Global Machinery Company HD2G250M User Manual

OnlineToolReviews.com - GMC (Global Machinery Company) HD2G250M Magnesium Hammer Drill - Detailed Review

GMC HD2G250M 1050W 2 Gear Magnesium Hammer Drill - Full Product Review

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Review By Dean Bielanowski

GMC Website -

http://www.gmcompany.com

GMC HD2G250M

1050W 2 Gear Magnesium Hammer Drill

Review

By Dean Bielanowski

If you are buying your first drill as a home handyperson or for renovating work, I
personally would recommend a hammer drill. A hammer drill offers both normal
drilling modes for all types of wood, plastic and metal drilling work, as well as the
hammer action for concrete or masonry drilling. One of the major downsides of
hammer drills however is that they are generally larger and heavier than regular
corded drills.

GMC's Magnesium Hammer Drill attempts to provide all the normal features of a
quality hammer drill, but with lightweight magnesium construction to help reduce
overall tool weight. Let's take a closer look...

The HD2G250M Hammer Drill

The drill features somewhat of a traditional hammer drill design with a large
adjustable auxiliary handle to provide good user control while drilling, particularly
when drilling in hammer mode. The motor and gear housing is dominated by the
silver magnesium body, which as mentioned above, affords the tool a lower weight
without sacrificing any body strength.

GMC HD2G250M Photos

All photos copyright onlinetoolreviews.com.

Use without prior written permission prohibited

Just some of the 250 accessory pieces

included in the kit.

http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/gmcHD2G250M.htm (1 of 6) [2/07/2007 11:49:16 AM]

OnlineToolReviews.com - GMC (Global Machinery Company) HD2G250M Magnesium Hammer Drill - Detailed Review

With an input power of 1050W, the drill has more than enough power for your
general drilling tasks in most building and household materials. Listed drilling
capacities are 30mm in wood, 13mm in steel and 13mm in masonry. Of course,
using quality drill bits suited to the application will ensure highest performance and
best results. When it comes to drilling, not all drill bits are created equal! Use quality
bits and save yourself a lot of frustration, and save your tool from overworking itself
too. The drill offers 2 gear settings which deliver a no load speed range of 0 - 1100
RPM on the low speed (high torque) setting, and 0 - 2800 RPM on the high speed
(low torque) setting. Gear settings are selected via the gear selector turn knob on
the lateral side of the magnesium part of the drill body. Torque setting does become
important in different types of drilling/driving actions. For example, when drilling thin
wood or softwoods, you would be best to use a high-speed, low torque setting as the
material is readily drilled and the extra torque may not be needed. When driving a
large fastener into wood or other materials, more torque may be required, and
hence the higher torque (lower speed) gear setting would be more desirable.

In terms of direct rotational speed control, this is achieved via the variable speed
trigger. Essentially, the further the trigger is depressed, the faster the drill speed,
but the maximum drill speed can be further controlled via the speed dial mounted on
the trigger itself. By adjusting this, you can dial the maximum speed up or down as
desired for the task, providing more speed control option for the user to suit the task
at hand. If you require constant power application, a trigger lock switch mounted
lateral to the trigger on the main handle will lock the trigger on for continuous
drilling. Drill chuck rotation is controlled via the slide switch above and lateral to the
trigger. Standard forward and reverse modes are offered. To prevent damage to the
switch, the drill chuck should not be spinning when you switch from forward to
reverse modes (or vice versa).

The slide switch to move between drilling modes is located on the top of the
magnesium housing. You can select either normal (non-hammer) drilling mode for
wood, metal, plastics drilling, or hammer mode for brick, concrete or other masonry
type drilling. In hammer mode the drill is capable of delivering from 0 up to a
maximum of 44,600 blows per minute if on the high speed gear setting.

Moving on to the chuck itself, the HD2G250M features a 13mm Jacobs style keyless
drill chuck which is encased in a rubber covering. The rubber cover actually makes
the chuck quite easy to tighten and release, without tearing up your hand as some
all metal keyless chucks can occasionally do. The metal chuck jaws provide a good
grip on drill and driver bits and we experienced no slip in use. We cannot comment
on the durability of the chuck jaws as we haven't had the drill for long enough at this
time. Like most corded drills, the chuck can be removed and replaced if needed at a
later date. Instructions for doing so is included in the printed manual supplied with
the drill. A chuck lock button on the top of the drill casing locks the chuck when
pushed down so the chuck jaws can be advanced or withdrawn to either clamp or
release drill or driver bits. Overall I liked the addition of the rubber cover on the
chuck. It just seemed to make adding or removing bits a more comfortable task to
undertake.

The HD2G250M drill.

Gear selection knob with magnesium

body surrounds.

The rubber drill chuck covering is

definitely a plus for ease of use and

comfort when changing bits.

http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/gmcHD2G250M.htm (2 of 6) [2/07/2007 11:49:16 AM]