dig a hole pack the brick in the hole nice and tight with dirt with only the face showing and drill into it. Depending on the soil the results might be the same (blowout), but it might just drill perfectly. Also if you can find a brick on an inside corner low (not at ground level, but low) and in an inconspicuous spot, there wouldn't be much harm in trying your hand there.
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