Welcome to our new Tricks of the Trade series, a collection of insightful hints used by the trade to help you in your work. Here we have three tricks to get the most from your drill bits.

1. Don't over exert the drill

Pushing too hard will cause the gears to wear and may cause the bits to break. You need to find the optimum drilling point, a combination of just the right amount of pressure and the correct rpm will result in the optimum drilling speed.

2. Clear debris for quick and consistent drilling

As you're drilling occasionally pull the drill bit out of the hole, this reduces friction, prevents binding, resulting in quicker and more consistent drilling. Although the bit is designed to clear material this will help to clear the debris faster.

3. Only drill as deep as you need to

It sounds obvious but if the SDS drill comes with a depth stop be sure to use it. Over drilling a hole wears drill bits unnecessarily and uses up your valuable time.