Get the Full Benefit of Hammer-Drilling Your Concrete With These Tips
If you have a small concrete drilling project in your home, such as repairing your concrete floor or driving screws into your concrete walls to anchor something, you will always have two choices. You can either go for a large rotary hammer or use a drill driver that comes with a hammer-drill function. While a rotary hammer is more powerful, a hammer drill is ideal for your DIY projects, and it features different mechanisms, which drive forward drill bits as it rotates. This, in turn, results in a high-speed hammer-like pulsing action. Therefore, when using a hammer drill for your DIY concrete drilling project, make the process a success with the following tips.
Dust and Heat Control
Drilling into concrete can result in large clouds of abrasive dust, which is sometimes unhealthy. In the course of your concrete drilling process, add some water to your work to prevent the dust from forming. Adding water will also serve to cool the flutes and result in a long-lasting drill bit.
Power Control When Changing Bits
Before changing the drill bits in your hammer drills, it is important to ensure that the tool is disconnected from power. This simple procedure will prevent any accidents that could be caused by hitting the power switch inadvertently while changing the bits.
Occasional Flute Clearance
When you drill through deeper materials such as your concrete wall, try to clear out the hole of dust as well as the flutes of your drill bits continually. When you do this, you will be able to see exactly whatever you are drilling so that you do not cause any damages. To clear out the flutes, gently move the drill bit up and down twice or more after every minute or so of your drilling.
Jam Prevention
You are likely going to hit something besides just your concrete, particularly when drilling through reinforced concrete. When your drill bit hits an object that it can't drill through, you can either drill elsewhere or break whatever is blocking the drill. To do this, insert a concrete nail in the hole and hit it hard a few times with a hammer.
Use of Appropriate Drill Bits
Special masonry bits are needed when drilling through concrete. If you use a metal or wood drill bit in your concrete, you risk burning out the tip of the drill bit or even the motor of your drill.