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Just for some future research, I've thought about when I would need to get a drill of my own and which one I'd get. Currently, I'm at my parents' house, and my mom has a drill, so I'm good as of right now. An apartment is my immediate goal, but once I get my own house, I'll need my own drill. Since I like to think far in advance, I thought I'd ask...for those of you who are mostly shop-bound woodworkers (professional, hobbyist, or anything in between), do you use a corded or cordless drill? My mom's is a corded Hitachi, and it works pretty well. Although I'd like to have a drill that's versatile enough to be used away from power outlets (in case I ever do anything outdoors or more construction-oriented with the drill), it'd be nice to not have to depend on batteries if 99.9% of the stuff I do is going to be within reach of a power outlet. Plus, I've heard that at least with certain batteries, you need to "work them out" periodically or they can lose their ability to hold a charge. I don't want that. Still, there are some nice-sounding cordless drills out there.
What do you guys use: corded or cordless? Which make and model?
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(06-16-2018, 09:16 PM)KingwoodFan1989 Wrote: Just for some future research, I've thought about when I would need to get a drill of my own and which one I'd get. Currently, I'm at my parents' house, and my mom has a drill, so I'm good as of right now. An apartment is my immediate goal, but once I get my own house, I'll need my own drill. Since I like to think far in advance, I thought I'd ask...for those of you who are mostly shop-bound woodworkers (professional, hobbyist, or anything in between), do you use a corded or cordless drill? My mom's is a corded Hitachi, and it works pretty well. Although I'd like to have a drill that's versatile enough to be used away from power outlets (in case I ever do anything outdoors or more construction-oriented with the drill), it'd be nice to not have to depend on batteries if 99.9% of the stuff I do is going to be within reach of a power outlet. Plus, I've heard that at least with certain batteries, you need to "work them out" periodically or they can lose their ability to hold a charge. I don't want that. Still, there are some nice-sounding cordless drills out there.
What do you guys use: corded or cordless? Which make and model?
Hello - your question(s) raise many issues, e.g. power needed, applications, convenience (corded vs. cordless), investment (batteries/charger), et al - these days, Li Ion batteries are the standard (lighter, plenty of power, no memory issues, and hold their charge) - I have several corded drills which I use rarely - I own 4 Li Ion drills used for most of my needs - these include regular drills, a Bosch hammer drill, and several impact drills - these all work well - my suggestion is to invest in a Li Ion battery drill, get 2 batteries of the power desired depending on your needs - cannot go much further w/o further input from you. Dave
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Cordless....one gets used to the freedom very quick.
My DeWalt 20v will cover 99% of what the corded Milwaukee does on a regular basis.
Ed
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(06-16-2018, 09:16 PM)KingwoodFan1989 Wrote: Just for some future research, I've thought about when I would need to get a drill of my own and which one I'd get. Currently, I'm at my parents' house, and my mom has a drill, so I'm good as of right now. An apartment is my immediate goal, but once I get my own house, I'll need my own drill. Since I like to think far in advance, I thought I'd ask...for those of you who are mostly shop-bound woodworkers (professional, hobbyist, or anything in between), do you use a corded or cordless drill? My mom's is a corded Hitachi, and it works pretty well. Although I'd like to have a drill that's versatile enough to be used away from power outlets (in case I ever do anything outdoors or more construction-oriented with the drill), it'd be nice to not have to depend on batteries if 99.9% of the stuff I do is going to be within reach of a power outlet. Plus, I've heard that at least with certain batteries, you need to "work them out" periodically or they can lose their ability to hold a charge. I don't want that. Still, there are some nice-sounding cordless drills out there.
What do you guys use: corded or cordless? Which make and model? .............................
Cordless,,, 20v 4AH or better...you will not want to go back to corded.
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Cordless unless you plan on doing a lot of very heavy drilling like 50 - 3/4" holes in 4x material you would go through several batteries and the drill would get hot. but so would a corded drill.
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I'd suggest a decent quality smaller battery drill /driver first. Super handy for DIY, general handyman stuff and most woodworking jobs. Then keep your eye out for a an older corded drill with hammer action. Garage sales etc. A bigger and more heavy duty unit for the more serious stuff. Because more folks want cordless, so you can find those cheap enough.
Depends what you want to do of course. If you need to put 1/2" holes into concrete to fasten bolts into, you want either a very expensive battery drill, or a cheap cheap old school corded hammer action one.
But that little battery drill / driver will get a lot of use over the years, so it's worth buying a nice one.
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I use cordless most of the time except for heavy work. The difference really is; I still have the Makita 35+ year old 3/8" variable speed corded drill- I have no cordless drill more than 8 years old.
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You will eventually need both, each does some things the other can't do. But cordless tools are not a lifetime investment, a corded drill can be (sort of). I find for hobbyist use the 12V models are more than enough.
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We have a half dozen corded drills I used for years, and would plug in and use for heavy drilling on big projects around the farm. LONG extension cords or the small genny. If I was drilling holes thru timbers or 6x6s for run in barns in the pasture, I would plug in those corded drills to drive the larger, longer bits.
We have a pair of quality cordless drills, and extra batteries. Come in handy on projects to have at least two. One for the bit, a second with the proper driver bit.
Jim in Okie
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Down the road if you own a house you'll like need a hammer drill on occasion. You may also need to drill some large diameter holes through floor joists, etc. For those needs a corded drill with hammer drill function is the right tool and, as Ian said, they are cheap at garage sales, etc. For just about everything else a 18V or higher cordless Li ion drill and driver set is the choice of most folks. I have a Milwaukee 18V hammer drill and impact driver set with 2, 3ah batteries and charger that I bought refurbished from CPO Tools for $200 to my door about 3 years. They are perfect for everything except cabinet work. For that, as Ian said, the smaller 12V Li ion drill and driver are a better choice. I have a Hitachi set I bought, yep, refurbished about 5 years ago.
If I could only have one tool it would an 18V Li ion hammer drill. If I could have two, I would add the 18V impact driver. If you buy a cordless tool the battery is as important as the tool. Higher ah ratings = more work between charges, but it comes at the cost of size and weight. Pair your choice with what you want to do. Batteries charge pretty fast these days so you don't have to pick monster batteries unless you intend to work off the grid all day.
John
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