Kress drill (Attn Mr Medway!)

[Fred]

Hello,

I'm interested in buying a cordless drill but I also need to buy right-angled drill attachment. I've used the cheap silverline ones but the gearboxes always wear out. The Medway handyman recommended a Wickes drill made by Kress IIRC but neither the Wickes nor Kress web site give much details.

I would want it for DIY use. What are your recommendations/opinions on this drill? Is there another cheap right angled drill corded or cordless?

In addition to drilling does it also do screw driving? Does it have a hammer action drill?

My main question is about the 90 degree drilling. Does the special adapter lock in one position or can it be angled in any direction? How tough is the attachment? Will it stand years of use/abuse? IE is it infinity better than the silverline attachments!

TIA

[The Medway Handyman]

I'd highly reccommend the Wickes/Kress combi drill drivers, but I don't have the right angle attachment - that were someone else.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It's called a Wicks Professional 15.6v High Torque Cordless Drill.

I don't know of another. But it's not exactly cheap - just decent value. The batteries seem top quality as is the charger.

Yes to both. And it's an excellent screwdriver. Can't really comment on the hammer action as I seem only to need plain drilling or SDS. ;-)

It locks in a number of positions. To all intents and purposes any direction.

It seems pretty tough and well made. The adaptor is all metal. But mine doesn't get the hard use a pro might give it.

Only thing I would add is its maximum speed is rather slower than most cordless drills. Which might be a factor if you're drilling lots of small holes in wood.

[mike]

I have the version without the right-angle attachment. It's a very good drill and a very good screwdriver. The batteries are decent and it comes with an intelligent charger so it doesn't overcook them. It's been used on a couple of house renovations and still going strong. A friend who uses his in his job rates it highly too.

It doesn't have hammer action. It's purely a drill driver.

There are a couple of downloadable pdfs on the Kress website but they're not in the most obvious places:

I previously had the PPPro (GMC) one, like this:

did the job but no great shakes and the varibale speed trigger has just died, so I'm looking at getting the Kress.

If you're not in the market for a Bosch/Makita, the cheap cordless option is the 18v one from Toolstation:

I think you'll find the person recommending it was IMM/Drivel. Hardly surprising - he and Dave Plowman agree on everything. Honestly, you'd struggle to shove a cigarette paper between those boys' opinions.....

[Doctor Drivel]

The Silverline can be had for around £26. It is a "mains" angle drill and the cheapest angle drill around, so worth it for occasioonal use which angle drills are used get anway. Many angle adapters are that price.

[Doctor Drivel]

It doesn't have hammer action.

[John Rumm]

pleased with my one...

[Doctor Drivel]

Fred, do you mean this is the angle drill you used?

[mike]

It would be worth it for occasional use if it worked for occasional use. But as I said, I had the identical PPPro one, it had occasional use and the switch died. So I wouldn't recommend it and I wouldn't buy another.

At £26 it is cheap though, so for *very occasional* occasional use...

The 18v drill on the link I provided is £49. So why the "Duh!"?

[mike]

John, How do the cordless ones perform with spade bits or augers?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Didn't think you had one 'cause you didn't know where the screwdriver bits were stored either...

Or perhaps you simply haven't found it. Slide the black wedge on the top back forward.

[somebody]

In message , mike writes

Whoah there tiger :-)

I've got the Wickes professional (2Kg ish?) SDS - a Kress in disguise[1]. Wonderful piece of kit which a number of builder friends of mine have now bought having (ab)used mine.

Whether I/you/we (or as some posters are more frequently and annoyingly saying "one") agree or disagree about the Wickes/Kress, I think it's important to distinguish between disliking the tool full stop and disliking the tool because of the *person* who raves about it :-)

Anyway, just a thought and not a flame, I'm currently fuelling one of those elsewhere!!!

All the best, Someone

[1] AIUI not all Wickes power tools are made by Kress. I think the grey professional series are, but the others[2] aren't? Can't cite anything, just what I've come to believe. [2] What *do* they call the "other series"... Unprofessional? Amateur? Been on "Builders from Hell"?. Gawd knows :-)

[John Rumm]

The short answer is "ok". My one has spent more time sticking 25 - 32mm holes through the sides of joists using a spade bit than any other activity I would guess. Not tried an auger it it yet.

General impression is not bad - not quite the power of the 18V combi (the 14.4V DeWalt DW966K angle drill can produce 24Nm of torque tops) but enough to turn most bits at a respectable speed.

(In the case of the DeWalt, this sort of use rapidly shows a difference in performance between the 1.3Ah bats and the 2.0Ah ones).

[Fred]

Hello,

A couple of apologies: first apologies to the medway Handyman, I was sure it was you that had recommended the drill in the past; that will teach me to re-read old posts before posting.

Secondly, sorry to everyone else for any confusion: when I said I had used a Silverline product I meant part 40354 at Toolstation. It is an attachment made by Silverline that you screw into the front of your drill for about £7 but it didn't work for me.

I didn't realise that silverline made an actual angle drill. The price seems good though I am unsure whether to buy one now I've read the other comments about it not lasting long.

It would only be used occasionally for DIY wires and pipes through joists, so I'm not sure that I could justify hundreds of pounds on a purchase.

I was hoping to drill a 25mm hole in a joist to run a 22mm pipe through. Is 25mm sufficiently large for a 22mm pipe. I'm guessing I should allow some space for copper pipe to expand or to prevent plastic pipe from rubbing against the joist? What diameter would you drill for other pipe sizes?

Thanks.

[Andy Hall]

This really depends on how accurately you can mark and drill, especially considering working in a slightly awkward space.

I would go a few mm larger and wrap some thin insulation around the pipe as it goes through the holes

I've had more success with auger than spade bits. You can get short ones for this purpose.

[Jim Alexander]

For most joist spacings a small mains drill with a cut down spade or stubby auger will fit. For occasional pipe clearance holes with restricted joist spacing a stubby auger hand driven by a spanner works perfectly well. Ideally a ratchet ring spanner, 11mm for large augers, 9mm for small.

I'm sure a right angle drill is worth having but its not essential for occasional use. A battery anything is not a good solution for occasional use.

Jim A

[Rod]

If you watch Hepworth's Hep2O installation video (available online but I don't have a link to hand), they drill and feed the pipe through a maze of joists without doing anything special. (Admittedly 15mm but the point is the same.)

Copper - certainly we get nasty squeaks from tight fitting pipes and if ever I have that bit of floor up I shall be doing something. I can't see expansion across the diameter being worthy of mention - along the length will cause the pipe to pull back and forth.

[John Rumm]

I think the grey SDS drill is generally well enough respected, and for a time had a niche place in the market since it was a fair bit cheaper than the more well known quality branded tools. Now that it is the same price or even more than the slightly more powerful but otherwise equivalent Makita' et al, the attraction is less.

The combi angle drill is not as easy to find, but if you need the angle attachment then there is not much to touch it at the price.

From what I have seen the grey stuff tends to be from respectable OEMs, but not always Kress. Their 1/2" router for example was a rebadged Freud.

[Doctor Drivel]

OK you had a bad one. Is that exactly the same drill as the PPPro? The switches must be available to buy. A mains angle drill is handy for drilling joists for cables and pipes.

Never noticed that. :( There is huge a difference in price there from £160 - £115 - £49. The £115 one looks the best as it can in tighter and a normal chuck not a keyless.

The £49 drill is way cheaper than the rest (OK no 2nd battery), so why so cheap?

[Doctor Drivel]

The Ryobi bare angle drill is around £50-60, which may be the better buy if you have the ONE+ batteries and other ONE+ kit.