I hired a big SDS Max drill this weekend – really a breaker more than a drill. I’m fitting a juliet balcony to the old hay loft door (building reg’s) and I wanted to get as large a drill as I could to ensure I could drill the 120+mm deep and 12mm wide holes in the very hard stone walls of the barn without too much trouble. So I hired this big boy…

From Barn Conversion 2011

Took some searching to find a 12mm SDS Max masonry drill bit, but thankfully Toolstation came to the rescue with the one that they had in stock in their Cardiff branch. All went pretty well with the drilling, except for the two lower holes for the balcony. The drill being so powerful that the small pieces of stone we were trying to drill just shook loose from the surrounding mortar and needed a liberal application of masonry resin and strong concrete to make good. Then came the struggle to get the bit out of the drill…

To cut a long story short, simply pull back the collar as marked on the photograph and you’ll be able to remove the bit. Easy when you know how, but a pain when you don’t. (It might look obvious but close up, that collar doesn’t look like it’ll move, only when you try you find that it does.)