Cordless drills are a preferred and viable choice for almost all hand-held drilling duties on nearly any woodworking project. Cordless drills are available numerous sizes and with plenty of completely different features.
What options do you have to look for when shopping for a cordless drill?
Begin With the Battery:
When in search of a cordless drill to satisfy your woodworking needs, the first thing to consider is the battery. Cordless drills are presently obtainable in voltages from 9.6 volts all the way as much as 24 volts. The advantage of a more highly effective battery interprets to additional torque for driving long screws into stronger hardwoods. It additionally likely means longer battery life per charge.
However, these stronger batteries also imply a considerably heavier drill. A 24-volt cordless drill is way heavier than a 12-volt cordless drill, and significantly heavier than a corded power drill.
Necessary Features:
Any cordless drill that it is best to consider to your woodworking tasks should have quite a lot of primary features. These embody a reversible motor that may let you again out any screws that you drill in, a dual-speed motor (with a excessive and low change) and an adjustable clutch, that, when adjusted properly, will help maintain you from driving screws too deeply into your wood stock.
Extra Features to Think about:
Many cordless drills use a 3/eight" chuck to carry your bits. Nevertheless, some larger models have a half" chuck that may permit one to use drill bits of as much as half" in diameter. These half" models often include a "hammer drill" feature which has little practical utility for woodworking, however is nice for drilling holes in masonry.
Many latest cordless drill fashions make use of a "smart charger" that will assist extend battery life by optimizing the way the batteries are charged. On these chargers, when the battery is approaching a "full" cost, the charger switches to a trickle-cost mode till the battery is maxed.
Many models will even embody two batteries with the drill and charger, which, while it is not a requirement, is definitely a superb idea. With two batteries, you might be utilizing one and charging the opposite on the identical time.
Tips on how to Choose:
Paradoxically, an incredible many of the cordless drills accessible on the market have the entire options we've already discussed. What, then, must you search for to differentiate between these models?
In my thoughts, there are two major components to think about when all else is equal. First, whenever you have a look at the batteries, look past the voltage. For example, all 12-volt batteries aren't the same. When evaluating batteries of the same voltage, the battery with the next mAh rating (which stands for milliamp-hours) will maintain a charge for a longer period of time.
The other factor to contemplate comes into play whenever you pick up the drill with the battery installed. Maintain the drill in a variety of positions, including over your head, as in the event you have been drilling screws into your ceiling. Ask yourself questions like, "How does this drill really feel?" "Is it balanced?" "How long might I take advantage of this drill holding it over my head?"
If the drill is simply too heavy to comfortably use over your head for at least 30 seconds at a time, you then doubtless want to look at a drill with a lower battery voltage (and therefore, a smaller measurement). The drill should be sturdy, however comfortable to use.
The underside line is, if you don't find your drill snug, you then will not enjoy using it. Find one that feels good in your hand and you'll be extra more likely to put it to good use on your entire woodworking projects.