Match the Tool to the Job

With all the different models of drill/drivers on the market, it's easy to buy more tool than you really need.

The solution:
Buy a drill based on how you will use it. It doesn't make sense to pay $200 for a tool you'll use only to hang pictures. Nor is it a good idea to pay $50 for a drill only to have the motor burn out after a few days of heavy work.

You don't have to drive yourself crazy trying to think up all the possible jobs you'll have for your new tool.

If you ever need more tool than you have, you can step up in power and options.

Or rent a more powerful drill for those projects that require one.

BUYING BASICS for Drills

Check out drills in home centers, noting their weight and balance.

Try out vertical and horizontal drilling positions to see how comfortable you feel. Contoured grips and rubber cushioning on some models make them very comfortable, even when you're applying direct palm pressure.

While you're at it, see how easy it is to change clutch settings and operate the keyless chuck.

Home centers often discount hand tools, so be on the lookout for promotions.

If you know the model you want, check out prices over the phone.

Mail-order suppliers with sizable drill offerings.

If you purchase a drill online or through mail order, be sure to account for the shipping charges when comparing prices against those at a home center.

BATTERIES AND CHARGERS

Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries represent the latest breakthrough in batteries.

They're smaller and run longer than standard nickel-cadmium (Nicad) batteries.

NiMH batteries also pose less of a hazard when it comes to disposal than Nicads because they don't contain any cadmium, which is highly toxic.

Makita, Bosch, Hitachi and DeWalt offer NiMH batteries, and other manufacturers will soon produce these power cells too.

All cordless drills come with a battery charger, with recharge times ranging from 15 minutes to three hours.

But faster isn't necessarily better. A contractor might depend on fast recharges, but slower recharging isn't usually a concern at home, especially if you have two batteries. What's more, there are drawbacks to fast charging.

A quick recharge can damage a battery by generating excessive heat, unless it's a specially designed unit.

If you want a speedy recharge, go with a tool from Makita, Hitachi or Panasonic, whose "smart" chargers are equipped with temperature sensors and feedback circuitry that protect batteries.

These units provide a charge in as little as nine minutes without battery damage.

Two Speed Cordless Drills

The least expensive drills run at a single speed, but most have two fixed speeds: 300 rpm and 800 rpm.
A slide switch or trigger lets you select high or low speed. These drills are ideal for most light-duty operations.

The low speed is for driving screws, the high speed for drilling holes.

For more refined carpentry and repair tasks, choose a drill that has the same two-speed switch and a trigger with variable speed control that lets you vary the speed from 0 rpm to the top of each range.

If you do more hole drilling than screwdriving, look for more speed — 1,000 rpm or higher — at the top end.

Adjustable Clutch on Cordless Drill

An adjustable clutch is what separates electric drills from cordless drill/drivers.

Located just behind the chuck, the clutch disengages the drive shaft of the drill, making a clicking sound, when a preset level of resistance is reached.

The result is that the motor is still turning, but the screwdriver bit isn't.

Why does a drill need a clutch? It gives you control so you don't strip a screw or overdrive it once it's snug.

It also helps protect the motor when a lot of resistance is met in driving a screw or tightening a bolt.

The number of separate clutch settings varies depending on the drill; better drills have at least 24 settings.

With that many clutch settings, you can really fine-tune the power a drill delivers. Settings with the lowest numbers are for small screws, higher numbers are for larger screws.

Most clutches also have a drill setting, which allows the motor to drive the bit at full power.

Grips on drills

Before cordless drill/drivers arrived, most drills had pistol grips, where the handle is behind the motor like the handle of a gun.

But most of today's cordless models are equipped with a T-handle:

The handle base flares to prevent hand slippage and accommodate a battery. Because the battery is centered under the weight and bulk of the motor, a T-handle provides better overall balance, particularly in heavier drills.

T-handle drills can often get into tighter spaces because your hand is out of the way in the center of the drill.

But for heavy-duty drilling and driving large screws, a pistol grip does let you apply pressure higher up — almost directly behind the bit — allowing you to put more force on the work.