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Discussion Forum

RA drill –medium- or heavy duty?

mattias | Posted in Tools for Home Building on August 20, 2007 04:37am

I will soon need some sort of drilling device for large holes. Obviously, some kind of right angle drill will do the job. I have read both tests of right angle drills in the “Tools of the trade†website, but I can´t decide wether I will go for the heavy duty or the medium duty type.<!—-> <!—-><!—->

<!—-> <!—->

I will need to run a 4 ½â€ holesaw in 101 year old pine timber of <!—-> <!—->6â€<!—-> thickness. I don´t really care if it goes slowly, as long as it can be done. <!—-> <!—->

<!—-> <!—->

The medium duty type has a few advantages, like variable speed and less weight and more flexibility. <!—-> <!—->

<!—-> <!—->

The heavy duty type is of course more powerful, quicker and easier to change gear, but has no variable speed and is more specialized.<!—-><!—->

<!—-> <!—->

I am choosing between heavy duty Makita DA 4031 and medium duty Makita DA 4000 LR.<!—-> <!—->

The heavy duty drill costs only approx. 15% more than the medium duty, and I can´t afford to buy both. <!—-> <!—->

<!—-> <!—->

I can´t find any information of maximum diameter of holesaw for the medium duty RA drill<!—-><!—->

<!—-> <!—->

Can any of the RA drills be used to mix concrete or mortar?<!—-><!—->

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Replies

  1. formula1 | Aug 20, 2007 07:19pm | #1

    My Milwaukee 3107-6 drill specs. looks comparable to the Makita 4000. It does large hole boring to mixing thinset mortar with a paddle. Never have bogged it down. It would probably be a good first choice. Did have one time that the self feed bit  wouldn't feed in yellow pine, that was a bugger. With your old pine timbers, MO is that maintaining a sharp cutting tool will be critical to maintaining your pace and minimizing frustration, we've all tried to shove a dull tool the final way through. 

     The Makita 4031 is definitely a step up in power with the larger motor. If power is a concern, that's the way to go. Just have a sharp tool to eat that power up.

  2. Shacko | Aug 20, 2007 08:13pm | #2

    I would go with the Milwaukee Hole-Hog right angle drill. Old pine timber is hard as a rock, there is no hole-saw that I know of that will go thru 6 inches. You need to buy a self feeding bit, worth the extra $$$, and it may still be a pain in the azz to get thru. Bottom line is if you buy a medium drill I don't think it will take the abuse. Luck.

    .....................................
    "If all all else fails, read the directions"
  3. danski0224 | Aug 20, 2007 11:18pm | #3

    I have no opinion on the Makita drills.... but....

    I have a Milwaukee D handle right angle drill, 2 speed (gear reducer) and variable trigger. I have had no problems drilling 4.25" holes with it- but I have never tried it in 100+ year old wood.

    I would suggest buying one or two Lenox carbide tipped holesaws. The One Tooth line is supposed to be very nice, but I have not used one. Either way, don't waste your money on cheap holesaws.

    If you are able to use an extension on the holesaw arbor, that will help absorb the shock when the saw binds up. I always use an extension if I have the room, especially if I can't brace the drill against something like a wall or joist.

    I don't know if a 4.5" self feed bit is available, but last time I checked on a 3.5", it was almost $200.00.

    I would shy away from something like the Milwaukee Hole Hawg- it *will* cause serious injury when it bites.

  4. bubbajames | Aug 21, 2007 05:35am | #4

    I would look into a self feed bit for that type of work- Even in the medium class of drills, you have options. Stay away from the Dewalt med. duty as well as the 3002 series Milwaukee RA drill as they max out at 2&9/16 size self feed.

    I don't know if Porter cable still makes a med. duty, but that looked pretty formidable as well.

  5. caseyr | Aug 21, 2007 06:02am | #5

    If you get the Milwaukee HoleHawg or similar, be sure you also have a hospitalization plan that covers dislocated shoulders and elbows and broken wrists. I haven't actually done that with my HoleHawg, but I have come close and that was drilling half in holes in quarter inch mild steel. You need to be really careful with the larger drills so that when the drill bit grabs, your arm won't receive the full torque that it can put out. I don't know if the other large Milwaukee right angle drill is quite as treacherous as the extra length might give some additional leaverage. Good luck and let us know if you manage to succeed in drilling all those holes without badly tweaking something, so we can all be in awe...

    1. BillBrennen | Aug 21, 2007 08:04am | #6

      The Milwaukee Superhog and the DW 124 both have clutches in low range to protect the operator. It is very cheap insurance against serious injury. I agree with whomever posted that a medium duty drill might fail at what the OP is planning to do.Bill

  6. Notchman | Aug 21, 2007 08:06am | #7

    I've got a Milwaukie Hole Hog that I bought new about 14 years ago and I use it a lot.

    The largest self-feed bit I use is 4 3/8" and was designed primarily for plumbers running 4" ABS pipe and I use it for that and for 4" dryer and bath exhaust vents, etc.

    I've never gotten hurt using the drill, but when drilling with heavy bits in wood or larger bits in metal, I always brace the handle against an unmovable object even if I have to build a temporary one.  In some situations, I'll screw a longer pipe section into the drill for extra leverage (IIRC, the pipe handle is 3/4" or 1" pipe).

    All that said, I've stripped the gears on the HH 3 times and snapped the shaft right behind the Jacobs chuck once (in all cases, I was boring 4 3/8" holes in double bottom plates and hit a nail).

    The HH is a great tool, but even it has it's limits and I wouldn't settle for a cheap knockoff.

    Using large holesaws can also be a bit risky (occasional hangups) and time consuming, because you're going to be pulling the saw out and chiseling out the waste as you proceed, especially with the thickness of your material.

    While like many here who favor Lenox sawblades and holesaws, I recommend using a Milwaukie holesaw in the larger diameters because, in my experience, the Lenox mandrel doesn't hold up very well with heavy drilling and the Lenox holesaw blades are not interchangeable with the Milwaukie.

    The HH is also a great tool for bucket mixing thinset, drywall mud, small batches of mortar, parging mixes, floor leveler, etc. in the low-speed selection.

    1. mattias | Aug 21, 2007 09:46am | #8

      I don´t know how to reply to "all". Anyway, The larger Makita 4031 has a safety clutch in the low gear for safety reasons. The smaller doesn´t. I have had nothing but good experiences with Makita tools , and I wouldn´t consider the Makita a cheap knock off.

      Unfortunately,  the Hole Hawg or any Porter-Cable product are not sold in Europe, and I also have a hard time to find any selfeed bits. The prices of power tools in Europe are quite high, a sefeed bit would drill an unacceptable large hole in my wallet. The best price I can find for the Mak 4031 is equal to $632 and the Mak 4000 $552

      The idea was to Use the hole saw from both sides and to chisel out the core and so on. A selfeed bit would of course be better. Maybe I can order the bit from the US? Unfortunately, Amazon don´t deliver tools to Europe.

      1. User avater
        BillHartmann | Aug 24, 2007 02:14am | #12

        I don't know if you have seen this, but Tools of the Trade just did a review on RA drills.http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/industry-news.asp?articleID=512774&sectionID=1490Don't know how hard it would be match up the equivalent model numbers."Unfortunately, the Hole Hawg or any Porter-Cable product are not sold in Europe"AEG is a sister brand to Milwaulkee. Wonder if it might be sold under that brand..
        .
        A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

        1. mattias | Aug 24, 2007 02:59pm | #13

          Thanks!

          I have read everything on the internet regarding right angle drills, including everything on Breaktime. I finally figured out that it was up to my needs and expectations of the power tool.

          When trying to decide, I came up with the following table

                                          DA4031                                         DA4000LR

          Property                  Points      Importance    Poduct     Points          Importance   Prod.

          Drill capacity           5               5                     25             4                 5                   20

          Concr. mix              4               3                     12             3                 3                    9

          Screwdriving          2               2                      4              5                 2                    10

          Work overhead     3               3                       9              4                 3                    12

          Price                      2              3                       6              3                  3                     9

          Clutch                    1              3                       3             0                   3                     0

          Gear shift              4              2                       8              2                   2                     4

          Productivity          5               1                       5              3                   1                    3

           

          Sum                                                             72                                                       67

           

          Since the larger RAD got more points, I have now ordered a Makita DA4031  from Germany and a Contractors´set of selfeed bits, a 3" selfeed bit and a 4 1/8" selfeed bit from Toolking.

          Thank you all for your information! Of course, I will write here how things went when I get some results .

          Edited 8/24/2007 8:01 am ET by mattias

          Edited 8/24/2007 8:02 am ET by mattias

          Edited 8/24/2007 8:02 am ET by mattias

          Edited 8/24/2007 8:04 am ET by mattias

  7. User avater
    kanaka | Aug 21, 2007 11:39am | #9

    I agree with the others. The heavy duty RA drills are the only way to go. I've got the Superhog and it has the power to go through anything. I've owned the Makita, and it's got a lot of power,too. I used it to power the SpinScreed power roller screed, and it had more than enough power to spin the 4" x 20 ft long aluminum pipe. The only way to go through 6 inches of any kind of wood is with a self-feed bit on a short extension. I don't know of any hole saw that will go through anything more than 2 inches thick. Those self-feed bits do cost a lot, but they're worth every penny.It will chew up nails, they're easier to sharpen, and there are no small teeth that can get clogged up when drilling through thick material.

  8. User avater
    MarkH | Aug 21, 2007 02:07pm | #10

    If you aren't concerned about speed, and only need a hole or so, I would probably drill a series of smaller holes to make a larger one.  May need to chisel out some waste to get a reasonably clean hole.

    1. caseyr | Aug 23, 2007 10:58pm | #11

      I have done that on thick material and used a Sawsall to cut between the holes. The result was not pretty but got the job done.

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