Had to choose between a hammer drill and a rotary hammer for a concrete job

Last month I was on a job in an old apartment building and had to drill through 12 inches of reinforced concrete for a cable run. I brought both my regular hammer drill and my buddy's Bosch rotary hammer to compare. The hammer drill barely got through 4 inches before it started smoking and slowing down. Switched to the rotary hammer and it went through like butter in under 2 minutes. Anyone else find themselves carrying both just in case or do you pick one and stick with it?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomasgonzalez6d ago

Honestly, why wouldn't you just grab the rotary hammer for concrete and leave the regular hammer drill for wood and metal? Ngl, I learned that lesson the hard way too. I used to think my hammer drill was tough enough for everything until I almost burned up a motor on a 6 inch slab. Now I just keep the rotary hammer in my truck for any concrete jobs, big or small. Tbh, a hammer drill can handle brick and some softer stone, but for reinforced concrete like you're talking about, the rotary hammer is just a different beast altogether. There's no point in stressing your tool or yourself when one pass with the right thing is way faster.

paige1665d ago

a hammer drill can handle brick" lmao sure if you like gambling

kai_chen25d ago

Rotary hammer is the way to go for anything thicker than a couple inches of concrete. I keep a Bosch bulldog in my van and it still tears through rebar like nothing. The hammer drill stays home unless I'm doing tapcons into block or drilling into tile. One time I tried using a hammer drill on a parking bump and it took forever and the bit kept binding up, switched to the rotary and finished in under a minute.