The media could not be loaded.
Just in the nick of time, Skil decided to release their new 12V & 20V series. I chose the 20V for the extra power. When I found they had a rotary drill with a charger and batter for $110 I had to try one. I work for Dish Network as a sub-contractor and I drill through masonry a lot. One of the biggest hassles I had was drilling through glazed brick. This tool has easily solved that problem.
To say the least I no longer see a need for a hammer drill. They have their place for making small holes in concrete and mortar.
I bought the 4 piece tool kit plus the rotary drill with another batter and charger for less than $300. I now have all the tools I had with Milwaukee for way less, and it's more affordable when I need to replace something. I'll also add that cordless rotary drills are not cheap unless you go with a no name brand or Ryobi. I have always liked Skil saws (before they became a Wal-Mart tool although now they're back on their own) and I hope that I can continue to enjoy them.
This is an SDS plus and SDS compatible drill.
You can also use 1/4" hex bits but they have to be a certain length to get past the chuck housing. I use inexpensive harbor freight masonry bits as hitting rebar, angle iron, and other metal objects will destroy my bits.
They are the only bits I buy from them besides the ship augers. They do a good job, they just don't cut as fast.
It drills through masonry and concrete very smoothly and I don't have to push hard at all. It doesn't spin very fast at max trigger pull, which it's not supposed to as slower is better. So far I've only used my 3/16" and 1/2" bits. One of these days I will try out the 3/4" to see if it can do it. I just haven't found the opportunity yet.
It's compact and feels good in the hand. I prefer the second handle built into the house instead of a removable one. It has a nice variable speed triggle. The switch for drill/screw and rotary/hammer is solid and has a nice click.
The only thing that is a little disconcrerning is there is no Chuck adapter for using regular drill bits. Not a huge deal though as I have a drill/driver that I use for the other stuff.
UPDATE: I was able to use a 3/4" masonry bit today with the drill. I didn't do any pilot holes with a smaller bit. It was a little slow but handled it well. It was still faster than using a hammer drill.
