Hammer drills typically feature a special mode for use with masonry drill bits to make holes in masonry materials such as brick and concrete.
But can you use hammer drills on wood, plastic, and matal materials? Yes!
This is a question most beginners, whether a DIYer or trades apprentice, wonders about.
Hammer drills are drills with a special vibratory “hammer” mode that you use with masonry drill bits.
Here’s a Bosch hammer drill bit, with hex shank, for drilling into certain types of masonry materials. Usually you’ll see round or hex shanks. There are also SDS shank bits for use in a rotary hammer, which is not the same as a hammer drill.
To use a hammer drill to drill holes in other types of non-masonry materials, such as plastic, metal, or wood, or with anything other than hammer drill bits, ensure that you switch the hammer drill to rotary-only mode.
The location varies, but these days most hammer drills have the mode selector built into the torque dial. You set the torque dial to adjust the clutch for repeatable driving of screws and fasteners, switch to the drill symbol for full-power drilling, and then switch to the hammer symbol for full-power drilling plus vibratory hammer mode.
These days, hammer drills are not much larger, heavier, or more expensive than non-hammer cordless drill drivers.
Actually, cordless hammer drills, due to the higher volume of numbers that are sold, can be less expensive to buy than the non-hammer drill/driver versions of the same tools. Sometimes there’s no non-hammer version, just a premium hammer drill whether you plan to drill into masonry materials or not.
It’s kind of how a fast food “meal deal” can cost less than just getting nuggets and fries. Don’t want a drink? Don’t use it. Not drilling into masonry? Don’t use the hammer mode.
