Tool batteries can also power other tools of the same brand, battery series, and voltage. The Black+Decker BDCDE120C 20V Max Lithium Drill/Driver with AutoSense Technology was a champ at driving screws, but it didn’t do as well in our drilling test, managing only 25 holes . It also has only dewalt reciprocating saw a ⅜-inch chuck (the rest of the 18-volt models have ½-inch chucks), which limits it with larger bits. In addition, it’s a single-speed tool, whereas all of the others we tried have two speeds. We were very pleasantly surprised by the Hart’s punch-above-its-price hole-making performance.
In our tests, the light from the Bosch and Milwaukee models’ LEDs barely illuminated above the drills at all. In our power tests, the DeWalt 12-volt was able to drill 30 1-inch holes into a 2-by-10 on a single battery charge, and it could sink over inch drywall screws into a doubled-up 2-by-10 . Obviously, that’s more than enough oomph to tighten up some cabinet hinges and hang a mirror. Yet it’s also plenty for those times you might need to deal with a larger project, such as repairing a deck repair or fixing a sagging gutter. If you need a drill for constant, all-day aggressive use, we recommend our upgrade pick.
But at the bottom of a 1.5-inch-deep hole in Douglas fir, just before the bit punches through, that’s where the trouble starts. The good news is that it also has a strong-headedness to it that allows it to persevere, hole after hole. In the end, that feature and a 4-Ah battery helped the tool rack up a lot of holes. We consider anything over 100 holes in this test to deserve a rating of somewhere in the pro to prosumer range of power tools.
Offering both corded and cordless models, the range gives users the freedom to prioritize between torque, speed, drilling type or a combination of all of them. The Bosch drill’s LED is positioned right above the trigger, so it illuminates a smaller area. dewalt cordless drill The battery life indicator is on the tool rather than on the battery, and the drill has no belt hook. For our structured tests, we sunk 3-inch screws into doubled-up 2-by-10 lumber . We did this on a fully charged battery until the battery was empty.
This screwdriver comes with 2 6.0Ah XR Li-Ion battery packs allows for superior insertion and removal with state of charge indicator and a TSTAK heavy duty kitbox. In the past decade, cordless drills have become more powerful, lighter, and energy-efficient, making corded drills practically obsolete. And the changes aren’t unique to cordless drills; they’ve occurred across many of the power tools we test.
For these tests, we set the drills to the faster of the two speeds and switched over to the slower speed when a drill stopped being effective. With a drill in the lower gear, we were usually able to continue on for a bit until the battery was completely drained. For the drilling test, the 12-volt models usually could handle drilling only a few holes before we switched over to the lower gear with the higher torque needed for the difficult task. For a general around-the-house drill, we recommend a 12-volt brushless drill kit that comes with a pair of lithium-ion batteries. These drills offer the best combination of power, maneuverability, run time, and cost. They aren’t designed for all-day aggressive use, but they are more than capable for basic home maintenance and repair, and if needed they can sink a 3-inch screw on occasion.