Marcrist ddm2

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Discuss Marcrist ddm2 in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

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Sorry I didn't know it had no hammer or any thing we use a makita which has other functions on it so its core only
 
Right i'll do a wee review on these machines just to straighten things out.

First of all this is a dedicated diamond drilling machine. It has absolutely no use for anything else. If you want a drill that will do most things just buy an sds.
If you are serious about what vyou do you will have at least half as dozen drilling machines, each with a dedicated use.

As most of you know i've been doing this nonsense for a long time and my time is not only money but i would rather get the job done and back to my own time asap.

Ever since flues became round and i more or less hung up my 4lb mash hammer i searched for a decent diamond drilling machine at a reasonable cost.
I've bought a couple of Makitas, a dewalt, an industrial ryobi and another one i can't remember which make, all costing in the 2 -3 hundred price range and also many times used my standard sds gun for cores.
They would all do the job reasonably well, some better than others but all took their time.
The guy who lives next door to my dad has a diamond drilling company and they will drill holes up to 4ft dia and more
I was standing having a chat to him one weekend and he said to me why don't you try a marcrist. They are doing a machine which is near enough the same quality of hand held as we use so i looked it up and bought a DDM2.

Your first impression will be this is one heavy beast of a machine (it is an all metal construction) and it is. It is a solid built machine.
It comes with 4 spanners that fit all the sizes of cores, extension bars and the adaptor and a wet drilling attachment which most won't use but if you ever do you will find it speeds things up even more.
Plug it in and turn it on and you will feel the back kick as it starts. Its a powerful machine but don't be scared of the weight or power. It is easily handled due to the hydraulic clutch.

Personally i don't use a pilot hole. I have used these things enough to be able to start the hole with the core bit straight onto the wall to be accurate to within a mill or 2. (dig in at an angle)
That is an experience thing but if you feel the need to drill a pilot/guide hole then use your sds to drill a 10mm hole. Stick the K taper guide rod in the end of your diamond core bit and away you go.

The DDM 2 has 2 speeds and the DDM 3 has 3 speeds and they recommend different speeds for different sized cores. So you get your 117 mm core on and it tells you to use speed 1 with that sizw core.
I did that for a while and it did the job better than any drill i had used previously then one day when drilling a particularly deep hole i thought fk it i'll try speed 2. Big difference and much quicker howwever you can't push the machine so hard. So me being me i've left it on speed 2 ever since (and speed 3 on the DDM3). Just don't push it so hard
It is not only the machine that makes the difference. Good core bits are a must.
The marcrist 850 cores are definitely top of the range stuff. They will cost you around a ton for a 117mm but they are worth the money. PTS do a similar core bit to the marcrist 750's A decebt bit and if you talk the talk you will get them for under 30 quid. I've bought the cheap sets from merchants and Aldi etc thinking fior £30 /100 quid a set it will do a turn. They won't, They are junk. Save your money for something better.
Knock off hilti cores from ebay are just as good (make sure the are not the quick fit only ones)
Talking of Hilti. Their core guns are very good but you will be paying £800 plus for a machine that does the same as a marcrist.
Best advice: never skimp on tools. they save you time and money.

So a summary of a marchrist core gun.

It certainly does what it says on the tin better than most.
You won't get a better gun unless yo0u spend 5-6 hundred more
It is heavy but once it bites the weight is irrelevant.

As said above somewhere; it is the best money you will spend if you do cores.

Btw some facing brick or engineering brick are just so hard no diamond drill will be quick on them. After drilling 2mm in 2 minutes just lay it down, drill a 7mm pilot then get the old 4lb hammer out. 4 or 5 hits and its sorted.

Another btw for the brave.
Try a core bit on your 9" grinder (you will need to buy an adaptor). No clutch and speeds of up to 7000rpm. Live life on the edge :lol:
 
image.jpg
ha ha ha
 
Just been looking at these on the web you can get dm2. And the better core bits together I've noticed two kinds of the same core bits different boxes most with the ally box and some with a plastic box I can see in the plastic box it has a extension bar but carnt see one in the ally box one does any one know if there is a differance thanks
 
rob2048 said:
Just been looking at these on the web you can get dm2. And the better core bits together I've noticed two kinds of the same core bits different boxes most with the ally box and some with a plastic box I can see in the plastic box it has a extension bar but carnt see one in the ally box one does any one know if there is a differance thanks
Click to expand...

I've got the ally box and It came with 200mm extension bar!!
 
Bumping this old thread. Anyone know where I can get one for about £250? The DDM2 seems to have gone up a bit!!
 
Ddm2's gone. I ordered one from ffx a few months ago and they got back to me a week later and said they were unable to get them in anymore. Looked at pro tiler tools the other night and they don't list them either. Ill just get the Milwaukee at some point now. I don't like using my sds for cores.
 
I believe the ddm3 is still available, same drill with a 3 speed 'box I'll probably get one these if my 2 ever packs up.
 
I think £500 is a bit too much. Even if the tax man will have it. I'm not putting boilers in every day so I can't justify the dosh at them moment. Maybe when I get everything done for Xmas as I should have a few more quid spare by then.
 
I heard the Milwaukee has a 'soft hammer' function. Years and years ago I was chatting to a plumber in a merchants and he had just bought a Milwaukee core drill and it was playing up. This was before they were as popular as they are today. I will happily lend it to you when I get it mate. That is if I don't by a cheap Dewalt or similar instead!
 
it goes lovely, stops without a bad jerk due to the electronic clutch. the soft hammer makes a lot of difference in time.
I'm fitting a boiler Tuesday and I'm employing Thomas (the one with the Milwaukee) and I will see what it's like with my new marcrist cores. (yay, no more crappy Ryobi cores)

i'm interested to see which is the better beast between the ddm3 and milwaukee.

I have vowed not to get a cheap core drill after having a sparky drill get stuck on and pull me off a ladder, luckily it was a bungalow.
 
1king55 said:
when the ddm3 binds and jerks does it do it badly ?
Click to expand...

Not that i've ever felt. I can hold it with one hand and drink my coffee with the other :smile:
It's easily held but i'm about a foot taller than you and probably a wee bit stronger.
 
taller yes but as for strength i'm pretty good usually !!! I got attacked when I was 14 by a group of 20 ish year old showing off , knocked to the floor and one of them jumped up both feet onto my right hand. I have to look after it now and when a core drill snatches man do I feel it !!! hence why I like the milwaukee
 
Use your left hand them. You need to learn to be ambidextrous and never be afraid of the tool you are using. Thats when it will bite you.
You can hold it no problem and it never snatches.
 
I do, its just that occasion you can't get into the right position :) thanks tamz, i'll consider the ddm3 then :)
 
ordered the bbk2 for 206 pounds delivered - let you know how good it is, no doubt screwfix will start selling these.
 
wow,

so last week i drilled a hole for the stack pipe with my dewalt hammer drill, got through the breeze block ok, then it wouldnt drill through the brick, i gave up and stitch drilled in the end, time taken 45mins. dead arms and shoulder pain for 4 days, (bare in mind ive had double shoulder operations)

today i drilled the boiler flue hole with the same worn drill bit with the new sparky drill, woooooow, it took 2 mins, arms are fine!!!!

one of the if not best investments soo far after the power flush machine!

the sparky re brand is definitely the real deal
 
George - I found the gear on mine hard to change. I have the three speed one. You have to manually shift the chuck and slot it into gear. There is info in the Sparky instructions about this. I hope we haven't damaged the gear box because we actually span the drill out of gear at the start and then when the motor slowed, we slotted it into gear. What do you think? Tamz you have used these???

Its not the same as a DDM1 which is a totally different drill. This is a total beast of a drill compared to the DDM1.
 
It looks the same gun as the old DDM2/3 Danny.
Probably made by the same company. There are a few similar machines under different brands (do an image search for handheld core drill).
You have to (usually) move the chuck to change gears. This is common on a lot of tools.
I just leave mine in speed 3 for everything unless i need more torque on a particularly deep hole (the clutch kicks in more on higher speeds).
 
tamz is the 3 speed better than the 2 speed as it looks like the top end speed is the same for both at 950 cheers jcd
 
Speed 3 on a ddm3 is >3000rpm, speed 2 around 1800.

Speed 2 on a ddm2 is >2000rpm
 
more speed means quicker holes :)

just managed to read the small print on the ddm3 sparky,
No Load Speed: 950/2,100/4,300/min. so I might save the other £100 for that one
 
Last edited by a moderator:
lame plumber said:
more speed means quicker holes :)
Click to expand...

Usually but depending what you are drilling it sometimes glazes the tips if you are dry drilling.
Run the core in a bit sandstone to deglaze and sharpen it again.

I paid around £250 for my ddm2 and £4 odds for the ddm3 so these ones are a lot cheaper.
 
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