[kevindd992002]

It's time for me to do my own drilling but I have zero clues on how to do it. I will be using this mainly for computer modding stuff and maybe a handful of home improvement stuff in the future. I just figured that I need to start how to learn drilling. And the first thing to consider is which drill driver I should buy.


Do you guys have any recommendations as to which tool would suffice for now? I don't want to be overly cheap but possible on the bang-for-the-buck side.


Thanks for the help.

 

[Windows on Wash]

Go to Home Depot and see what is on sale. They sell kits that will have a drill and impact driver.

 

[kevindd992002]

Go to Home Depot and see what is on sale. They sell kits that will have a drill and impact driver.

I'm from the Philippines but will probably be buying from the US or locally depending on what's available. I don't think I would need an impact driver for now. So specific recommendations for brand and model would really help a lot.

 

[Joeywhat]

Ryobi is decent and cheap. I prefer Ridgid, but might be overkill for your needs.

 

[Oso954]

A Drill/driver can transfer a lot of torque to your wrist if you are screwing into hard wood, or driving long or large screws. An impact driver doesn’t. It can save a lot of wrist strain.

It’s also more compact than a drill and gets in places the drill can not.

For the small cost difference, I’d get the drill and impact set.

 

[Joeywhat]

For driving screws and such an impact is a must, IMO. It's easier on the screws (less likely to strip a head) and easier on your arm, like someone else mentioned. You can get the "two packs" with a drill and impact plus 2 batteries on sale somewhat often. You only need a 1/4" impact, and ideally one that has adjustable speeds (very nice to have, but not necessary).

If you get an impact also pick up a basic 1/4" impact drive set. Will include a bunch of different drivers for various screws like Phillips, Torx, and some nut drivers. They're pretty cheap and usually come in a handy carrying case.

Sometimes you can get sets that also include drill bits with the drivers, again they usually aren't super spendy and have most of what the typical homeowner will need.

 

[lenaitch]

I think for computer assembly, which is mostly involving small machine screws, a typical drill/driver might be overkill and a lot of weight. A rechargeable screwdriver might be more appropriate (no input WRT brands). Depending on what the scope of home improvement you envision, it might work as well or you might have to upgrade to a drill-driver.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

Harbor freight has rechargeable screwdrivers and 1/4" shank drill bit sets for light work.

 

[DexterII]

There's not really anything as far as a "beginner's drill", you buy one, you get on it, and go. But there are differences, like speed, amount of torque, and how they fit your hand. And for what you described, the latter is probably the biggest consideration. You're not drilling through a 4" channel on a trailer, or through a piece of 2" angle iron, but when drilling a computer case or something like that, or even say you want to drill pilot holes for a set of door hinges, you want something that fits comfortably in one hand. I would head to the nearest hardware store or big box, go down the rack, and see how they feel to you.

 

[kevindd992002]

A Drill/driver can transfer a lot of torque to your wrist if you are screwing into hard wood, or driving long or large screws. An impact driver doesn’t. It can save a lot of wrist strain.

It’s also more compact than a drill and gets in places the drill can not.

For the small cost difference, I’d get the drill and impact set.

For driving screws and such an impact is a must, IMO. It's easier on the screws (less likely to strip a head) and easier on your arm, like someone else mentioned. You can get the "two packs" with a drill and impact plus 2 batteries on sale somewhat often. You only need a 1/4" impact, and ideally one that has adjustable speeds (very nice to have, but not necessary).

If you get an impact also pick up a basic 1/4" impact drive set. Will include a bunch of different drivers for various screws like Phillips, Torx, and some nut drivers. They're pretty cheap and usually come in a handy carrying case.

Sometimes you can get sets that also include drill bits with the drivers, again they usually aren't super spendy and have most of what the typical homeowner will need.

Impact drivers are only used for screws and not anything else, right? Can you slow down with impact drivers?

I think for computer assembly, which is mostly involving small machine screws, a typical drill/driver might be overkill and a lot of weight. A rechargeable screwdriver might be more appropriate (no input WRT brands). Depending on what the scope of home improvement you envision, it might work as well or you might have to upgrade to a drill-driver.

Yeah, I'm more talking about computer case modding rather than computer assembly itself. You kind of need a drill with that.

There's not really anything as far as a "beginner's drill", you buy one, you get on it, and go. But there are differences, like speed, amount of torque, and how they fit your hand. And for what you described, the latter is probably the biggest consideration. You're not drilling through a 4" channel on a trailer, or through a piece of 2" angle iron, but when drilling a computer case or something like that, or even say you want to drill pilot holes for a set of door hinges, you want something that fits comfortably in one hand. I would head to the nearest hardware store or big box, go down the rack, and see how they feel to you.

Yeah, I guess when I say beginner I mean a drill driver that doesn't have really high power (hence usually cheaper in price) and like you said fits comfortably in my hand. I'll see if I can go down to my local hardware store to check out some of the ones they have available.

On another note, are drill driver battery chargers usually autovolt?

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[Bigplanz]

I use this 90% of the time when I need a screwdriver. It isn't really good at driving a long screw into wood, but for applications like pocket hole joinery, it's perfect. Drill the hole with a 20V drill, and a Kreg jig, then assemble the joint with the screw driver. Plenty of torque for a tight joint, but no risk of blowing a hole through the side of whatever you are building. I have the dewalt 20v impact driver and it's strong. It will bury the head of a 3 inch screw a 1/2 inch into treated lumber if you aren't careful. I also have the dewalt 20v atomic drill/driver and use it for most general drilling/driving needs. It works well and has adjustable torque so you don't overdrive a screw. I have the 20V hammer drill for big jobs. It will blow 1/4 inch hole in concrete easily. This is the one I would keep, if I could only keep one, but I think this 8V screwdriver or something like it would suit your purposes.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-...Battery-1Ah-1-Hour-Charger-DCF682N1/205926188

 

[kevindd992002]

Thanks for the screwdriver recommendations but I'm really more of looking into a drill driver because I will definitely need to drill when modding computer cases. I know drills can serve many purposes so I guess I'll be starting with that tool. With so many choices available, it's really confusing which would suit my needs.

I'm also buying this drill bit for my PETG tube chamfering/deburring needs:

https://www.primochill.com/products/primochill-rfb-rigid-tubing-finishing-bit

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[lenaitch]

Yeah, I'm more talking about computer case modding rather than computer assembly itself. You kind of need a drill with that.

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You are dealing with fairly mild and thin steel. A cordless screw driver might still work for you. I just think holding a full sized, home improvement-type 3/8" drill/driver while dinking around a computer cabinet might get really old really fast.


Some of the screwdrivers have hex chucks, some have traditional jaw chucks.

 

[kevindd992002]

You are dealing with fairly mild and thin steel. A cordless screw driver might still work for you. I just think holding a full sized, home improvement-type 3/8" drill/driver while dinking around a computer cabinet might get really old really fast.


Some of the screwdrivers have hex chucks, some have traditional jaw chucks.

I'm not really limited to computer cases. If I want to do basic drilling on my concrete walls, I would assume a drill/driver is warranted, no?

On another note, how's controlling a cordless like? Do you hold it like how you hold a pen or something?

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[CodeMatters]

.....

 

[HotRodx10]

If you're going to do much drilling in concrete, you may want to bump up to a driver that is also a hammer drill.



It's nice to have a set where everything uses the same batteries, but in your situation (as I understand it), you may find it more comfortable to get a small, lightweight, low voltage driver for the small screws and such, and a bigger hammer drill / driver for the heavy-duty drilling. Impact drivers are nicer than a regular drill/driver for driving longer screws, but not necessary. I built several decks and playsets using a good high-torque drill/driver before I got an impact driver.



The regular drill/drivers are also quieter than the impact drivers, and you definitely don't want to use an impact driver on small screws. Just to illustrate, I have a bunch of security screws that use a T15H ("H" apparently stand for "hole in the middle"), and I broke a dozen bits trying to drive them with the impact driver before switching back to my regular driver.

 

[JIMMIEM]

I'm not really limited to computer cases. If I want to do basic drilling on my concrete walls, I would assume a drill/driver is warranted, no?

On another note, how's controlling a cordless like? Do you hold it like how you hold a pen or something?

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If you're going to drill into concrete walls you will be better off with a hammer drill. For the light computer work a drill/driver with clutch settings that will let you adjust the torque so that you don't overdrive the screws. Light screw driving with an impact driver can be tricky in that you have to be careful. I haven't bought a drill/driver or impact driver in quite a while so I don't know if there are impact drivers that have clutches.

 

[kevindd992002]

If you're going to do much drilling in concrete, you may want to bump up to a driver that is also a hammer drill.



It's nice to have a set where everything uses the same batteries, but in your situation (as I understand it), you may find it more comfortable to get a small, lightweight, low voltage driver for the small screws and such, and a bigger hammer drill / driver for the heavy-duty drilling. Impact drivers are nicer than a regular drill/driver for driving longer screws, but not necessary. I built several decks and playsets using a good high-torque drill/driver before I got an impact driver.



The regular drill/drivers are also quieter than the impact drivers, and you definitely don't want to use an impact driver on small screws. Just to illustrate, I have a bunch of security screws that use a T15H ("H" apparently stand for "hole in the middle"), and I broke a dozen bits trying to drive them with the impact driver before switching back to my regular driver.

I see.

When you drill through a wall (say installing tv wall mount hardware), do you need a heavy duty drill/driver? Or would the regular ones be enough?

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[kevindd992002]

If you're going to drill into concrete walls you will be better off with a hammer drill. For the light computer work a drill/driver with clutch settings that will let you adjust the torque so that you don't overdrive the screws. Light screw driving with an impact driver can be tricky in that you have to be careful. I haven't bought a drill/driver or impact driver in quite a while so I don't know if there are impact drivers that have clutches.

Ok. Yeah, I don't see where I would use an impact driver. From what you guys are recommending, I would be better off with one regular drill/driver for all around tasks and another heavy duty drill/driver for masonry drilling.

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[HotRodx10]

For the light computer work a drill/driver with clutch settings that will let you adjust the torque so that you don't overdrive the screws.

That's true, but if it was me, I wouldn't want to handle something that heavy for the light work. Having a separate compact driver (like one of the 4-volt rechargeable ones) could be better for that.

Light screw driving with an impact driver can be tricky in that you have to be careful.

I definitely agree with that.

I don't know if there are impact drivers that have clutches.

Not that I've seen, and I have looked recently.