# School me on rotary hammer sizes



## Wpgshocker (Jan 25, 2013)

Briancraig81 said:


> So all Ive used in my career is the "little Bosch" (Sds +) for drilling 1/4 and 3/8 holes and the "big Bosch" (Spline) for drilling 1 1/8 holes and driving ground rods. This is all ive ever known. Now im doing alot of stuff on my own I'm thinking of getting a 12v Milwaukee rotary hammer. I see they come in two sizes, 1/2 SDS plus and 5/8 SDS plus. What is the difference between the two?



The 5/8 is the Fuel line, it is brushless and more powerful. I have no trouble drilling 1" with it. 
The 1/2 is the basic brushed model and for the small difference in price, isn't worth buying in my opinion. The Fuel kit comes with 4.0AH batteries instead of 3.0AH batteries as well.

The fuel series offers better battery life, more power etc.


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## Briancraig81 (May 25, 2007)

Wpgshocker said:


> The 5/8 is the Fuel line, it is brushless and more powerful. I have no trouble drilling 1" with it.
> The 1/2 is the basic brushed model and for the small difference in price, isn't worth buying in my opinion. The Fuel kit comes with 4.0AH batteries instead of 3.0AH batteries as well.
> 
> The fuel series offers better battery life, more power etc.


So they both will accept all SDS plus bits?


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## daveEM (Nov 18, 2012)

Briancraig81 said:


> Now im doing alot of stuff on my own I'm thinking of getting a 12v Milwaukee rotary hammer. I see they come in two sizes, 1/2 SDS plus and 5/8 SDS plus. What is the difference between the two?


No! 

M18 for sure on this guy. 7/8 Fuel I'd look at. Again no to the 12 volt, 18 volt for the SDS stuff.


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## kleidealee (Oct 26, 2014)

Recently, a co-worker handed me his nice shiny new 5/8" brushless rotary hammer. He did so with a smile and 5 holes later I knew why, WOW. 

I haven't used the other one, but I can't imagine any reason to.


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## Grogan14 (Jul 16, 2009)

For setting anchors, I'd think the 5/8" M12 Fuel is more than adequate. Been looking at them myself, and it gets stellar reviews. Personally, I would not even consider a non-Fuel model where a brushless version is available.


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## sburton224 (Feb 28, 2013)

I have the m12 fuel model and it offers plenty of power for what I'd use a 12 volt cordless for with up to 6200 BPM. However it does not offer a chipping function. I didn't really consider that at the time but if I was buying today I'd go with the new M18 fuel version which does offer all three selections.


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## Wpgshocker (Jan 25, 2013)

Briancraig81 said:


> So they both will accept all SDS plus bits?



Yes, they doth take sds plus


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## Briancraig81 (May 25, 2007)

Wpgshocker said:


> Yes, they doth take sds plus


Shortly after I posted that I was checking out Milwaukee's website and had a D'oh! moment. I realized that they were the size bits they would accept


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## BababooeyHTJ (May 31, 2013)

daveEM said:


> No!
> 
> M18 for sure on this guy. 7/8 Fuel I'd look at. Again no to the 12 volt, 18 volt for the SDS stuff.


Idk, I love my m12 fuel sds. Works great for anchors. It's also nice and compact.


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## nbb (Jul 12, 2014)

Briancraig81 said:


> Shortly after I posted that I was checking out Milwaukee's website and had a D'oh! moment. I realized that they were the size bits they would accept


Well, tecnically, all SDS+ bits work in all SDS+ hammers, so I think it is more a guideline about how big a bit to expect to use in it.


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## Wired4Life10 (Jul 9, 2011)

So with what the OP asked.. I'm looking at a corded SDS+ drill. I'm looking at a Milwaukee that states 7/8" but there's also one that says 1-1/8". What is the difference? Just guidance on max diameter?

I've currently got a standard Milwaukee rotary hammer that I will use more often as I also use it with forstners and augers but need an SDS+ I can use when drilling concrete walls deeper than 12".


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## nbb (Jul 12, 2014)

Wired4Life10 said:


> So with what the OP asked.. I'm looking at a corded SDS+ drill. I'm looking at a Milwaukee that states 7/8" but there's also one that says 1-1/8". What is the difference? Just guidance on max diameter?
> 
> I've currently got a standard Milwaukee rotary hammer that I will use more often as I also use it with forstners and augers but need an SDS+ I can use when drilling concrete walls deeper than 12".





nbb said:


> Well, tecnically, all SDS+ bits work in all SDS+ hammers, so I think it is more a guideline about how big a bit to expect to use in it.


That has been my experience with it. I had a plain cordless Milwaukee that said 7/8" but I regularly used 1" bits with. Granted, that was through cinder block, but it did quite well. My favorite thing about roto-hammers is that they let you know very quick if you are pushing too hard and clutch out, to remind you to let the tool do the work.


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## Wired4Life10 (Jul 9, 2011)

So from experience, do you all like the long body ones such as the Milwaukee or the squarish D-handle body like most hilti drills I've seen? Looking to buy next week once I get our large payments in.


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