At the risk of asking a dumb question: are corded drills such a commodity item that there is no longer a purpose in worrying about anything other than specs for anything above the Harbor Freight quality level? I'm tempted to think so, but my landlord would have a problem with me burning down his house.
None of the normal things I look at seems to have ratings....
As far as burning down the house goes, if it's UL listed you're as covered as you're going to get.
Not much attention paid to corded drills these days since the cordless have gotten so good that corded drills are becoming niche products. Just look for a decent brand with the features you want.
I wish vendors would put more effort into the "feel" of their hand drills, but I suppose for no marginl, it's not worth their time. You can get a name brand 3/8" drill for 40-60 I think. There's really no comparison still to a cordless for drilling.
I am a fan of many Harbor Freight items, but as you rightly suggest, consider only those drills above HF in quality. I picked up their cheapo 3/8" corded drill for about 10 bucks. Drills ok, except the one I have has a SUPER sensitive trigger. I swear a strong breeze blowing across the trigger will set the drill into motion. Kinda scary.
Kevin
I have a Makita similar to these, but discontinued: 6406. I got it for 30 bucks at a HD or Lowes closeout. It's only 3.3amp, but is remarkably strong.
0-2100 rpm. I wish it was 1/2, but it's only 3/8, yet keyless. I may get a 1/2 chuck for it next time they're on sale at HF.Point is, I beat the crap out of this thing, drop it on the floor, off the roof. I use and abuse it, and it's still going strong, with only scratches to show for it.
Have a Milwaukee I could say the same about. This one is an older model when the triggers were smaller. I don't care for the newer ones with the elongated trigger and ergonomic curve to the grip. I also have a milwaukee corded angle drill. Bought it reconditioned for a really decent price. Gets into places others won't, Has saved the day more than once. Even their reconditioned tools have a 5 year warranty.
Lenny
The worst corded drill is better than the best cordless drill, and cost a fraction. You can get a high-quality corded Milwaulkee drill for the same price of a decent cordless (about $150). Chances are very good ithe Milwaulkee will last a lifetime with some abuse, can't say the same for a "Chicago" brand.
I bought a Skil to do sanding on the lathe, figuring it would succumb to the dust in short order. It is still working fine, but I got so aggravated with the stiff plastic cord that I ordered a replacement DeWalt cord and put on it. Now both my DeWalt and Skil drills have long flexible cords. Just something else to note when looking at tailed tools.
I agree about 80%. LOL, Please show me a corded drill with a "clutch", or a corded drill that will operate with out an electrical outlet or extension cord. I will probably forever have at least one with and with out a tail.
While the corded drill will operate, in many cases, as well as a cordless, a cordless drill is a particular power tool that is easily used in most any location and or position. Other corded tools, routers, jig saws, sanders, etc. typically are used on a level flat surface and the cords typically do not have to be dragged all over the work area. A corded drill tends to be carried around a lot more than any other corded tool, at least that is true in my shop.
But for power, the corded is very hard to beat and is always ready if electricity is available. I very much prefer a corded drill for actually drilling holes, not so much for driving screws.
Obviously you're not serious about the second part, but for the clutch you just have to look around a bit. The Milwaukee 6580-20 and 6780-290 both have a clutch, as does the Makita 6827. On the other end of the spectrum, there is the Black&Decker DR330B and the Ryobi D46CK. I'm sure there are others.
Chris
I had a POS "cordless", brand long forgotten, that ran off its battery *or* a corded adapter that plugged where the battery would go. Good concept, but it has the relationship backwards. What we really want is the power of a corded drill that can run on batteries for portability. What they built was an anemic cordless that had a backup power source. (The battery was a cheap NiCad that died way too early in its service life. I stopped struggling with it when the brushes started sparking, also too early in its life.)
Just like my drill press.
Back in the day, I bought a clutch at a lumberyard for $30. I just chuck it up and put my drivers in it. It wasn't great, but it worked. I used it to build a lot of furniture, etc.
When I got my Makita cordless drills, it got tossed out. The new drivers were much better.
Think of what the tool is to do.
I bought a corded hammer drill. It is intended to do a lot of hammering and drilling under a lot of back pressure. Cord is best. Even if a generator is needed.
Now the hand drill that runs around the house and backyard and shop and truck.... that is handy in battery.
When doing a roof - air or cord. Nice to have cordless but volume demands cord.
I think the gas controlled nailers and such are neat. I have air nailers and a gas tank on a short hose for back yard fence or the front drive fence.
To me, it means how many batteries I'll need to do a job. If there are a number and that takes time swapping and charging -
Mart> >
GOOD!! I'm not the only one who gets pissed at stiff plastic cords... and here I thought I was weird...
In that case, I'll swap you my old Black and Decker corded drill for a Bosch, Milwaukee, or Panasonic cordless. You'll come out way ahead on the deal. I'll pay postage for both.
The drill press is awkward on a ladder though. I'm thinking a shoulder mount would help.
I've been using the Ryobi for oh, about a year now. It's not a bad drill at all. The chuck leaves something to be desired, and if I push it hard I can smell the fact that it's not happy about it. But that's what the beat to hell Milwaukee next to it is for. A corded drill with a clutch is a very handy thing to have. It lives next to the workbench always ready to go. For 30-40 bucks I can't complain. I'll put a decent chuck on it when this one is toast, and when the drill itself dies I'll buy another one, and I still won't have paid as much as a cordless.
-Kevin
"MikeWhy" wrote in news:Hx7el.10921$ snipped-for-privacy@flpi148.ffdc.sbc.com:
I had a Skil that did that. It was great! At 9.6V, it'd drive 2" screws all day long (on AC, of course) but could only do 4-5 3" screws before tripping the overload.
My Makitas are leaps and bounds better, but I still like the idea that one drill/driver can be cordless, until you run out of power, and then go corded and charge the battery at the same time. Although... with 3 batteries it's easy to keep flipping between the charger, drill and impact driver.
Puckdropper
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