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How to use a rotary hammer

Updated: 2026-10-23

The hammer is already in your hand, and the hole in the brick or the lintel is the job. How to use a rotary hammer comes down to seating an SDS bit, choosing the mode with the motor stopped, and letting the piston work while you deal with the dust. The sequence fails when the selector is on the wrong symbol. This is the procedure for the SDS-Plus tools in this amazon.co.uk set. The Products Compared editorial team did not run a lab test, and a qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. What each box contains is on the [rotary hammer comparison](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/rotary-hammer).

The hammer is already in your hand, and the hole in the brick or the lintel is the job.

Our top picks

Bosch Bosch PBH 2100 RE

Best overall

Bosch Bosch PBH 2100 RE
9.2/10about £59.94
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Enventor Enventor Z1C-HW01-3288EP

Alternative

Enventor Enventor Z1C-HW01-3288EP
8.8/10about £84.99
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Dong Cheng DongCheng DZC05-26B

Best value

Dong Cheng DongCheng DZC05-26B
8.8/10about £47.17
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On this page
  1. 1.Fit the bit and the side handle
  2. 2.Choose the mode while it is stopped
  3. 3.Drill the hole and deal with dust
  4. 4.A stuck or bound bit

Fit the bit and the side handle

Fit the side handle before you chase a hole you cannot control. Point the handle so you can oppose the twist if the bit catches. An SDS-Plus shank slides. Pull the locking sleeve back, push a clean shank fully home, and release the sleeve. Tug the bit. It should stay in and still be able to slide. Wipe the shank and put on a light film of grease, not a soaked collar. The WORX WX391 includes a plug-in keyless chuck. Take it off before hammer drilling.

Choose the mode while it is stopped

Rotary only spins without the piston. Use it for wood, metal, or any jaw adaptor. Hammer drilling spins and strikes. That is brick, block, and a concrete fixing. Hammer only stops the rotation so a chisel can chip. Enventor's bullet says not to move the dial while the motor is running. Stanew says to change direction only when the tool is stopped. Turn the selector, then start. On glazed tiles, start without hammer until the glaze is through, then switch with the motor stopped. PBH reviews say not to use hammer mode with a jaw adaptor. If the dial has no hammer-only mark, that tool is the wrong one for a tile chase.
Bosch Bosch PBH 2100 RE

Testsieger

Bosch Bosch PBH 2100 RE
9.2/10about £59.94
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Drill the hole and deal with dust

Hold the tool square to the face. Start slowly so the carbide seats in a dimple instead of skating across the brick. Once it has bitten, let the piston do the work. Withdraw the bit now and then while it is still turning slowly, so the dust clears the flutes. Dust from concrete, mortar, and some brick contains respirable crystalline silica. HSE guidance sheet CN3 covers hand-held rotary drilling of that material. For a short job, capture the dust at the hole where that is practicable. When drilling is the main activity, use an M or H class extractor. If extraction is missing, CN3 calls for respiratory protection with an assigned protection factor of 20. INDG175's 15-minute rule of thumb is not a measurement of these ten listings.

A stuck or bound bit

Stop as soon as the bit stops cutting. Unplug a corded tool or take the battery off before your hands go near the chuck. If the listing claims reverse, and the motor is stopped, a short reverse can unwind a bound fluted bit. The WX381.9 and the Stanew claim reverse. The Enventor reviews say that tool has no reverse, whatever the instruction book prints. To remove an SDS bit, pull the locking sleeve back and draw the shank out. Do not strike the bit sideways to free it. If the bit is fast in the wall, stop, support the tool, and free it by hand once the power is off. Steel in a lintel is a different stop, set out on rotary hammer for concrete.

Common questions

Which symbol do I use for brick, for wood, and for a chisel?
Brick and block use hammer drilling, once an SDS bit is seated. Wood and metal use rotary only, with the hammer off. A chisel uses hammer only, and only on the listings that claim it: the PBH, the WX381.9, the DongCheng, the Enventor, the Stanew, and the DEKOPRO. Change the symbol with the tool stopped.
Can I leave a jaw adaptor in and switch to hammer?
No. PBH reviews say not to use hammer mode with an adaptor. Fit the adaptor only for rotary drilling, then remove it before hammer drilling. The WX391's plug-in chuck is the same kind of add-on. The GBH 18V-18 X OneChuck claim is a listing sentence, not a tested exception.
What do I do if the bit jams and this model has no reverse?
Stop, disconnect the power, and hold the tool so it cannot twist. Repeated Enventor reviews say there is no reverse on that hammer, so there is nothing to pulse. Free the flutes and the shank by hand. Do not keep the motor running against a bound bit.
How do I get a stuck SDS bit out without hitting it?
Power off first. Pull the locking sleeve fully back and pull the shank straight out. If the sleeve will not move because the tool is hot, wait. Striking the bit bends the shank and can damage the chuck. A bit that jammed after one hole, as one GBH 18V-18 X review described, is a return or a repair, not a harder tug.
What dust control is proportionate for a few holes?
For a short fixing, capture the dust at the hole if you can. That is the practicable end of CN3, not a claim that two plug holes are dust-free. When the drilling becomes the job, use an M or H class extractor. If you cannot extract, use RPE at APF 20. Hearing protection still applies, because no listing here gives you a decibel figure.
When do I stop and not keep drilling?
Stop if the bit sparks or stalls on steel, if you are close to a cable or a pipe, or if the housing is too hot to hold. Stop if the mode you need is not printed on that listing. A slab, a structural opening, or a full day of hammering for an employee belongs to a breaker or a competent person.

Related pages

SDS rotary hammer vs combi drill

Rotary hammer buying guide

Rotary hammer

Best rotary hammer for brick, cordless or chiselling

Rotary hammer for concrete: lintels and hard brick

Sources

Safety figures come from legislation.gov.uk and HSE guidance. Prices, stars, and review counts are amazon.co.uk captures from 22 October 2026, not a live scrape. Bosch UK is cited only for the GBH 18V-22 joule and vibration lines that the Amazon capture does not state.

  1. Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. HSE INDG175: Hand-arm vibration (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. HSE: Noise at work regulations (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. HSE CN3: Construction dust from rotary drilling (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. HSE INDG463: Control of exposure to silica dust (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. HSE: Electrical safety on construction sites (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Bosch Professional UK: GBH 18V-22 (retrieved 22 October 2026)