Cordless Drill Information

Cordless Drill Links

Inside Woodworking's cordless drill review provides a well-illustrated guide to what to look for in choosing a first cordless drill, with excellent explanations of various features and how they work.

Chris Baylor, the About.com guide to woodworking, provides a brief article on how to choose a cordless drill. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

See this report's Our Sources section, for the most credible information on selecting a drill or driver.

Cordless drill safety and news

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety discusses tool design ergonomics and how to prevent repetitive stress injuries when using drills and other power tools.

Occasionally, cordless tools or their batteries are recalled for safety problems, so it's best to register a new tool with the manufacturer so you'll be notified of any issues. In 2008, for example, Bosch recalled some cordless hammer drills, and in 2007 both Milwaukee and DeWalt recalled cordless drills and batteries. For more information, see the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

Getting into tight spaces

Right-angle drills can get into tight spaces that ordinary drills can't reach. The least expensive solution is to buy an attachment that fits on a regular drill. Milwaukee makes a right-angle attachment, the Milwaukee 49-22-8510 (*Est. $50), that fits any quarter-inch or larger drill chuck. The Milescraft Orbiter attachment (*Est. $30) can be set at virtually any angle.

A March 2010 comparison review in the Journal of Light Construction, "Two New Right-Angle Cordless Drivers," recommends the 12-volt Milwaukee 2415-21 (*Est. $130) right-angle drill, as do editors at American Woodworker.

Festool, a German manufacturer of woodworking tools, makes an assortment of FastFix chucks for its drills that include a right-angle chuck, an eccentric chuck and a chuck with a depth stop. These drills and attachments get excellent reviews for performance and durability, but are priced for professionals. Popular Woodworking praises the 12-volt Li-ion Festool T12+3 (*Est. $525), and the more powerful 14.4-volt Festool T15+3 (*Est. $575) is recommended by Fine Woodworking magazine. Both drills earn positive reviews at American Woodworker.

Using cordless drills

Popular Mechanics posts brief guide by Tom Klenck called "6 Better Ways to Drill: Skill Set."

Popular Mechanics also has an excellent article on different types of screws, "Know Your Stuff: Screws."

The eHow.com article "Tech Tips for Cordless Tools" discusses how to avoid premature battery failure, one of the most frequent complaints in owner-written reviews of cordless drills.

Amazon.com publishes a useful guide to caring for nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) cordless tool batteries.

Cordless drill manufacturers:

You can find detailed specifications and features at manufacturers' websites:

Black & Decker

Bosch

Craftsman (made by TTI)

DeWalt (Owned by Black & Decker)

Festool

Hitachi

Makita

Milwaukee (owned by TTI -- Techtronics)

Panasonic

Porter-Cable (owned by Black & Decker)

Ridgid (owned by Emerson, made by TTI)

Ryobi (owned by TTI)

Skil (owned by Bosch)

Worx