Power Drill Buying Guide

It's rare that you'll find a woodworking shop that doesn't have at least one cordless drill. It's actually two tools in one: a drill and a power screwdriver, with a two-speed gearbox that lets you select high speed/low torque for drilling and low speed/high torque for driving screws. The clutch is used for driving screws to prevent stripping out the hole or the screw.

Many woodworkers even have two (or more) cordless drills. This reduces the number of bit changes so you can have your pilot/countersink in one and your driver bit in the other. It also allows you to keep one lightweight drill and one heavyweight. The smaller and lighter-weight drills are great when you need to drill a lot of small holes or drive small screws, but you'll need more power for drilling larger holes in hardwood.

Know the Features

What it really comes down to is finding a drill (or drills) with the power you need and the comfort you desire.

Comfort

This is a personal preference. If you can, hold several drills and pretend to drill some holes with them (looking funny in the store for a few minutes will pay off with years of comfort). Is the handle comfortable, or too big, or too small? Is the head angle (the relationship of the driver to the handle) correct for you? How easy is it to change direction? In most cases, you'll find a few that are much more comfortable to you than the others.

Power

Higher-voltage batteries provide more power. Although more expensive, NiMH batteries appear to have a longer run time per pound than ni-cad, but the jury is still out on this one.