Whats your opinion on core drills?

[mrlennie]

Why the need? Is it just a speed thing or do you think the neatness accounts for anything?

 

[wheeto]

Less messy too - you're taking some of the wall out in a chunk rather than as dust!

 

[mrlennie]

Good point!

 

[Halesowen1]

Neatness firstly, as I have cored many a hole and the house is less than dust free some bricks will leave the house needing a complete wash down. I have been known to stitch and hammer out holes but prefer to core them.

 

[AWheating]

neatness really, stitch and hammer is sometimes alot faster tho. depending on the size of your hammer of course 🙂

nothing worse tho to see a big blob of compo slaped around a flue or waste pipe because its been knocked out and bricks have splatted.

 

[SimonG]

Neatness for me. But yes sometimes have to resort to the big hammer.

 

[Best]

Using a core drill means you don't knock lumps of bricks into cavity or chippings flying everywhere. Often is much faster than cutting by hand or electric hammer & trying to cement it up again. Also handy for drilling from inside to outside, where the hole is very high up - need to watch all clear below though! :uhoh2:

 

[tamz]

Diamond core drills are much faster (if you use the right gear) and neater than any other method with minimum making good. Hook it onto a vacuum and there is very little dust (solid cores without slots).
Cheap core bits are a waste of money and time.

 

[AWheating]

goto agree about that tamz, i normally buy marcrist. Hilti bits are the dogs but just to expensive.

 

[tamz]

i normally buy marcrist. Hilti bits are the dogs but just to expensive.

+

I've picked a couple of good ones up on ebay. Not a mark on them from when they fell off the lorry :lol:

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

as tamz says quality and falling off lorries is the key with good core bits,the apprentice had to cut through a stone wall 4 foot thick earlier,the 30 year old kango eat it no core would cope here,mind i think the boys a bit cooked now

 

[johnnyplumb]

Neatness firstly, as I have cored many a hole and the house is less than dust free some bricks will leave the house needing a complete wash down. I have been known to stitch and hammer out holes but prefer to core them.

Core from outside in, use long arbor. all the dust will go outside.

 

[tamz]

Core from outside in, use long arbor. all the dust will go outside.

or use a hoover attachment

 

[twistednuts]

I always used to stitch drill till i bought a core set up, thought core was ace at first then one of coredrills wore down so i had to stitch again. After this i'd never use a core again!
Theyre just a complete pain in the bum. Slow, heavy, dust hell and expensive.

Yes they give a nice neat hole, but if its 100mm flue then its easier and so much quicker to stitch as the pipe ring covers the hole. If the flue only has one ring (tight asss baxi or main) then i use the old core in me battery drill just to cut a nice hole in the plaster.

For inch an half or inch an a quarter i use tct on sds, obviously from inside, then from outside.

 

[Halesowen1]

This is what i meant in saying that the house needs cleaning, after core drilling up a ladder with very sandy style bricks the complete outside of the house needs washing down then, plus the cars, neighbours house and cars, everything. Granted not all bricks do this but some do.

 

[mrlennie]

Hmm I see the advantages and disadvantages thanks guys very helpful

 

[Deleted member 25704]

I have spent over a grand on drills (1600 W boshe) and bits. The bosche purchase was led by local merchant rep, when I told of problem of drills burning out - this drill cost about £750 with VAT, but turned out to be a waste of time - it was so big that it was really one that required bolting to wall. It broke down, but after about two years I complained that it was unusuable - Bosche gave me a smaller drill, which is probably about £200 and its done the job since.

However, I stitch drill most of time, because I really don't think that core drills save you that much time, they are dangerous to use on ladders, and the bits don't last five minutes if your drilling in hard brick. My big drill had dust extraction connection which I connected to my Henry - not much difference.

Conclusion - Core drills ok if smaller, and for holes up to 50mm

 

[Halesowen1]

If you want a neat hole then core is a must, I reckon I get about 70 holes per core bit (5"). My Makita core drill cost me about £200, that was approx 8 years back and still as good as new.

 

[mrlennie]

If you want a neat hole then core is a mustQUOTE]

Thats the thing..is a neat hole a must?

 

[Halesowen1]

No a neat hole is not a must for some, I do try and do a neat job, if you stitch and hammer out a hole and a brick breaks etc, then you end up patching and making a mess.
But obviously sometimes neatness is not needed. But a good core drill and bit and I dont see much difference in speed to drill and hammer.
So its what you like and see best for you, no wrong or right answer only opinions.

 

[Deleted member 25704]

If you want a neat hole then core is a must, I reckon I get about 70 holes per core bit (5"). My Makita core drill cost me about £200, that was approx 8 years back and still as good as new.

I was advised to buy the Makita, wish I had.

 

[Puddle]

£ 200 for a core drill !! Wants to last for 700 holes drilled,I think I paid about £40.00 for my last one a few years back,still going strong ,mind you couple of the good things about London area,old brickwork is really soft/easy to cut through and floor boards are not tough and grooved.so easy to get up,can imagine if cutting through tough walls in the north more,would not last as well

With the flue systems we have now,heights and the tight spaces we have to work in ,think even if I wanted to,would not be able to knock holes through wall by hand on about 15% to 20% of flues I put in

A core drill must pay for itself in time saved making hole and the making good

imho

 

[Halesowen1]

Puddle what i meant was 70 holes per core bit, my drill has probably done 500 Core holes so far.

 

[julesverne]

the amount of time a core drill saves you, more than makes them worth there while and money.

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

some of the stone up here is rock hard , old tenements with 27" thick walls .
sometimes worthwhile paying £50-60 to have it cored in 15mins by the pros rather than spend a couple of hours toiling through it myself. the pro cans are longer so require less stop-starting to remove cores and , and add extensions . they also seem to cut much faster wet or dry than the standard depth cans.watched them tapping and filing the tips when the core stopped cutting through the stone as quick, they said it was to re-expose the diamond edge, seemed to work anyway.

 

[tamz]

Craigleith stone:crazy:

 

[Phil]

I have a 127mm core bit and it goes through most brick and stone no problems from the inside out, but the pain is with a soil branch for example there always needs to be a 110mm elbow half burried in the wall so you need to go up the ladder with an SDS chisel anyway.

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

Craigleith stone:crazy:

lol , was going to mention craigleith in last post tam, hard as a whoors hert . what do the boys in the the granite city use ? it s a place i v never been , plenty graft up there though , seems to be recession proof with all the oil money .

 

[tamz]

what do the boys in the the granite city use ? it s a place i v never been , plenty graft up there though , seems to be recession proof with all the oil money .

Was just talking to a mate in the pub yesterday about that as he was working up there for a while. 1st one he did they cored it their selves.....5hrs. After that they got a drilling guy in with the gun on the jig thing. Took him 25 minutes!

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

5 hours .... ouch and a new can required ?

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

you ever used the place near falkirk that re-tips the cans Tam ?

 

[tamz]

you ever used the place near falkirk that re-tips the cans Tam ?

Is that the place down in Bonnybridge? I've heard they do some good stuff.
Never had one retipped (never really thought about it). I just buy a new one. Might do it with the next one.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

we have a lot of houses in wales built from tondu brick from the ancient long closed foundry in tondu they have iron ore in them you just cant core them

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

thats the one tam, scot..... something, never had 1 retipped either, maybe only worth it for the longer cans the drillers use ? they were saying tips last them a lot longer if they re doing it wet .
all the subs to the board got an email from the place at bonnybrig offering discounts . was after a hoover attachment but theirs was too spendy to justify buying it. bg lads have the scot stuff issued , quite a good bayonet system for coupling the can and extensions, but again a bit too rich for me to change from 1/2" , pair off bahcos, a size 7 and the floor 🙂
can you mind how much you paid for tyour hoover attatchment ?

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

sounds just like like some off the stone here gm, craigleith sparkles with tiny silver grains that look like metal. waste of time trying to core it with the gear we carry. get the pros in or dig out the kango and hope the grain is going the right way.
the way the old 27" thick solid walls are constructed, the random rubble from cutting the stone got used in the middle, dressed face on the outside and rejects and or brick on the inside face. the grain of the rubble rans all ways. before cores, stitching and kangoing or mash and chisel you'd end up with a 4-5 inch opening on the inside and out, with a 12" casum in the middle and 2 bags full of rubble. they don t build them like they used to.
glad to be working out off town the now, all nice council houses with brick cavity walls. 10 mins to core the flue, and all on the ground floor, happy days 🙂

 

[tamz]

I bought one from bes for about £100. At the time i was going to buy a marcrist shroud thing (i've got a marchrist gun) that was about half that but got the hoover attachment instead. You still get a wee bit dust but it is fine.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

have to get a dust extractor it does make a right mess coring especially red brick,i always wear a ffp2 mask as well the dust can knacker your lungs and cause silicosis which is often fatal

 

[Phil]

Dewalt D21570K 1300w 127mm Diamond Drill 240V - DeWalt available at Toolbox

This looks a good price for a Dewalt core drill, does anyone have one of these? Why is it £100 less than the Makita?

 

[PlumbingBud]

I have been thinking about investing in a good core drill for when I start doing boilers and fires.
Am I right in thinking a safety clutch is essential? And also, I noticed many are only rated up to quite a low diameter for diamond core masonry.

What sort of diameter would a typical flue be?

Thanks.

 

[tamz]

A clutch is essential for bigger cores. If it jambs it will break your fingers ......if you are lucky.
107mm fits flues but leaves little room for manouver.
117mm is fine as is 127mm.

Try using an 9" angle grinder for smaller cores. Very fast. Just keep a good hold of it as there is no clutch.

 

[WHPES]

Percussion core drills can sometimes make a mess of the opposite side of the hole when you break through. Diamond core drills make a neater and quieter job

 

[Phil]

Just wish those damn taper pilot drills would stay in, I've lost all mine down cavitys and its no fun trying the start off the hole with no pilot - if fact near impossible!

 

[tamz]

You are supposed to remove them once the core has bit in about a half inch.
Learn to use it without one. It is easy.

 

[Phil]

You are supposed to remove them once the core has bit in about a half inch.
Learn to use it without one. It is easy.

I know that now I lost them early days.

Whats the trick to a pilotless hole? Just start slow speed?

 

[Best]

Don't start hole without the pilot drill, then remove it when you have just cut core in as little as 1/4". I wonder if a jig of some type would be a good idea to stop core moving about? Wouldn't need a pilot drill then.

 

[tamz]

Whats the trick to a pilotless hole? Just start slow speed?

Drilling at normal speed, start at an angle and square it up as it bites. It is easy enough to get perfect accuracy after you get used to doing it.
Then again i've been doing it that way every other day for about 10 years so it should be easy.

 

[tamz]

I wonder if a jig of some type would be a good idea to stop core moving about? Wouldn't need a pilot drill then.

You can use a plywood template screwed to the wall if it suits you.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

have got me self a Hilti breaker last summer as some of the work I was doing the wall were 500-700mm engineering bricks ,few pilot holes and the chisel it away !
Normal brick wall I just use a 5" which gives me a room to play and adjust the flue to correct angle ( my 4" core has lost 3 toot's so no good any more ) the 5" one I got it for free with my drill .Using 4" is much quicker and yes ear defenders every time for me

 

[Phil]

Regarding the drilling without a pilot guide, when I bought a set of diamond tile cutting bits from Topps I was sold a water feed bottle and a guide which sucks to the tile with a suction cup and it quite literally 'sucks'.

Waste of money and the water feed bottle, its far easier to do what Tamz said and bite one edge in to start you off and in this case drip water on from a cloth.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

speaking of diamond drilling ,i did get the hilti product ! fantastic kit ! go to there web and see for your self!
it is expansive but it will last long time.