Cordless
power drills
The archetypal
tool that fits into the "I can't imagine how I ever got by without one"
category. The freedom of use without a trailing cord is incredibly handy,
and when used as a power screwdriver with readily available quality cheap
screws makes this method of fixing more convenient, more accurate and sometimes
cheaper than using nails.
Size and
voltage - The power of a cordless drill is proportional to the voltage
(approximately), the voltage is also proportional to the weight (approximately).
It is not always the best solution therefore to go for the highest voltage
and most powerful drill, the weight of it may well limit its usefulness
in a multitude of other jobs where it would otherwise be used if it weren't
such a strain on the wrist and arm.
It's like only
having one pair of shoes and choosing a heavy pair of walking boots because
you go to the Lake District once a year. The rest of the time you'll have
to clump around in them even though a much lighter pair will do.
For the majority
of household and garden tasks, a 12v or 14.4v drill / driver is ideal.
I have a 14.4v Bosch professional quality hammer drill / driver with NiMH
batteries and find this quite capable of driving screws up to 90mm x 6mm
into softwood and drilling many (I've never counted how many) holes
into brick work before needing a re-charge. It will also drive small screws
into fine wood slowly with a torque setting such that it will stop long
before the work piece is damaged. It is perhaps a little on the heavy side
to be perfect, but for my purposes it can't really be bettered.
Anything larger
than this would be too heavy to be comfortable. For larger heavier jobs,
I use my corded drill.
Batteries
- Cordless drills come with either NiCd - nickel cadmium, or Ni-MH - nickel
metal hydride batteries. Ni-MH are more expensive and hold nearly double
the energy of the NiCd equivalent, they can't be damaged by partial charging
and are lighter in weight. A drill with two batteries and a one hour charge
means that you can use it intensively almost without pause. There is a disadvantage
though in that NiMH batteries don't last as long as the NiCd equivalent,
they will wear out and need to be replaced sooner - though not that soon.
Chucks
- the vast majority of cordless drill come with a keyless chuck, a single
twist to lock the bit in place or two rings that lock against each other.
make sure your drill has this feature, much of the convenience of a cordless
drill is lost if it doesn't.
Professional or DIY
Power
drills come in two types, DIY quality or professional quality. Professional
quality are designed to be used every day by a tradesman whereas
DIY quality aren't. As well as the huge difference in longevity
is a large difference in quality of the tool. If you can afford
it always go for professional quality. It will more than repay the
additional expense by extra life and also the intangible pleasure
of using of a well-built quality item.
Professional quality brands - Bosch, DeWalt, Erbauer, Hitachi,
Makita (not an exhaustive list)
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Corded
(mains) Power Drills
If you only
have one drill then go for a quality corded (mains) hammer drill. Cheaper
DIY drills are available sometimes for silly prices, (around £10) but they
are basic to say the least and the quality leaves much to be desired meaning
that you'll need a new one soon anyway. Many mains drills have variable
speed and so can be used for power screw-driving - although they are never
very happy doing this and a cordless or proper mains screwdriver is better
for this function.
Mains drills
are considerably cheaper than the equivalent cordless. My own cordless 14.4v
drill for instance cost me £199.99 (several years ago now) and develops
about 350W of power, whereas a professional quality 550W mains drill can
be had for about £50.
Larger more
powerful SDS drills can be had for £100 upwards, these have a more effective
hammer action but are unnecessary for most DIY'ers and are used mainly for
regular drilling of large holes into masonry or even for demolition purposes.
Make sure
you get a hammer or percussion drill, they are essential for drilling
holes into brick work with the appropriate bit. Again weight is proportional
to power, there's little need to go beyond 650W for most purposes and 500-550W
is adequate for many.
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