GMC SDS Plus Rotary Hammer Drill 1500W MRHD1500

I bought this drill because I needed to put a 117mm hole through 750mm of solid stone wall! The recommendation for the 117mm diamond-tipped core bit was for a drill of at least 850W, with a safety clutch. I did plenty of research, and this drill seemed to be the best value and met the criterea: the reviews were generally good, with only minor negatives. I decided to buy from Amazon because they could guarantee the delivery time, although I could have paid a little less elsewhere - a wise decision as it turned out.And yes, it proved to be a good choice for the job. Yes, it's heavy, but that implies plenty of iron in the motor; and I agree with the reviewer about the way grit is blown into the user's face, but one reason for that is that the cooling fan is very powerful, and keeps the motor very cool indeed; the warmest part of the drill was the gearbox during the 7 hours (yes!) it took me to drill the hole. Before that, I had used the drill in non-rotary chisel mode to break concrete, and dig down through stony clay, and it proved very good at that too.Now for the downside: there were problems with the SDS+ chuck: the supplied chisel locked into the chuck OK, but in use it tended to drop out for no reason, and the same happened with the long 10mm masonry drill I used for my pilot hole. Not a huge problem, but annoying. More serious though was the second problem: I had to fit the supplied keyed drill chuck (with SDS+ adaptor) because of a problem with the (new) SDS+ adaptor supplied with my (third-party) core drill set. I used the core drill in non-hammer mode, of course, but when I had finished I couldn't remove the keyed chuck from the SDS chuck - the sleeve pulls back, but the SDS+ shank is totally stuck in the chuck.The GMC website says that I should contact them for service if the drill was over 30 days old (which it was), and that's where the problems started: filling in the on-line form was straightforward, and I received an email shortly afterwards with return details and a PO Box nr to return the drill to at my cost. Now, the complete package weighs about 10kg, and the various parcel services will only deliver to a street address, not a PO Box. Therefore the only way to send the parcel on a signed-for service is by Royal Mail Special Delivery (not even Parcelforce) at a cost of £24.50!! I tried phoning the number given on the GMC website "For help on technical, product and service enquiries" only to be told in no uncertain terms that they were a third-party and nothing to do with the service side. That appears to be the only published phone nr for GMC. I then replied to GMC's email, asking for a street address, and over 24hrs later have received no reply at all. So nul points to GMC for customer service.I contacted Amazon this morning - they phoned me at their expense - and a very helpful lady in the Philippines offered to send me a f.o.c. replacement, and I can return the faulty drill at no cost to me. 100% to Amazon for customer service.Positives: the auxiliary handle is easy to use; a couple of chisels and a range of masonry drills a provided, together with the afore-mentioned keyed chuck.A couple of minor negatives concerning the plastic case: the latches are poor and tend to fall off, and the chuck key doesn't clip into the moulding provided for it.So, in summary, a good value product, provided that you don't need support from the manufacturer. Hence 3 stars, rather than 5.Follow-up: Having received the replacement from Amazon, I returned it unused for a full refund, and bought a Titan from Screwfix. It was cheaper (at the time, and probabaly still is) and I am very pleased with it.

I originally bought this drill at the start of a major DIy (for me) bathroom project to break up old brick/concrete base around drains, chisel off a cement render finish on concrete floor, remove tiles and drill 4" core hole thro 9" wall. I tend to go for more expensive "pro" tools for kit I use a lot as its generally more durable but this had good write ups, was quite cheap and seemed fit the bill nicelyThe drill has plenty of power and made short work of smashing up an 18" deep rubble and concrete base. As others have noted Its quite heavy but I think that's a plus point as its mass damps vibration a bit and also its seems very solidly built. the rotary hammer mode is very effective and it will push a large drill through a 9" wall with ease and also had no problems with a 4" core drill through the same wall.I checked that the drill had a safety clutch before buying it and have noted that others have mentioned that it works well although when using large core drill, on the odd occasions when the bit snagged you get a fair kick back and clutch did not slip (unlike a well worn commercial hire tool I had been using which was slipping all the time) so make sure you are suitably braced for any kickback before clutch lets go.I have had this drill for over 3 years now and its is still performing very well, the carry case is durable and includes a standard chuck and key, a selection of SDS bits and a grease pot. The grease is a consumable item, not only do you need to slightly lubricate bits when inserting you also need to keep grease reservoir at top of drill full, which means after several hours use it will need topping up so get a tub of suitable grease.One review noted that it creates a lot of dust and that the fan blows it at you if held right handed, being left handed I didn't notice too much of a problem although I recall when holding it in right hand the fan can blow at you., the direction of the vents could perhaps be better but I think the bottom line is that the drill has a strong fan and the motor is kept cool during constant use so on balance this should not be a deal breaker.I have only one negative issue with this drill and this was something I did not discover for quite a while and was that the chuck does not run quite true in rotary action. Because it had heavy use for several weeks in stationary hammer mode breaking stuff up, it is quite possible that I may have caused this myself and I only discovered it well after warranty had expired so it is not something I can mark this product down for...but maybe check it runs true when delivered.Overall great buy, cheap, very powerful, not as heavy as some similar products and durable

I bought this drill for a renovation project I'm doing, and I haven't been disappointed by it. First job was punching through a cement screed - worked just fine. Next, onto stripping old victorian tiles of a floor WITHOUT smashing them to pieces. The dial-in speed setting was excellent, giving a good balance between plenty of power and being gentle with the tiles. Didn't stop chips and breaks, but did as good a job as I could have hoped for - at least I have plenty of tiles left for a 'feature' in the new floor! Finally, stripping plaster from walls. Again, when combined with a tile bit ( Blue Spot 80mm SDS Cranked Chisel Set ) the drill made short work of removing the plaster down to bare brick. No damage to the bricks either thanks to the option of the low speed setting - unlike my builder's SDS drill which seemed to shatter every brick it touched :-( As for weight, yes it is reasonably heavy but, looking at others before I made the purchase, it doesn't appear to be that much heavier than the opposition. Put it this way, I'm a 6' bloke who normally works in an office and I've spent hours using the thing constantly - including above my head - without a problem. Which leads me to one final thing, no doubt common to all such power tools when using them for any length of time; buy some decent ear-defenders, and take regular breaks every 20 minutes otherwise you'll more than likely end up deaf and with tennis elbow! All in all, a good bit of equipment and I'd definitely recommend you buy this drill. Blue Spot 80mm SDS Cranked Chisel Set

Bought this to replace a cheaper make that broke, the chuck fell apart. This Hammer Drill maybe a bit on the expensive side for anyone doing a bit of DIY but trust me if you buy a cheaper make the chuck may just fall apart. I have used this hammer to breakout old fence posts and it does the job easily, I did find that the fan system picks up fine particles from one side and spits them out the other side so be careful and wear eye protection, A bit on the heavy side so working at shoulder hight or above is tiring but to drill or break downwards the weight helps. Easy to control and great power, the grease box is some what difficult as you will remove the cap to find another cap beneath, but you will have to remove both at regular intervals to check the grease as you don't want the drill to over heatComes with 3 drill bits and a SDS Plus to standard chuck so you can use your old bits also comes with 1 spike and a 1in chisel so it is advisable to buy wider chisels just make sure you get SDS plus as standard SDS will not fit.Overall good quality drill and hammer with the most popular bits thrown in.Would highly recommend.Did you know that in Kansas USA Saying the name "George Washington" without adding the phrase "blessed be his name," can land you with a fine of up to fifty cents.

I baught this drill because my old one died out. Main purpose of this was to drill 1" dia through the external wall, which is about 18" thick and its did that brilliantly with ease. Didn't used it much for chiselling or breaking the concreat though.It comes in case and and good seceltion of chisel tools, drills, SDK bits and maintenance bits. Robust and heavy duty motor. never had any problem with grearbox or anything.One thing to keep in mind though its really heavy, means really really heavy, which is good and bad at the same time... Well if you need it break concrete or anything on the floor, the weight will help you do that easily the and it absorbs the shock really well. But if you wana drill or chisel something obove your chest level its a reall bummer then. Make sure you take regular breaks in between to avoid strain on your elbow.