When you’re in the market looking to buy a cordless drill, your objective should be to zero in on a tool that offers the best bang for the buck. The value proposition you hold so dearly to your consumer heart should encompass your specific drilling requirements, budget, and whether the tool is the first piece of equipment of its kind you’re buying.
As a buyer, you should be happy to know that you’ve got some great options. But that’s also a bad thing since you would have a hard time picking one from the crowd. Not to mention, the various cordless drill reviews floating online are either partial or they don’t provide the clarity you need. Here, we would like to equip you with knowledge that automatically guides you toward the best cordless drill for the money.
What is a Cordless Drill?
First let’s get some basics out of the way. A cordless drill is essentially a power tool that’s made to drill holes into walls, floors and other objects. It also helps remove and insert screws. The “cordless” design means the tool is battery-powered, which is rechargeable. In other words, you would not be restricted by a power cable.
Cordless Drill Types
A cordless drill could be of multiple types: power drill, hammer drill, right angle drill, rotary drill, screw gun and impact driver. Let’s take a brief look at each.
• Power Drill
A power drill is the most basic kind and it’s perfect for drilling holes into walls and securing screws. It comes with a clutch that could be altered to help with drill depth.
• Hammer Drill
A hammer drill, as the name indicates, does hammering too besides drilling. As a result, the drill has a lot more thump to it compared to the power drill. The tool also effortlessly drills holes into tough surfaces such as masonry.
Right Angle Drill
A right angle drill isn’t the most commonly used drill. DIYers usually don’t have this tool in their kit. It’s the tradesmen who are often seen using this drill. The chuck here is mounted 90-degree to the body of the drill, which makes the drill ideal in constricted spaces.
Rotary Drill
A rotary drill is another less common, yet powerful drill that easily drills through hard and tough materials such as masonry, tile and concrete. The drill comes in certain varieties and some of them include only rotation, hammer-only and rotary hammer modes. For added stability, the drill also has a secondary handle.
Screw Gun
A screw gun helps drill loose screws in, particularly for drywall installation. The tool has a high torque motor that helps easily drive into dense material. The power on offer also means you are less likely to experience fatigue when using a screw gun for an elongated time period.
Impact Driver
The impact driver’s power and impact mechanism helps drive bolts and big fasteners efficiently and quickly. The impart functionality and compact design also means reduced twisting exertion on the wrist.
What type of projects will you be working on the most?
Besides the above categorization, a cordless drill can be alternatively classified as ‘heavy-duty’, ‘general-use’ and ‘light-duty’ too. You should know how you’d be using the drill. Manufacturers usually do not market cordless drills based on their usability. They focus more on features. That could be probably because things may get a bit complex when you’re trying to explain usability to a larger set of people.
This “complexity” could be ascribed to the drill’s three-pronged clamp or the chuck. The chuck secures the bits at the drill’s business end. It can take in both driving bits to screw in fasteners and cutting bits to drill holes. The higher the chuck capacity of the drill, the larger the bit it could hold. The larger chuck capacity also means the particular model would offer a lot more power. Long story short, the chuck size reveals a lot about the drill.
The heavy-duty models are the ones that come with the half-inch chuck, which is the biggest that cordless drills offer. Drills used for general work come with a 3/8-inch chuck, which shall easily handle the majority of the bits you’d probably require. The light-duty drills invariably come with a ¼-inch, fixed socket. This design only works with bits that have hex-shaped shafts.
Besides the chuck, also actively seek the ‘brushless motor’, which plays a major role in sensing work material resistance and reducing friction. A brushless motor invariably means more power, increased run times and a much better product life.
How to buy the right cordless drill
When you’re buying the tool, make sure you keep the aforementioned aspects in mind. The chuck size is extremely important and make sure the drill comes with a brushless motor. Also, cordless drills come in three configurations: standalone tool (with a dedicated charger and two batteries), as part of a kit, and bare tool (with no charger or battery). Knowing what you already have and what you currently need shall help you choose from these configurations.
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