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Help a Home Improvement Noob Pick a Drill

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WhipperSnapper said:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-5-...ersible-Compact-Clutch-Driver-D48CK/205216292

That Ryobi seems like a good candidate. I did watch the video about the clutch and it seems like a great feature. What do you guys think about this Craftsman? (I don't think it has the clutch feature.)

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-2812...p-00928126000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3
Click to expand...

It's $40 for the 3/8 inch clutched corded Ryobi at home depot. Craftsman was great once , but that day is gone. I would not pay $5 more for an unclutched craftsman drill.

The best overall deal is still the 4 tool Ryobi set for $129 and the drill is 1/2 inch. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-ON...CH=RV-_-rv_search_plp_rr-_-NA-_-203466914-_-N

Jim

Jim
 
For general use around my home, I also have two corded power drills.
One is a Rockwell 3/8 inch capacity hand held, with Variable Speed & Reversing.
The other is a Thor Model E110-20 1/4 capacity hand held (no longer around but
it was the smallest power drill ever made - fits in the palm of your hand -- it is 7" long)

thor-corded-electric-mini-compact-1-4-bit-chuck-power-tool-1250rpm-drill-e110-577cbcaf684a21988be5da583870abcb.jpg
 
Beer4Me said:
That's not a drill, but an over-powered screwdriver. 😀
Click to expand...

Can't be dissing another man's drill. 😀

But seriously, what do most homeowners use their drills for? A few pluses. It's light (makes it portable), small (can use in tight places) and batteries are cheap (how often do you use your drill?). I have an 18V drill as well, but needed something smaller to travel with to the g/f's. And then this became my go to.
 
I'm hoping some big Fathers Day sales break tomorrow. It seems like this Ryobi corded w/ Clutch for $40 is the best candidate right now. But it's still more than I'd hoped to spend; hard to say if I'll ever drill again after the blinds project. (Although, as I think about it, there's other stuff I might want to do that would benefit from a drill.)
 
Beer4Me said:
That's not a drill, but an over-powered screwdriver. 😀
Click to expand...

I have this and a right angle impact driver of this lineup. It seriously is pretty cool for small jobs. The right angle impact driver is great for working on the car with all the damn fasteners they have for body work, cowlings, the areo plastic cladding on the bottom of the car and furniture assembly.
Of course, I have Milwaukee for the bigger projects. Even 12V Milwaukee will out torque some bottom of the barrel 18V's out there.
 
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WhipperSnapper said:
Yes; the walls are bare. We just moved out of an apartment into our first house. It's new construction, so we just have these temporary Redi Shade paper blinds up right now. I'm not sure if I'll be able to bare putting a hole in the wall to hang a picture.
Click to expand...

You're not alone. My dentist used to be a drywaller (went to dental school in his late 30s) and would never put so much as a photo hanger in the walls. Any pictures hanging in his office hang from a strip mount at the top of the wall.

What about this one? And what's the difference between a 3/8 and 1/2?
Click to expand...

3/8" is pretty much standard duty. When you get into 1/2" you're getting into a heavier duty drill.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-heavy-duty-variable-speed-reversible-drill-61741.html
Click to expand...

Make sure you get something with a clutch on it for placing screws.

I'm not sure I agree with others about getting a corded drill. For light jobs like putting up blinds I'd go back to your original thought of buying a cheap cordless.

How about this? For $17, even if it lasts only a couple years, it's a deal.

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-vol...h-keyless-chuck-21-clutch-settings-69651.html
 
WhipperSnapper said:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-5-...ersible-Compact-Clutch-Driver-D48CK/205216292

That Ryobi seems like a good candidate. I did watch the video about the clutch and it seems like a great feature. What do you guys think about this Craftsman? (I don't think it has the clutch feature.)

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-2812...p-00928126000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3
Click to expand...

Just spend the $40 and get the Ryobi with the clutch. It has the longest warranty and, unless HD has changed, the generally take the thing right back at the store. Even if they don't, it is pretty easy with Ryobi (or RIGID). The clutch will also become incredibly useful if and when you put furniture and other things together. It really prevents you from damaging things.

And if you're a new homeowner, a drill really is probably one of the most useful tools you'll have in your house. You will use it many times.
 
Carson Dyle said:
You're not alone. My dentist used to be a drywaller (went to dental school in his late 30s) and would never put so much as a photo hanger in the walls. Any pictures hanging in his office hang from a strip mount at the top of the wall.



3/8" is pretty much standard duty. When you get into 1/2" you're getting into a heavier duty drill.



Make sure you get something with a clutch on it for placing screws.

I'm not sure I agree with others about getting a corded drill. For light jobs like putting up blinds I'd go back to your original thought of buying a cheap cordless.

How about this? For $17, even if it lasts only a couple years, it's a deal.

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-vol...h-keyless-chuck-21-clutch-settings-69651.html
Click to expand...

A HF power tool lasting a couple of years?
 
Agree, if you are using it to drive screws, a clutch is the best thing to have on a drill.
It stops you from overtightening a screw or stripping it and is essential if you are using it to
put up drywall, where you want the screw to go just below the surface, but not break it.
That is the only way to stop screw pops in the finish from happening. Whatever you are using it
for, you should test it on a piece of scrap material and adjust the clutch as needed for that material.
 
bruceb said:
Agree, if you are using it to drive screws, a clutch is the best thing to have on a drill.
It stops you from overtightening a screw or stripping it and is essential if you are using it to
put up drywall, where you want the screw to go just below the surface, but not break it.
That is the only way to stop screw pops in the finish from happening. Whatever you are using it
for, you should test it on a piece of scrap material and adjust the clutch as needed for that material.
Click to expand...
To just drive or remove a screw I don't usually reach for a drill. On recommendation years ago I picked up a few Black and Decker cordless screwdrivers. One is clutched, but I seldom use it. I have that set on high. Even there, it slips too soon sometimes. Mostly I really like them, however. They are slow enough, the torque isn't so high I'm going to foul something up. The Versapak batteries are too expensive, is the rub, but other than that they are very handy.
 
I think it comes down to these now:

Corded Ryobi w/ Clutch $40

12V Lithium Cordless Ryobi $50

20V Worx Cordless on Clearance for $55

Is that 20V Worx deal a better value / product than the other two? Is Worx even a decent brand? Is the 12V Ryobi underpowered and would it lack enough juice for about 1 hour's worth of use? Does the corded one beat out the other two in terms of potential power?

I kind of have my heart set on a cordless lithium one now since it would be drag lugging a power cord all around. I've been reading that the lithium batteries are pretty good and will allow you to charge them for years.
 
WhipperSnapper said:
I think it comes down to these now:

Corded Ryobi w/ Clutch $40

12V Lithium Cordless Ryobi $50

20V Worx Cordless on Clearance for $55

Is that 20V Worx deal a better value / product than the other two? Is Worx even a decent brand? Is the 12V Ryobi underpowered and would it lack enough juice for about 1 hour's worth of use? Does the corded one beat out the other two in terms of potential power?

I kind of have my heart set on a cordless lithium one now since it would be drag lugging a power cord all around. I've been reading that the lithium batteries are pretty good and will allow you to charge them for years.
Click to expand...

You are putting up curtains, there isn't really much dragging around. The Worx is fine except it only has one 1.5ah battery.
 
Check out this site from time-to-time: http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-drill-for-common-household-projects/

They test out many, many products and update with what they think is the best. I recently purchased the drill they recommended, and it has been fantastic.

Also, after many readings of reviews and comparisons, it looks like Bosch is one of the best brands out there when it comes to cost/performance ratio and consistency across their whole product line.
 
Beer4Me said:
That's not a drill, but an over-powered screwdriver. 😀
Click to expand...

I've got a bunch of different pieces in the Craftsman 12v set. All are very good tools and the batteries hold a charge VERY well. They definitely don't have oodles of power, but for 90% of jobs around the house, they do perfect. The impact driver fits in a great number of spaces that my 18v/19.2V stuff does not.
 
What really counts is both the Voltage (the drill motor can be smaller and lighter and still be powerful) and the battery Amp Hour rating (the higher the AH rating the longer run time on a charge) .. So depending on how long you expect to use it at any one time, pick the AH rating accordingly (like if you are doing a lot of drilling or screw driving get the higher AH battery) Also, not all Lithium Ion batteries are created equally. A cheap battery may not last as long as a top quality one.
 
I finally caved in and bought the cordless Ryobi kit special at Home Depot and ended up getting an unexpected 10% off discount on everything. My wife liked the idea of getting other Ryobi cordless tools. (She wants a sander, string trimmer, and hedge cutter.) So, I guess it makes some sense.

I also bought a nifty 68 piece driver set with nut drivers and socket adapters. Two employees had to go on a search and seek mission to find it. The system showed 30 in stock. Finally it was found in a box over the drill bits area.

I kind of liked this Milwaukee set and while I can swear there was a display of them when I walked in, they disappeared all of the sudden, perhaps in preparation for a demo:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauke...act-Driver-Combo-Kit-2-Tool-2494-22/203111686

I think it might have also been eligible for a free 4.0 AH battery, too, which would have made it a white hot deal. They felt really good in my hands are are much more compact, manageable, and refined than the unwieldy Ryobis; who cares if its a 12V set. Two employees went looking for the kit since they showed two in stock but no dice. As I was checking out, one of them set me up with a 10% discount for my purchase, making the Ryobi kit $89, yay.

I've already put up a set of blinds here in my lower level computer room (aka "the Dungeon" - my wife's term). It turns out that it's a pain in the ass since I kind of need to punch a hole in the top of the window frame and then manually screw a little first before using the impact driver. Apparently, when I first started using the drill, I had it set to reverse (yeah, I know, total noob). I'm thinking about buying some drilling bits now so that i don't have to pound a nail for each screw spot.

So, overall, I ended up getting a mediocre brand drill, impact driver, two 18V Lithium batteries, a charger, and a case for $89 with the option to purchase other Ryobi products as "tools only". Good deal, bad deal? Time will tell.
 
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