DEWALT DW5740 Review

The 16 mm anchor hole occupies a sweet spot in construction fixing: small enough to drill quickly through standard concrete, large enough to provide serious holding strength for M12 bolts that secure handrails, bracketry, pipe supports, and medium-duty equipment. It is the hole size that gets drilled more than almost any other on a commercial building site — every metre of handrail, every row of cable tray, every sprinkler pipe bracket needs its pattern of 16 mm holes. For contractors running spline-drive rotary hammers, having a reliable 5/8-inch bit in the toolkit means the machine that handles the heavy demolition and large-diameter drilling can also knock out the high-volume smaller holes without switching to a second, lighter tool. A well-made two-cutter spline bit at this diameter drills fast, centres accurately, and — because the hole diameter is modest relative to the hammer's power — lasts through hundreds of holes before the carbide tip needs attention.

The 5/8-inch — approximately 15.9 mm — spline-shank bit occupies the high-volume, everyday-drilling niche in a contractor's toolkit. This is the diameter for M12 mechanical anchors, the most common medium-duty fixing in commercial and industrial construction. At this size, two-cutter bits are entirely appropriate — the modest diameter means the cutting edges encounter less resistance per rotation than larger bits, dust evacuation is less challenging, and rebar encounters, while possible, are less catastrophic because the smaller hole is less likely to intersect bar at an angle that causes jamming. The spline drive provides positive engagement for the high-torque demands of the large hammers these bits are used with, and the bit's relatively short length — 5 inches of usable depth — covers the embedment requirements of standard M12 anchors in slabs and walls.

This review examines a 5/8-inch by 10-inch spline-shank two-cutter rotary hammer bit from DEWALT — a compact, everyday bit for M12 anchor drilling with spline-drive hammers. We evaluate its drilling speed, durability, and value as a high-volume consumable for contractors who use spline-drive machines as their primary rotary hammer platform.

The DEWALT DW5740 is a spline-shank rotary hammer bit with a 5/8-inch cutting diameter — 15.9 mm — a 5-inch usable drilling depth, and a 10-inch overall length. It weighs approximately 410 grams and measures about 30 cm in total length. The bit features a two-cutter tungsten carbide tip brazed to the steel body with DEWALT's industrial joining process, and a spiral flute design for debris clearance. The spline shank fits all spline-drive rotary hammers.

At 15.9 mm diameter, this is a bit designed for speed and volume rather than maximum material removal per hole. The two-cutter tip removes concrete efficiently with each rotation, and the modest diameter means dust evacuation through the spiral flutes is rarely a problem — there is simply less spoil to move than with a 25 or 32 mm bit. The 5-inch usable depth accommodates standard M12 wedge anchors, sleeve anchors, and drop-in anchors whose embedment depth is typically 50 to 80 mm. The shorter overall length compared to deep-hole bits makes the DW5740 easier to control, less prone to whipping or wandering, and quicker to start accurately on a marked position.

In professional use, this is the bit that stays in the hammer for most of the working day — the diameter that handles the routine fixing work that makes up the bulk of a contractor's drilling. Electricians mounting cable tray, plumbers hanging pipe supports, carpenters fixing sole plates, and general builders installing wall ties and brackets all reach for the 16 mm hole size repeatedly. The two-cutter design provides good durability in standard concrete, and at this diameter the bit can typically drill 50 to 100 holes or more before the carbide tip shows significant wear, depending on concrete hardness. The bit is compatible with rotary-only mode for drilling softer materials like brick and block.

Customer feedback data is limited — the listing has no accumulated star rating or review count at the time of writing. This is not unusual for specialised spline-shank bits sold in relatively low volumes compared to SDS-max equivalents. The bit carries DEWALT's brand reputation for professional tooling and is manufactured to the same standards as the brand's more widely reviewed SDS-max bits. At around £64 for a single bit, the price reflects the spline format's lower production volumes and DEWALT's quality premium. For the contractor who already owns spline-drive hammers and needs a reliable, everyday 5/8-inch bit, the DW5740 is a straightforward, proven choice.

The DEWALT DW5740 is the everyday spline-drive bit for contractors who need to drill high volumes of M12 anchor holes — keeping their spline-drive demolition hammer productive for routine fixing work between heavy drilling and breaking tasks.