itsreallyconc

neal, no matter what size, it MAY be able to bust thru light wire mesh,,, if you're trying to hammer drill thru rebar, dick & i wanna be the guys selling you carbide bits willing to bet its the same in canada, too !

paul52446m

You are sure right about that. My hammer drill is a 1 and 1/2 drill and every time you hit steal theres a good chance you lose another tip off the drill bit. Thats why i always start with a small bit. I would rather lose a $40.00 bit then a $140.00 bit. Later Paul

nealtw

What I ment was, with a regular drill with a carbide bit will drill steel but could overheat in concrete witch melts the silver solder. I suspect that is what has happened.

JackJ

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I bought a cheap HF 1/4" hammer drill, as this was the heaviest work I'd be doing, and it's only for a few holes. But the instructions and the picture on the side of the drill differ as to which way one pushes the switch to make it a hammer drill! I called HF, who said that the manuals are often done overseas with poor quality control. So I went with the picture on the drill, but not sure if I was right. HD guy said I could tell which it was by the sound, not even drilling just running it, but I couldn't tell. Fortunately, I picked a new location that worked, and used that level for all holes. I think I have the right setting for the hammer drill function; don't want to switch it to compare and ruin a bit, though. Thanks again.

paul52446m

You can't tell by just running it you have to have the bit in the drill and push down on something like a piece of 2x4, one way it will hammer and drill, the other way it will just drill. Later Paul

nealtw

The smaller hammer drills only hammer when you push on them while you are drilling

paul52446m

isn't that what i just told him in my post. paul

JackJ

Thanks; I'll try it on some wood. That's odd that the guy at HD was wrong?

itsreallyconc

jack, you're embarrassing yourself & some of us, too,,, IF you EVER want to move on up off the 'junior member' status, remember this ONE basic dictum of home ownership - ' THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOOD CHEAP TOOL ! ',,, this is often follow'd by #2 - ' I NEED TO GET ( buy ) THE RIGHT TOOL TO DO THAT, HONEY ! ' this is how the almighty intended us men to collect tools.

NEVER listen to anyone wearing orange aprons or red vests even if they're got grey hair UNLESS they're young, attractive, nice smile, & have big tits.

ps - conc bits don't work well on wood ( #3 - use the right tool for each task ! )

nealtw

Sorrey Paul sometimes I don't get updates for hours.
I've had the same 5/8 dill bit for 10 years, hundreds of holes in concrete. when hitting rebar add water to cool the bit and when it slides sideways lots of work to get the bit out and the shank is well worn. The only diff between conc. bit and twist drill with carbide is how it is sharpened. You can be sure that Jack tried drilling the hole with a 49 cent bit in a reg high speed drill it worked good untill he hit the real conc. inside
and melted the bit.