Bosch is well known for its industrial-duty power tools, but it’s less well known for a line of commercial-duty products that deliver tremendous bang for the buck.A case in point is the company’s new lightweight hammer drill. Weighing in at 5.8 lbs and costing $130, the HD18-2 drill is $30 to $100 less expensive than similar products. But don’t let weight or cost fool you into thinking this is a watered-down product. Years of tool testing have taught us that any Bosch tool is a serious performer, and this drill looks like it’s a perfect fit for contractors who don’t need an industrial duty hammer drill every day. It’s also more than enough drill for homeowners embarked on a long-term remodeling project of an old house, for example, or who volunteer on weekends for outfits like Habitat for Humanity.This drill looks like it’s a perfect fit for contractors who don’t need an industrial duty hammer drill every day.The ½-in. drill is equipped with two speeds, a 3-jaw chuck, hammer and regular rotary drill settings. Those are all good features, but it’s the other stuff that escape a cursory glance that tell you this product is pure Bosch. Consider that the company packed it with an 8.5-amp motor, an unusual amount of power for a tool at this price range. The motor uses an unusual rotating brush plate that ensures maximum contact and current flow in forward and reverse. That’s especially important because nothing is worse with a heavy duty drill than getting a bit stuck and not having enough power to back the bit out. Good luck with that.And while we’re on this subject of stuck bits, also consider that the drill is equipped with a clutch that disengages the output shaft if you jam the bit. Powerful drills have sprained more than one user’s wrists when they’ve locked up and kicked back when boring a big hole in tough material.Under the heading of Icing on the Cake, when we went looking for the drill online, we found it for $120, or $10 less than Bosch’s suggested retail price. It’s hard to go wrong when you combine pricing like that with features that can get the job done.Roy BerendsohnSenior Home EditorRoy Berendsohn has worked for more than 25 years at Popular Mechanics, where he has written on carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, electrical, woodworking, blacksmithing, welding, lawn care, chainsaw use, and outdoor power equipment. When he’s not working on his own house, he volunteers with Sovereign Grace Church doing home repair for families in rural, suburban and urban locations throughout central and southern New Jersey.
