What is a hammer drill?

Introduction

A hammer drill is a powerful home improvement DIY tool primarily used for drilling tough materials and surfaces. Hammer drills are a kind of rotary drills, utilizing an impact mechanism which generates a hammering motion.

Hammer drills are engineered to rapidly drill through hard materials, such as concrete, by integrating the rotary movement of the drill bit with a hammer movement that pushes the drill bit in and out of a hole along the bit axis to provide the drilling action along with the penetrating motion of the bit.

Hammer drills work with a few unique mechanism models; however, at the end of the day, the performance of the drill is only as high as the drill bit. With this parallel action in a tough building material like concrete, the drill bit itself has to absorb substantial pressure. You can learn more about how to hammer drill works here

A Hammer Drill and a Regular Drill?

Interestingly, all type of hammer drills can also serve as ‘regular’ drills. However, the hammering function has to be turned on. On almost all the cordless hammer drills that are on the market, they have a simple button with an image of a hammer on it that you push to engage in the hammer function. Some people purchased a hammer drill instead of a standard drill without even realizing it.

If you’re on the market and you’ve been wondering what the best hammer drill is, see some of the top-rated choices below. The hammer drills come in different pocket sizes, the very costly ones and the very cost-effective ones; it’s entirely a matter of preference when it comes to owning the right brand.

Basic Requirements a Good Hammer Drill Should Possess

Now that we’ve discussed the basics of what a hammer drill does and the various models available on the market, there is a range of considerations that need to be taken into account before purchasing one for home use. Here are a few of them;

  • Power Requirement
  • Speed requirement
  • Versatility

Benefits of a Hammer Drill

  • Hammer Drills are quick and Powerful: When drilling through concrete or bricks, a hammer drill is quicker and more effective than the regular drilling tool. Hammer drills make use of spinning, hammer-like movement in pushing through any surface. The strongest hammer drills could drill into almost anything and everything.
  • If you’re constantly engaged in home improvement DIY project: Although it’s noisy, hammer drills are best used for masonry drills. Hammer drills plough smoothly through concrete and other materials and is an essential tool garage tool if you’re engaged in a lot of masonry work, such as drilling up to 40 holes a day or hanging gutters on the side of your building. Using your regular drills in this situation would most likely cause overheating.

Conclusion

Hammer drills are very effective for masonry work, and they can make a tedious looking home improvement DIY project seem very easy. When put to proper use, it can serve as both a hammer pushing its way through hard and tough surfaces or it can serve as your regular drill used for any drilling activity you might have at hand.