Time For Another Cheap Cordless Drill

I must have owned two dozen drills in my lifetime. The first one I borrowed from my father, one of those gear driven hand drills. It must be 70 years old. That was very hard work, especially drilling holes in steel, so it was soon replaced by an early model single speed corded drill. What a difference, it had speed and power, and such versatility. I used it for sanding, paint stirring and wire brushing. I was hooked on electric drills. I went through a series of other corded drills over the years. Variable speed was a great advance, I could use low speed for large holes and maximum speed for tiny drill bits.

I learned that even with moderate hobby and household use, a drill wore out in a year or two, all to often just after it ran out of warranty. I started to avoid the cheapest drills, and looked for the ones with at least one ball bearing. The biggest drill, and I still own it, is a Chinese mill/drill, that is like a drill press on steroids. It can bore one inch holes in steel with ease and a cloud of coolant steam. At over 600 pounds, the work has to come to it, not the other way around.

I was not an early adopter of cordless drills, I thought they were mere toys, despite their price, and I think I may have been right. I did not see how anything operated from a few ounces of batteries could compete with a corded drill drawing 5 amps and putting out half a horsepower. Finally I had to do an away-from-home repair on my car and there was no power outlet available, so I took the plunge. I bought a slim black Skill drill, which was the best cheap cordless drill that K-Mart stocked. Brand name counts for something, but I still tried out all the competing models before making my pick.

It looked more like a handgun than a drill, and the NiCad battery pack fitted inside the handle instead of being a boxy addition at the end of the handle as you see nowadays. Its first job was to drill some half inch holes in steel, and I was not sure it was up for the task. I started with a 3/16 inch drill bit for a pilot hole, then progressed through 1/4 inch, 3/8 inch and finally a 1/2 inch bit with a 3/8 shank. I learned that cordless drills made up for lack of power by having a higher gear ratio than their corded cousins. That meant lower tops speed, but plenty of torque. The set of holes were drilled with power still left in the battery pack.

Ten years later the drill was retired. Not because the bearing failed, but because I could not replace the battery pack. No one in the hardware stores could even remember seeing that style. So I started shopping Home Depot for cheap cordless drills. My rule of thumb is to avoid the very cheapest, they are unlikely to last very long. Likewise, I exclude the most expensive in each class, because they are aimed at customers with more money than sense. That left half a dozen to choose from, and my decision was based on how they felt in my hand. I chose a 14.4 volt Black and Decker with a somewhat bulky battery box at the handle end. Two years later, and hundreds of holes drilled, I'm very happy with my choice, but I still have that old hand drill for emergencies.