Which Drill

Hey Everyone I have been putting up some new sport routes and borrowing a friends drill. It is about time that I got my own. I want any advice you have on which drill is the best right now. Thanks

Jeremy

I just recently purchased a new drill that I haven't had a chance to use yet but the reviews I read were very positive. It's the Bosch 11536VSR (36 volt, lithium ion batteries) and I found a new one with two batteries on eBay for $405.
It feels heavier than the previous 18v Milwaukee I had but I'm sure it's going to be worth it to have the 36v power.
I read some good information on drills in this thread on the SuperTopo site before making my decision.

I am not sure of the name of the drill or the number but I believe it is the latest cordless Bosch hammer drill with 36 volt Lithium Ion batteries. 20 plus years of drilling and it is the best drill I have ever used. Good battery life and fairly light weight as cordless hammer drills go. Have done a few ground ups and it worked fine but it would be dicey in a precarious position as it takes a fair amount of pressure to engage the hammer mechanism. It is less force than a Hilti or the older Bosch Annihilator. It is also a little heavier than the old Bulldog but it gets more holes and a 3 inch deep hole only takes about 15 seconds in most types of stone.

I bought a Hilti TE6-A last year and I really love it. Hole after hole, deep and fast.

But its so darn heavy! I tend to like to like longer routes and the area I climb in has unclimbed rock far away from the road. So I'm thinking a lighter drill that could drill a few fewer holds would have been a lot nicer.

So before you jump on a 36volt drill of any kind, take a look at the 24 an even 18 volt hammer drills from Hilti. I think the 18 volt lithium is about $360. If you talked them into an extra battery you could drill a very long time. That would be very nice.

us.hilti.com/holus/modules/…

Last year I purchased the 36v Bosch Rotary Hammer Model 11536VSR . This is one wicked drill.They Claim 7.1 inches per minute and I would have to agree, even in harder rocks like quartzite. We have been putting up new routes in really hard quartzite and this drill is amazing. Also amazingly light for being a 36v. This drill has enough power/torque, all you have to do is apply a small amount of pressure and let the drill take it from there. Highly recommended.

Thanks for the advice. It looks like there are only two brands to choose from, Hilti or Bosch, so that narrows down the choices. Now I just have to convince the wife that I "Need" a new drill.

dont underestimate Dewalt. i have a 24V Dewalt that i modified and it pokes a hole quicker than the bosch. It is also a little cheaper too. i got mine on ebay for $200. left me money to buy a couple deep cycle lead-acid 12V packs. the stock batteries suck, so if you are not planning on supercharging it, than probably spend the extra cash on a hilti.

my dewalt is a bit heavy, so i cutoff all uneccesary stuff to fit in my holster. again, the trade-off is its got way more ass behind it than the bosch.

drill selection really comes down to end use, with the battery selection more important. weight, hole speed, and quantity of holes. if you are setting it up for lead bolting, speed of the hole is priority, but sacrifice some weight, and quantity of holes. if you are primarily rap bolting sport routes, than probably battery life (quantity of holes) becomes desirable.

in granite, my drill 'only' gets about 30 holes per charge (3/8" x 2-1/4") and fewer 1/2" holes. but i dont need any more capacity than that. if i do, than i have some solar panels to charge in the field. but it will drill a hole in under 10 seconds.

my too-sense.

I 2nd Darren's initial statement there. My un-modded DC212DA eats through 3.25" of granite at 3/8" in well under 10 seconds; and it's only 18v. Can't say anything definite for battery life other than trying to run it down at home i gave up after 20 or so holes and used the same pack and charge (forgot to charge it) for five more three weeks later on a route.

If you can find a used one the Hilti TE-10A 36v is the best drill I have ever had and used. Mine is supecharged on a 100ft cord and drills 4" x 1/2" holes in very hard limestone all day.

what if we're naturlist, or ethics person... or just climb with an old school dude, and would kill you if you used a power drill...

so waht about hand drills?

lucaskrajnik wrote:so waht about hand drills?

Does any one have instructions on how to modify a drill? I could definitely do it without instructions, but I would feel more comfortable with some guidance.

What part of the drill do you wish to modify?

Hilti TE-6a all the way. You can get a belt battery pack extension for it cheap. You can also get the batteries rebuilt and supercharged for 140 bucks.

I've used my roommate's Milwakee 28v quite a bit. It works really well.

Rawl hand drill: Bit's don't fall out and you don't fuck up the rock with 10 second holes. You think, plan carefully, choose a nice hard spot that rings when you hit it with a hammer. You spend up to an hour drilling that 3-1/2" hole in granite. You make damn sure it's a worth the effort before you drill.

Price wrote:What part of the drill do you wish to modify?

I have been drilling routes for 20 years and have used about every type of drill on the market. I would strongly recommend getting a lithium ion powered drill, preferably 24v Bosch. NiCad batteries basically suck, don't hold up in the cold, don't last for very many years unless you use the drill frequently, and are very expensive. The lithium ion batteries developed for the new hybrid cars are MUCH lighter and don't seem to be nearly as expensive.

A 24v drill should have all the cutting power you need and if you ever needed to you could modify the drill to run off of lead acid gel cells without ending up with a 25 lb battery pack. It is probably a good idea to be careful modifying any of the newer drills as they have electronics for evenly draining the factory battery packs in the switch. Reversing the polarity on a modified set-up can fry the switch, at least in a Bosch.

Sometimes folks will sell their drill on ebay because the batteries are shot, but if you look around you can find mom and pop shops that will recondition your batter for about $100, and they'll work better than new. I would go that route rather than buying new.

Regarding the drill modification - check out this page for some good beta...
fishproducts.com/tech/techw…

I second the motion for a Bosch 11536VSR (36 volt, lithium ion batteries). You can get good deals on reconditioned ones at bosch.cpotools.com