Bosch 5-piece Turbo Carbide Hammer Drill Bit Set

Why I reached for this set

I grabbed the Bosch carbide set on a Saturday morning to knock out a punch list: anchors in a basement slab for a wall track, a few holes through ceramic bathroom tile for grab bars, and some fasteners into a brick veneer. I wanted one compact kit that could ride in the drill bag and handle all of it without hunting down specialty bits. This five-piece set looked like the right mix of sizes and features, and after a few weekends, I’ve got a pretty clear picture of where it shines and where it doesn’t.

What you get and how it’s built

The set covers five diameters—1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, and 3/8 inch. The smallest bit is shorter (roughly a 1-inch working length, about 3 inches overall), while the larger four have a working length around 4 inches and an overall length near 6 inches. It’s a useful spread for common anchors and through-holes in masonry.

A couple of design details matter in actual use:

• Hex shanks: They lock in confidently and reduce the slippage you sometimes get with smooth shanks in three-jaw chucks. They also drop into a 1/4-inch quick-change chuck if you’re using an impact driver.
• Four-grind head: More cutting angles typically translate to smoother entry and fewer stalls when you hit aggregate.
• Multi-grind centering tip: This makes starts noticeably easier, especially on glazed surfaces or rounded brick, where walking is a pain.
• Impact-rated: You can use these in both hammer drills and impact drivers. The hammer drill is still my first choice for concrete, but the rating gives you flexibility when all you’ve got is an impact on your belt.

Concrete and the day-to-day anchor holes

I started with a dozen 3/16-inch holes in a cured basement slab for plastic anchors and Tapcon-style screws. In a corded hammer drill, the 3/16 and 1/4-inch bits cut cleanly and at a predictable pace. The centering tip grabbed quickly with almost no skating, and the four-grind head felt “smoother” than two-flute, single-grind budget bits I’ve used. I ran low-to-medium speed, moderate pressure, and pulsed the bit out every 1/2 inch to clear dust. Depth was consistent across holes, and the wear on the carbide edges after those 12 holes was minimal.

For kicks, I tried a few holes using an 18V impact driver. It’ll work in brick and mortar, and it will eventually get you there in softer concrete, but expect slower progress and more heat. The bits are impact-rated, but the hammer mechanism on a proper hammer drill is simply more efficient in concrete. My takeaway: use a hammer drill whenever possible; keep the impact option as your “emergency” path.

Tile: getting clean starts without drama

The centering tip is the hero on tile. For ceramic wall tile, I ran the 1/4-inch bit with the hammer function off, low speed, and a spritz of water for cooling. Starts were controlled—no wandering—and the holes came out clean enough that wall anchors seated snugly with no chip-out around the edges. If you’re drilling porcelain (especially polished or through-body porcelain), I’d still reach for a proper diamond or glass/tile bit to avoid overheating and micro-cracking. But for standard bathroom ceramic, this set handled it fine with a careful approach.

A quick tip: tape your hole location, set your drill to the non-hammer mode until you’re through the glaze, and then move to hammer only if you need to go into masonry behind the tile. These bits reward that patience.

Brick and block

In brick veneer and standard mortar joints, the Bosch bits tracked straight and maintained size well. The 5/16 and 3/8-inch bits, in particular, did a nice job of shedding dust. I didn’t experience binding or sudden grabs when crossing aggregate pockets. For hollow CMU, the centering tip again helped at the start, preventing the point from skittering across the face of the block.

If you’re drilling dozens of oversized holes in hard-fired brick every day, you’ll still be happier with SDS-Plus bits and a rotary hammer. But for a mix of small to medium holes around a remodel or service call, this set is more than up to it.

Accuracy and hole quality

The multi-grind tip doesn’t just help with starts; it keeps the hole on line. I measured a handful of holes in concrete and brick and found them close to nominal size, with slightly cleaner walls than budget two-cutter bits. That shows up when you’re seating drop-in anchors or trying to keep Tapcons from wobbling in an oversized hole. If you mark depth with tape on the bit, you’ll hit your target consistently—just remember to clear dust. A quick vacuum pass makes as much difference as the bit itself in anchor performance.

Durability and heat management

After a few rounds in concrete, tile, and brick, the cutting edges on my most-used sizes (3/16 and 1/4) still looked crisp. I avoided rebar—carbide masonry bits aren’t made for steel—and backed off whenever sparks hinted at hidden metal. Like any carbide-tipped bit, these don’t love heat. If you lean too hard at high RPM, you’ll glaze the tip and slow down. Keep the speed reasonable, let the hammer action do the work, and clear dust often. The smallest bit, at 1/8 inch, is naturally the most fragile; treat it gently and avoid side-loads.

Fit and shank design

The hex shanks are the quiet advantage here. In a standard drill chuck, they bite well and almost eliminate the micro-slip that can polish a smooth shank and ruin your day mid-hole. In a quick-change chuck, swaps are fast, which is handy when you’re stepping up sizes or toggling between pilot and final hole diameters. I didn’t notice any wobble attributable to the shanks themselves; any runout I saw was down to my drill rather than the bits.

Where the set comes up short

A couple of limitations are worth calling out:

• Sizing gaps: There’s no 5/32-inch bit, which is a very common pilot size for certain concrete screws. You can fudge with 1/8 or 3/16 depending on the anchor spec, but I’d prefer that in the box.
• Length on the smallest bit: The short working length of the 1/8-inch bit limits its use to shallow holes. That’s fine for many anchors, but if you need deep, narrow pilots, you’ll need a longer bit.
• Heavy-duty volume: For nonstop commercial drilling in poured concrete or encounters with hard aggregate, an SDS-Plus setup with multi-cutter heads will be faster and more durable. This set sits in that sweet spot of jobsite-versatile and compact, not industrial-duty.

Who it’s for

If you’re a homeowner or remodeler who needs reliable masonry holes without hauling a separate tile kit and a bucket of specialty bits, this Bosch set is a smart, compact solution. Service techs and punch-list crews will appreciate the hex shanks and the way the centering tip reduces rework. Pros who already run rotary hammers won’t replace their SDS kits with these—but they’ll still find them useful for quick tasks with a standard hammer drill or an impact driver in a pinch.

Recommendation

I recommend the Bosch carbide set. It earns its keep with fast, controlled starts, steady drilling in concrete and brick, and a hex shank that actually solves a real problem—slippage in the chuck. The four-grind head and centering tip translate into cleaner holes and fewer “walked” starts, and the impact rating gives you flexibility across tools. I’d like to see a 5/32-inch option included and a longer small-diameter bit, but those are wish-list items more than deal-breakers. For a compact, do-most-masonry kit that you can trust across tile, concrete, brick, and block, this set is a dependable choice.