Selecting a Proper Drill

In the "horse and buggy" days of home improvements, electric drills used by consumers were considered useful only for making small holes in soft wood. Forget metal. There simply wasn't enough torque.

In the "horse and buggy" days of home improvements, electric drills used by consumers were considered useful only for making small holes in soft wood. Forget metal. There simply wasn't enough torque.

Today, when a do-it-yourselfer makes a selection in the power-tool section of a home improvement center, he or she has the same choices as tradespeople: torque control, high torque, hammer action, keyless chuck, variable speed control, reverse, several chuck sizes. And all are available in cord or cordless models.

Torque control allows you to adjust the amount of pressure that the drill will exert. For example, more torque is needed to drive a 6-inch lag bolt into a block of oak than is used to drive a molly screw into half-inch drywall. A drill without this adjustment is less versatile. High-torque drills can be too powerful for some jobs and low-torque ones too weak for others.

A drill that has high torque is the most powerful type. One with a torque adjustment can be used for almost every project from giant bores in metal to the installation of light screws into soft material.

Hammer action is another asset. The drill actually spins and hammers the bit at the same time. This feature makes boring into concrete as easy as drilling into wood. In some models the hammer action can be turned off, but full-time hammer drills also work well in wood

With the keyless chuck, drill bits and other attachments can be removed and replaced with the flick of a wrist. Before keyless chucks, a chuck key (chuck wrench) came with every drill. The key was used to open and close the chuck of the drill making it possible to remove and replace bits and attachments. With the keyless chuck, the chuck key is no longer needed.

Variable-speed control is important when it comes to drilling a hole, especially in metal. In many metals, when the bit is spinning too rapidly, cutting will not occur. Also, with self-tapping screws, the tips of the screws will dull before they can drill a hole into metal if the drill is turning too rapidly. Thus, it is important to have variable speed if you expect to use your drill for more than one purpose.

As kids in wood shop we learned that a freshly drilled hole is cleaned by pulling the bit out of the hole while continuing to operate the motor in the normal clockwise drilling direction. And this process does work well. But, we did occasionally encounter situations where the bit bound in the hole and would not drill forward. When this occurs a reverse switch can be invaluable.

People used to think that chuck size had something to do with drill power. And to some extent we suppose it did. But, we have learned that some drills with larger chucks are not as powerful as some others that are sold with smaller chucks. Be sure to check power ratings (amps and horsepower) before making a buying decision.

Cordless models are more useful than ever. Battery packs can last all day under constant use. Torque is tops and some are small enough to carry in your pocket.

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