A good drill must be safe. This means that it must be made of resistant materials, which do not wear easily, and which do not make it difficult to use the tool. But it also means that it must have life-saving technology and everything that can reduce the risk of danger for those who operate it. Furthermore, a drill must also be of quality in terms of power.
A more powerful tool will be symptomatic of more refined and precise work and can also be used for more difficult surfaces to work, such as concrete ones. Ultimately, a level drill is also fast: surely, the faster it gets you to work, the more you’ll appreciate it. These are some of the features that a good drill cannot miss. But let’s start from another fundamental aspect: the types available on the market.
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Types of drills compared
Several types of drills are available on the market, even if the first fundamental distinction to be made when it comes to drills is that between cordless drills and corded or electric drills. Cordless drills are portable drills, which operate via rechargeable battery and do not need electric support to operate. Their quality is that they are easily transportable anywhere and can be used in any situation. What you need to do, however, is to remember to recharge the battery and get a spare one, just in case. This way you will always be sure that you will be able to get your job done. But that’s not all. Here are the most popular types of drill.
Classic drill: the traditional drill is very present in homes and is used to drill holes in different types of materials, except the hardest ones, such as metal or masonry.
Screwdriver drill: as the name of the tool suggests, a screwdriver drill is a very versatile type of drill that is used both as a classic drill, therefore for drilling materials, and for screwing or unscrewing screws.
Column drill: widely used in the professional field, the column drill is formed by a base to which a column is fixed which presents the motor and the drill body at its top. The drill is pushed by the user towards the work surface, generally made up of a cast iron board. Due to its conformation, this type of drill allows you to keep very precise holes in series.
Impact drill: among all, the most popular model is that of the impact drill because it is so powerful that it can also be used with stone and concrete surfaces. And it is also very fast. Furthermore, it works not only with rotational movements of the tip, but also with swing movements, and is provided with helical-shaped tips. These two peculiarities serve to guarantee a very precise work as a final result. It should also be noted that the hammer drill handle is particularly ergonomic, having a pistol shape. In short, whether it be cordless or corded, with the hammer drill the result is guaranteed even for those who are not professionals in the sector. And, above all, it is a model available at an affordable price, not particularly high.
Hammer drill: very powerful tool that is used to work only very hard materials, the hammer drill is very useful for inserting metal dowels inside materials such as concrete, stone or metal.
Power
The power is one of the key issues to consider when you buy one of the best drill machines for home use because the power depends on the type of work that can be performed and their intensity. The power of a drill, which is expressed in Watts, therefore determines the extent of its performance and, consequently, a drill with a high power will be able to drill even hard materials in a short time. On the market there are drills with different powers, each suitable for specific jobs. Here are the most common.
Drills with power up to 500 Watts: these are perfect tools for carrying out simple housework that does not require a lot of time and for drilling not too resistant materials such as wood, plastic, and those a little harder even if obtaining shallower holes.
Drills with power up to 850 Watts: drills with a power starting from 750 Watts and reaching 850 Watts can be used for slightly more complex jobs, since they are able to drill materials such as steel, even if the holes result with diameters and depths not too high.
Drills with power over 100 Watts: they are models for professional use and can even drill into concrete, making holes with large and deep diameters.
Speed
Power is a key factor to consider before buying a drill, because it not only affects the progress of work speed, but, a fast drill, is also capable of drilling holes with greater force and, consequently, to work even on particularly hard materials. To carefully evaluate the speed of a drill, it is necessary to know how many revolutions per minute it is capable of performing: the most powerful models even reach 3,000 revolutions per minute and have different speeds that can be selected, while the more basic ones they usually have a single speed that can change from 1.000 to 3.000 revolutions per minute, which however cannot be changed by those who use the drill.
Practicality
Since this is a tool that is used to carry out work, professional or domestic, it is important that the drill is comfortable and practical. The handle, in particular, must be ergonomic, soft, non-slip and easy to use even with wet hands. In addition, some models are equipped with double handles precisely to offer the user a firmer and, consequently, safe grip. In addition to practicality, it is also important to control the weight and that the drill is light enough not to tire the user. Finally, one last tip is to evaluate the spindle, that is that part of metal that is around the drill bit and tightens it. The chuck can be of two types: rack -and- pinion or self-locking. The first model is suitable for those who want to perform very precise work, while the second model is perfect for those who want to work in a more practical and quick way.
Accessories
Then there are the accessories. The presence of accessories, their quantity and their level of prestige depend on a single factor, the economic one. A multi-equipped drill belongs to a higher price range than a simple drill.
Generally, even the simplest drills are equipped with a tool case. Usually, inside there are tips of different width and length, interchangeable depending on the type of hole you need to drill. But also, spare cables and batteries.
Two other very useful accessories could be an additional handle and a depth rod. The additional handle usually serves as a replacement for the original one, when the latter wears out. Or to replace it in some works if, for example, they are of different sizes. The depth rod is to help you get a precise job done. It allows you to determine the depth of the hole without the possibility of going further.