Looking for a small handheld drill

[mark]

Greetings All, I'm looking for a small cordless drill mainly for drilling pilot holes and driving screws. My 18v DeWalt is too large for small work and I keep that for grunt work. I notice that Nahm has a small P-C and it doesn't look bad. But since I already have the small Bosch 10.8v Litheon right angle driver, I'd like to get the companion Pocket Driver (I've noticed that Bosch sells some of their battery powered tools without the battery and charger, in case you already have them). My concern is whether the speed is high enough for drilling. My right angle driver speed is a little slow for the kind of drilling I plan on doing. Anyone have a Pocket Driver out there? Does it work as a drill? If all else fails, I'll go with the P-C and just collect another charger, battery, etc.... Many thanks as always, Mark

[Old Guy]

I've got an old Stanly push drill that does those chores for me.

Batteries are not a problem, and when sharp, the bits jump right into the wood.

Old Guy

[Leon]

There are several choices but the small pocket drivers typically do not have a regular drill bit chuck and you really need a higher speed for regular drilling. Impact drivers are a nice complement to a set of drills but are not great for putting screws in with much finesse. I would steer clear of a PC drill. At one time they were OK, Norm uses them because PC sponsors his show. Better choices would be, DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, or Bosch, in no particular order. Additionally I would look for something in the 9.6-12 volt range.

[Howard]

At the risk of getting flamed look at the Black and Decker Firestorm FS1202D or a similar model. Comes in a bright orange, has the wrong name, its only 12V, the charger is a two piece design. BUT it has a keyless chuck that is removable with just a click to reveal a hex driver socket, so drill and drive happens very quickly. It has plenty of power to drill and then driver pocket hole screws into oak and comes with two batteries. Its lighter than my 18V drill, and well balanced. Oh and its two speed, reversible and variable speed. And when the batteries die a new one costs less than a rebuild.

[Larry Blanchard]

Those are great! I've got a couple of Goodell-Pratt models as well as a Stanley. Quickest screw hole drills I've got.

But then I'm an "old guy" too :-).

[Upscale]

And if he does want to go electric, Lee Valley has a flex drive for drilling in tight places.

[Lobby Dosser]

But the Cachet, what about the Cachet? :)

[Lew Hodgett]

RE: Subject

Years ago, there was a display of small hand tools developed for the avaiation indusdtry at a boat show.

From memory, think there was a small drill in the package.

Don't have a clue if they are still in business or how to find them, but might want to start with your local airport for some help in finding a source.

Since it is avaiation based, don't expect low cost, but will be quality.

Have fun.

Lew

[Rick Samuel]

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9.6 v Dewalt drill/driver works great for me, have two on hand so don't need to change out tip. Bought em rebuilt, $75 each, batt and all.

[J. Clarke]

Since nobody has mentioned it, do you have an impact driver now (not a hammer drill)? If not, you might want to look at them carefully. They tend to be smaller than drills, and turn at higher RPM under no load (they'll be effectively under "no load" turning a pilot drill) and for driving screws they're marvelous as long as you pay attention to what you're doing. You can get a chuck that fits right into the

1/4" hex mount or you can get drill bits that are already hex-mounted or you can get adapters that take regular hex bits. For pilot holes you can get hex mount drill/countersink assemblies.

[mark]

Not a bad idea, Rick. Heading to Amazon now to look around.

[mark]

I never used an impact driver. I thought it was the same as a hammer drill. I know Bosch sells one, and I already have the batteries and charger. Time to check it out. Thanks, John

[Timothy Drouillard]

Impact drivers are different that a hammer drill in the sense that the impact motion is pure rotary, and not linear.

I bought a 'small' impact driver a few weeks ago to be used to drive screws, but I was looking for one that had a typical clutch with settings, rather than the typical impact driver that just relies on how long you pull the trigger.

I found a nice 12V Milwaulkie ($125 at the local Borg), that fits the hand nicely, the battery (comes with two and the charger) is a cylinder type that fits in the handle so there's no big square heavy battery at the end of the handle.

The only small downside to the battery fitting in the handle, is that you can't stand it upright on the bench when you set it down.

Impact drivers come with a 1/4" hex quick-release chuck but you should be able to find small drills made to fit such a chuck.

[Leon]

You will want to be very careful with an impact driver. You can snap a #8 square drive screw very easily in hard woods.

[Timothy Drouillard]

That's why I like my Milwaukie. It's got an adjustable clutch just like most cordless drills.