I've had only one experience with a Hilti, but I recommend them highly after wearing out one of those less than useful hammer drills, the type with the opposing steps. My experiences parallel those above---the opposing steps beat you to death and do precious little to the concrete (or rock) being drilled.carlquib wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:42 pm I'm a Hilti fan.<snip>
Been using them since I was a kid in the fab shop. I would stay away from anything that uses the opposing steps to generate the percussive force. I went down that route and they don't work to drill anything very hard. I generally look for something that you can select drill, hammer/drill or just hammer. The hammer only setting will give you a clue to how the percusive force is generated. There are also cheaper versions out there or you can just rent if it is going to be a one time need. Once you have experienced a real hammer drill you won't want to go back to anything else.
When I built the castle, I had a buddy from my youth do the plumbing, although I worked along with him, helping where I could. One of the things he asked me to do was drill the hole through the 10" thick foundation for the water main (which was 1" copper pipe). Having used hammer drills, I dreaded the thoughts, but he handed me his Hilti and I started drilling. I had a hole in almost no time, in sharp contrast to much shallower holes of a smaller size I had drilled on numerous occasions. How I wish I had purchased a Hilti at the outset, instead of wasting money on those hammer drills.
H