Core drills

[Riley]

Alright my plumbers from another mother

Know it’s been asked before but what core drills are people using. I need to bite the bullet.

 

[gmartine]

@IND Nick

Depends on the power rating of the Makita doesnt it, they can vary enormously from 850w to 1400W and are priced accordingly. Whereas the Millwaukee has a high power rating as standard.

 

[IND_Nick]

The Milwaukee is a DD2 - 160XE which says it is 1500W. The Makita is a 8406C which says 1400W.
So there's not much in it.
As said I have both and in my opinion, and the lads who work for me, the Milwaukee performs better. But both are good quality and will definitely do the job.

 

[SimonG]

I had a makita bought solely for coring. But now I just use my £99 bosch corded sds drill. Takes a lot of stick. Used it to cut about 80 6" cores in concrete 60mm deep to recess a wet room former.

 

[Ben-gee]

Blimey all those cores!! Why not just SDS with a chisel bit - actually last time I did similar job it required the 15kg breaker - but breaker must be much quicker than cores I would of thought?

 

[SimonG]

Blimey all those cores!! Why not just SDS with a chisel bit - actually last time I did similar job it required the 15kg breaker - but breaker must be much quicker than cores I would of thought?

Just trying to be precise. The concrete was 6 to 8 inches thick. Used the core method over a 1700 x 800 area. Sorted the waste, small pour of self leveller and then tile adhesive to stick the former down.
Tried my breaker but just not precise enough.

 

[Ben-gee]

Fair enough. I suppose it depends what former you have. To be fair mine was an impey, which you screw down. So I horsed out plenty of material then set it on sand cement- screwing down into sub base the following day .
Membrane down and good to go, mind you I cheated by advising custard so I could tile in 2” squares which follow the former nice and easy with no cuts!
Stop waffling me, waaaaay off topic.

 

[SimonG]

Fair enough. I suppose it depends what former you have. To be fair mine was an impey, which you screw down. So I horsed out plenty of material then set it on sand cement- screwing down into sub base the following day .
Membrane down and good to go, mind you I cheated by advising custard so I could tile in 2” squares which follow the former nice and easy with no cuts!
Stop waffling me, waaaaay off topic.

It was a rigid foam one. Nice when the tiles are small enough for no cutting. I always try and push the customer to a small tile in the wet area. I tell them it gives better grip under foot with the extra grout lines.

 

[Ben-gee]

Oooo the fibs we all tell to make our lives easier!
I agree, I had a punter asking me about nonslip treatment as they’d had a wet room done where the shower was basically 2 800x800 polished porcelain tiles split from the corners and was link an ice rink.

 

[Riley]

Marcrist DDM1 core drill thoughts or reviews please lads

 

[IND_Nick]

Marcrist DDM1 core drill thoughts or reviews please lads

I looked at this as a replacement to the Makita I have. It looks identical to the Milwaukee, even has the same case but is just a little less on the power front. I would imagine it is a pretty decent drill. We use the Marcrist core bits and dust extraction kit which both work well and make life a bit easier.

 

[Riley]

Thanks buddy I was thinking the same and I found a really good deal on it so I’m thinking it should be ok. I don’t do site work so am usually only drilling flue and condense per install rather than kitchen and bathroom as well. I have a friend that’s gifted me two big hilti cores too, only used twice but they’re 4” and 6” so need a decent motor behind it

 

[WC1]

We use the Marcrist core bits and dust extraction kit which both work well and make life a bit easier.

+1 for the marcrist bits and extraction makes a big difference.

 

[Riley]

Found a kit that comes with the extractor set for not much more £3-4 I think it worked out so I think it could be the winner

 

[Riley]

Just to follow up chaps. Bought the Marcrist DDM1. Used it for the first time in anger today drilling some really nasty hard red brick. What a machine, if I said it was like knife through butter I wouldn’t be exaggerating. Flue and condense drilled in under 10 mins. To be honest it would’ve been quicker but it took a while to change cores. Can highly recommend and can honestly say I don’t know how I’ve survived with an SDS for so long. Effortless drilling!!!

 

[Ric2013]

Yeah I've a Marcrist. Feels less ergonimic than some more modern-feeling kit, but no problems with it, and it's anything but underpowered.

 

[Riley]

It had a really slow start up on it that caught me out but once it’s up to power wow

 

[Ric2013]

How were you with hard reds? I find they can sometimes clog the core and I have to keep cleaning the core on a scrap of concrete - but then the job is easy.

Learnt this the hard way, after burning out a core bit 🙁

 

[Riley]

I just let the drill do the work and it sailed through

 

[gmartine]

Yes exactly, start forcing it and it'll snatch, what's the clutch like? Ric's tip about cleaning the core bit is a good habit to get into.

 

[Riley]

Clutch is brilliant. Not a jerk your arm out of the socket type stop just a nice power decline