Re: my 20 year old 'english' black n decker drill departed

Any option to repair? If well built, might go for another 20 years? Can local Black and Decker 'service center' (is there one?) handle? Wonder what the cost and parts availability is.

Had a Bosch drill GSB 400 RE that failed after 5 years. Bought for P3K in 2005, dealer quoted P2.4K to repair (armature, bearings, etc.), went ahead with the repair anyway for some convoluted reason.

Re: my 20 year old 'english' black n decker drill departed

nope, no option to rebuild anymore. the rotor itself is busted... 3 commutator contacts were disintegrated, one of the brushes broke, the bearing is knocking. i found an exploded view of the drill and the rotor comes as a whole assembly. parts will come from uk and price plus shipping will yield to a brand new one, also the items aren't black n decker 'original' ones. i'd still prefer the euro breeds rather than the chiwanese (mean not to offend), for some biased reason that i had. for practical reasons i had to let it go. i just saved the rohm chuck from the old one and am currently hunting an sds adapter that will fit the threads - it was a bit small though. also saved the power cord. the rest is history.

in any case, since i'll be doing a few tiling jobs in the years/months to come, i replaced it with a bosch gbh 2-20 dre (prc unfortunately - again i mean no harm). i opted for the smallest (cheapest) model since i'm a bit tight on budget. had a bit of fun with it when i installed a few shelves a few days ago. comparing it to the one that got busted, this machine is mean! its like pushing a hot knife in cold butter - yes that extreme. i paired it with an 8mm alpen sds+ bit for the task i did.

will this new beast last? i don't know, only time and the amount/quality of work will tell...

Re: my 20 year old 'english' black n decker drill departed

Got the 2-20 DRE too, as it is the smallest with chisel function. Trying to find now the dust extraction attachment accessory for it, which sounds and looks like it may also work with larger models. Hot knife yes, though reinforced concrete tends to stop it, or at least requires more time/pressure.

More recently also got the 2-23 REA (also made in China) with dust extraction but no chisel. Would have been nicer if Bosch had designed all their models to be compatible with the self-contained extractor instead of just this one particular model. But given a specialized model, why Bosch did not put the chisel function on it is beyond me. Otherwise this model could have been the sweet spot.

For SDS+ drill bits, been using just the locally available Bosch B8 (made in China). Wondering how they hold up against Alpen, Irwin, Dax, etc., and the Bosch HCxxxx available online (made in Germany?).

Re: my 20 year old 'english' black n decker drill departed

I use Bosch SDS+ drill bits but I also have a Alpen and Dax bits. Frankly speaking I have not noticed any difference in performance. For longevity that I have to see llater. My DIY applications does not allow me to gather enough data for now.

What I noticed is that SDS+ bit sizes tend to be a tad larger than their non SDS counter parts. I end up using one size smaller and enlarge a bit to get the hole size that I want. Maybe it's just me but that's what I encountered.

Re: my 20 year old 'english' black n decker drill departed

Got the 2-20 DRE too, as it is the smallest with chisel function. Trying to find now the dust extraction attachment accessory for it, which sounds and looks like it may also work with larger models.

let me know once you've got hold of this stuff as i am also in need of dust extraction. i am not fond of cleaning up the mess most specially masonry dust. what i do since years ago is to place a small plastic bag fastend with a masking tape or any non sticky tape directly under the target hole. this will catch most of the powdered concrete. but yea it's a hassle in positioning and relocating it before and after.

I use Bosch SDS+ drill bits but I also have a Alpen and Dax bits. Frankly speaking I have not noticed any difference in performance. For longevity that I have to see llater. My DIY applications does not allow me to gather enough data for now.

What I noticed is that SDS+ bit sizes tend to be a tad larger than their non SDS counter parts. I end up using one size smaller and enlarge a bit to get the hole size that I want. Maybe it's just me but that's what I encountered.

for the non-sds ones, i dwell mostly on diager, and irwin. those 2 proved to be well suited specially for those old masonry which were known to be really hard (circa '70). i've tried using other brands such black n decker, maxell, lotus, and some non-branded ones and they don't last

for this sds drill that i had i only have alpen and so far so good. i'll be getting a 6mm this week for curtain rod installation. i might opt for irwin this time around since i already had an alpen. bosch sds bits are also on the list to test.

Re: my 20 year old 'english' black n decker drill departed

Bro aside from the brands you mentioned, Diager and Irwin which I prefer too, there is another option you can try, Tatara masonry drill bits and also their SDS bits, its a Japan quality bits that are also tough.