The ultimate guide on power drills

The drilling action is a must when you are doing any wood working or doing any masonry work. In fact for any sort of low end work you will need to do have drill. Small examples at home like putting in towel rod in the bathroom or drilling the side of the window frame to make a hole for the wire.

For all this you will need a simple drill which can do the work .

Now for the types available in the market. There are three main types of drills that are available in the market and these are

Cordless Drills
Corded Drills
Drill press


Tips on selection for the drills

If you are doing masonry work then cordless drills are not for you. Make sure that you use the corded drill.

Cordless drills are best for the simple woodworking type of work and if you are thinking of using the drills for your tile use then it is better to go for the corded drills

Generally the drills are bought based on the voltage as more voltage means more power. The voltage on the drill can be as low as 4.8V and can go up to 18V. Any good drill the voltage will be above 12V. However that is not too day that below these are bad but these are not good for very heavy work.

More the voltage the heavier is the drill. If you are buying for home then make sure that you have a good balance between the voltage and the weight. Before buying try to get a feel of the cordless drill and make sure that it feels Ok in your hand.

Next check the battery of the drills. Generally you will get a spare battery. Go for the rechargeable batteries to reduce the cost.

Most of the drills have the variable speed function. This will allow you to reduce the speed as and when required.

Next when you go in for the corded drills then buy a drill which has both the rotary function as well as the hammer function. Hammer function is must for most of masonry work.

Note: all the above things that I have said apply to the corded drills as well as the cordless drills and not to the drill presses. Drill presses are for people who are professional woodworkers and generally have large woodworking operations. These drills are fixed in a stand and you will have to have a big bench beneath it to make sure that the wood is placed at the correct angle.


Tips on using the drill

Make sure that you drill the hole perpendicular to the surface of the drill. In general there is no need for additional accessories to achieve this. If you must you can use the spirit levels or you can even use the dowel jigs to achieve this.

The most common thing for which you are using the drill is to drill holes for screws. So make sure that the hole is of the same size as the stem of the screw and better still a slightly smaller hole will work well. This will allow the screw to take a grip onto the wood easily.

It is generally preferred to use the countersink drill bit so that the head of the screw sits easily inside the wood surface.


In my next post I am going to review two most common brands of drills..