What is a hammer drill?

A hammer drill pounds while drilling to bore holes in masonry. The combination of spinning and hammering keeps the drill bit from becoming too hot.

Many hammer drills have the option of being used as regular drills or hammer drills. The change from regular to regular-plus-hammer mode is made by flipping a switch on the drill. A hammer drill can bore through almost anything when it is set properly, which is why it is often used on masonry. The best hammer drills are corded drills because the intense energy use required to force a drill bit through masonry quickly burns through the battery life on a cordless drill.