angle drills

[Fred]

Hi,

All this talk of people buying themselves impact drivers for Christmas has tempted me too. I've not had one before and thought they were only for loosening stuck bolts. It was a revelation that they are good for driving screws into timber. I will be looking into this!

I was also thinking about are an angle drill. I know they are not needed frequently and I guess that's why I haven't bought one before but it's Christmas and I thought I might treat myself ;)

It would be useful for wiring or plumbing through joists. Looking at the descriptions for angle drills, they do not seem to state the width (or should that be depth?) of the drill. Surely that's the most important measurement? Whilst most of my joists are 40ish cm apart, there are a few that are very close together. It would be nice to know how small a gap the drill could fit in (I realise it also depends how long the drill bit is).

Has anyone any experience/recommendations about these?

TIA

[newshound]

I have a Ryobi set: drill/driver plus angle drill plus two batteries and fast charger that's done sterling service for about 10 years (one battery needed re-celling a year or two back). The angle drill doesn't get much work in comparison, but like the multi-tool, on the few occasions you need one they are very useful.

[Dom Ostrowski]

I got a blue bosch angle drill/driver in a 10.4V tool bundle. It has nowhere near enough clout for more than small trim screws (whilst the impact driver is excellent).

So my tip is to be sure that the angle drill you choose has sufficient clout for the size of holes you're likely to make (presumably 22mm+ for pipes).

An alternative is stubby auger bits that work very well with impact drivers, and will certainly go inside 400mm joist spacings.

[John Rumm]

Confusion not helped by the same name being reused for two completely different tools...

Yup, its important certainly, but once you are down to "short enough" then its less of an issue. Obviously there will be times where the span is too narrow, but sometimes you can get round this with a spade bit and an extension bar or two - drilling through one joist from a hole through the adjacent one.

That is often the limitation.

Odd you should mention impact driver in the same breath, but by chance there is actually a typical size comparison here (see half way down):

of the new Makitas have a very short depth:

if you want to combine the two, how about an angled impact driver:

Has anyone any experience/recommendations about these?

Yup, my 14.4V Dewalt is one of those tools that does not get used often, but when you need it, there is no obvious alternative. (having said that, if you are plumbing and wiring frequently, you will use it more often)

A good set of short auger bits is well worth getting. (you can get away with cut down spade bits but they are far less efficient at drilling, and require more effort.

Armed with a board access saw:

you can get the angle drill in - so long as the space under the floor is deep enough (about 7" is adequate):