1) Cordless or Corded?



This is your first pivotal decision to come to. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of drill:

- Cordless drills are usually more convenient. They can be used in any location quickly without the need of extension cords and power outlets; so long as the battery stays charged. The significant advantage of corded drills is that they can be used for extended periods of time so long as power is available. With a corded drill, you will never find yourself waiting for batteries to charge.

- While it may sounds strange, cordless drills tend to be lighter than corded drills. However, if you opt for a high-power cordless drill (18V or 24V), they are sometimes just as heavy as their corded counterparts.

- Cordless drills are safer as there is no cord dangling about waiting to be tripped over.

- If torque and power and long usage times are required, a corded drill will fit the bill better than a cordless model. While there are many high-power models obtainable for cordless drills, corded drills can supply more power, and they will be able to provide it for a longer period of time.

- Even the most expensive batteries have a limited lifetime. You should expect that the batteries in your cordless drill will only last for a couple years at most. Batteries for cordless drills are very costly to purchase; it is usually more cost effective to buy a new cordless drill than it is to buy two new batteries. So if you are purchasing a cordless drill, expect to be getting a new drill in several years time. For comparison, if you buy a corded drill your drill should last for a good 10 years or more.

- If you are planning to get a cordless drill, be sure to purchase a cordless drill with Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries; stay away from Nickel-Metal-Hydride (NiMH) batteries. Li-Ion batteries are more powerful, they have longer lifetimes, they do not have "memory" issues, and they are less harmful to the environment because they contain less harmful metal elements.

2) Pick a Chuck

The chuck is the portion of the drill that holds the bits. There are two picks to make here: size and type.

The standard chuck sizes are 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" with the most common size being 3/8". If you plan on using large diameter drill bits, go with the 1/2" chuck since many of the bigger drill bits will not fit in a 3/8" drill. But if you do not want or need the capability to accommodate larger bits, the 3/8" chuck is a better option since you typically can get higher bit speeds in these type of drills.

There are two types of chucks: keyless and keyed. For drills with a keyed chuck, you use a mechanical key to tighten and loosen drill bits in the chuck. With the keyless chuck, you tighten the drill bit into the chuck by holding the chuck with your hand while powering the drill. The keyed chuck has the advantage of being able to hold bits tighter so there is less chance of the drill bit slipping. The advantage of the keyless chuck is that it is much quicker to change bits, and there is no key to be lost or kept track of.

3) Important Features

To get the most usage from your new drill, be certain it has these important features:

- Reverse. Even if you don't plan on using your drill for driving screws, reverse is a very important feature to have for removing drill bits that get stuck. If you are purchasing a drill that has a keyless chuck, it will always have reverse (you can't remove bits without reverse), so you only need to check for this feature when you are purchasing a drill with a keyed chuck.

- A variable speed trigger. If you want to use your drill to drive screws, this is key feature. If you don't plan to drive screws, this is still a great feature to have as it makes it much easier to drill clean holes since different materials require bit speeds.

- Two speed ranges. This feature is only needed if you plan on driving screws. If you are, this is very important to have. The lower speed range makes it much easier to drive screws without stripping them.

- A clutch. As with the speed ranges, this is only required if you are driving screws with your drill. The clutch allows you to set a maximum torque point after which the drill will stop driving. This is extremely useful when you are putting in screws to guard against over-driving the screw into the material. If you are installing large amounts of screws (like in decking), this feature is worth its weight in gold.