You might have heard about a hammer drill at one point in life. However, most people do not understand what a hammer drill is used for. Generally, hammer drills are handy tools which are essential in lots of DIY tasks. Hammer drill helps with punching through different types of materials. They help make work easier and efficient. Hammer drill is a powerful tool that can help with creating bricks, concrete and other materials.
In this article, we will be explaining how to use a hammer drill, difference between impact driver and hammer drill, what are hammer drills used for together with other important things you need to know about hammer drills.
What Is a Hammer Drill
What’s a hammer drill? This is one question you have most likely asked yourself. A hammer drill refers to a powerful drill that is mainly used to bore holes through difficult surfaces. Hammer drills act and look like the traditional power drills with speed controls, triggers and standard chucks. However, they are much more powerful and larger in size. Just like the standard power drills, the hammer drills also spin in clockwise and counterclockwise direction.
The hammer drill features an extra hammer setting which activates a mechanism inside the drill. The hammer strikes the chucks back sending an impact down the drill bit length into the material that is being drilled.
Do I Need a Hammer Drill?
One question most people ask whenever it comes to handling home improvement projects is, do I need a hammer drill? If you have plans of doing any home improvement project that involves a brick, stone or concrete, then you will definitely require a hammer drill. Even when the project you will be working on does not involve those materials, there is a high possibility you will need a hammer drill at one point.
Can a Hammer Drill Be Used As a Regular Drill
Most of the hammer drills in the market can be used as a regular drill. However, it is always advisable that you turn the hammer action off. The feature is specifically designed for drilling holes in masonry, brick, concrete and much more.
Impact Drill vs. Hammer Drill for Concrete
Do i need a hammer drill for concrete? This is one question you might have asked yourself at one point when preparing to make some holes on concrete. There are two main choices when it comes to drilling holes into concrete. There is the impact drill and the hammer drill. In this section, we will be making hammer drill vs impact driver comparison.
- Impact hammer drill does use a rotating action creating a torque or rotational force. This action makes this drill an excellent option for fast drilling though difficult materials like concrete.
- Impact drills also come integrated with a hammering mechanism which helps in delivering powerful and quick blows when drilling. Percussion and rotation combination makes the shortest work of even the hardest concrete.
- Impact drills are made using heavy duty tools which can be a bit tough on the shoulder and arm after some period. They also produce lots of sound hence; it is advisable that you always put on an ear protection gear when using one.
- Impact drills use hex shank impact ready bits while the hammer drills are okay with all bits.
- The impact drivers are much smaller, lighter and shorter than hammer drill which makes them more suitable for use in awkward or tight spaces.
- Hammer drills do come with torque and speed settings while impact driver’s uses pressure sensitive triggers to help in controlling speed.
What Is Hammer Drill Used For
What does a hammer drill do? This is one question many people do research about. In case you have ever tried drilling either a tile, concrete or a brick, you definitely know how difficult the task can be.
Here are some of the common things about what’s a hammer drill used for:
- Drilling holes in garage floors for permanent fixing of power tool stands
- Drilling holes to attach mechanical system brackets to a concrete utility room
- Drilling through the basement concrete to attach framing lumber
- Starting and drilling of holes on slippery glass or tile backsplash.
- Drilling into concrete steps for attaching the handrails
- Hanging of the TV wall mounts, pictures or shelves on brick walls
How Does a Hammer Drill Work
Hammer drills have rotating heads with two or more chisels that strike the materials which are being drilled. The head is always connected to an electric motor which is responsible for driving the chisels. Whenever you pull the trigger, the electric motor will start up and spin the chuck which is holding the drill bit.
The hammers will start moving back and forth rapidly inside the tool’s housing. When doing so, they will be striking the drill bit end making it rotate at high speed. Whenever you press the drill bit tip against surfaces like concrete, the high speed rotation together with the rapid striking action of the hammers will make it bore into the material. The flutes outside the drill bit will remove any debris while going along to ensure you keep on drilling without having to stop more often just to clear the hole out.
In case you are wondering how to use a hammer drill chisel or asking yourself can you use a hammer drill on wood? Hammer drill uses the same procedure. Hence, you do not have to worry about how to use it or where to use it.
How to Drill Into Concrete with a Regular Drill
There are people who think it is impossible to drill concrete using a regular drill. They all believe what you require is a special hammer drill comprising of hardened drill bits. Although these tools will help in making the job faster, they are not that necessary. You will need some patience and a wider array of drill bits whenever you are using a regular drill.
- Step 1: Start by marking the center of the hole on the concrete. Thereafter, insert a tiny masonry drill bit in the drills chuck. Start drilling into the concrete by applying a steady pressure on the drill.
- Step 2: Increase the masonry drill size bit until you get to the diameter you want. Increase the drill bit size by not more than 1/8 inches at a time.
- Step 3: When you hit a spot in the concrete where you are unable to get the drill bit any further and back out increasing the diameter of the drill. When the hole is slightly larger, you can take a hardened nail, thereafter place it in the hole and provide a few whacks using a hammer to break up the aggregate you will hit.
Conclusion
As you are now aware, hammer drill is a power tool type that is used in creating holes in hard materials like bricks and concrete. The hammer drill is a rotating drill that helps in creating a hole by pounding the material with a hammering action. One benefit that comes with using hammer drill is that it is capable of creating holes much faster than the traditional drills. When in the market for a hammer drill, it is possible to go for a used hammer drill for sale as they tend to cost less than the new hammer drills.
