A power drill may appear to be one of those tools that only a serious DIYer need, but we’d like to inform you that it’s something that everyone (or renter!) should have on hand. Even the most basic electric drill can make a huge difference in your daily house chores, from hanging a mirror (the best anchor every time) to putting furniture together (much quicker). We spoke to NYC-based design-build firm The Meredith Project’s owner and founder Meredith Still about the basics of a power drill and how to properly use one.
Buying a Drill
Is it your first time using a power drill? He still suggests purchasing a cordless model rather than a corded one. “There’s really no need to use a plug-in drill,” she tells us. “Technically, it just gives you slightly more power, but an outstanding rechargeable cordless drill will perform the same job.” You can use it in many places since it’s cordless, and you may bring it anywhere you go without having to worry about dragging an extension cable around. If you’re going to use your drill for lengthy periods of time, keeping an extra battery pack on hand is simple.
Learning The Basics
A drill that comes with a rechargeable battery, a plug-in charger, and, of course, the drill itself is ideal for simple DIY projects. For household chores, a kit with a few of basic drill bits (for creating holes) and driver bits (for screwing and unscrewing screws) should enough.
Knowing The Bits
- A drill bit is a tool that drills holes in different materials.
- The driver bit is used to drive (screw) screws into hard materials.
- A drive guide is a tube-shaped device that keeps long screws straight and in place while driving.
- Insert bit is for attaching driver bits.
How To Control A Drill
- This is the chuck, which contains the drill bit. To open or close the chuck, grasp the handgrip and press the trigger switch.
- The trigger switch is pressed to begin the drill.
- Torque control adjusts the torque, which is also known as drilling power. The drill setting is typically set up for drilling holes—don’t use this for driving screws because you might end up stripping the head!
- The gear switch determines the speed of the drill. A lower gear is commonly used for light screws, while a higher gear is utilized for drilling holes or driving bigger screws.
- The reverse switch reverses the direction of drilling. (Regular = clockwise, reverse = counter-clockwise.) The drill will not turn when the switch is in the middle position, or when it’s in safe mode.
- The drill is powered by a battery.
Some Tips For Your First Drill
If you’re not sure what size drill bit to use for an anchor, have a look at the package. It’s most likely going to recommend a comparable drill bit size. If you’re driving a screw into an anchor, go slowly and keep the setting low to the middle so that the anchor doesn’t break. When attaching something to the wood, drilling a smaller hole first will make it simpler to drive in the screw. Before drilling a guide hole or anchor, hold the hook against the wall and lightly mark where the screws will go with the drill.
