Good starter drill for D.I.Y?

getmore4less

Often you need one to make the holes and one to put in the fixings for real convenience.

A compact drill/driver is probably the most used time saving tool and will manage the smaller holes in most of the softer stuff.

Head_The_Ball

My first drill was a cheap Black and Decker about 35 years ago.

That lasted 30 years during which time it saw quite a lot of varied service in my house.

When it failed 5 years ago I replaced it with a cheap under £20 corded drill from Tesco. That has coped with all the jobs I have needed it for, albeit there haven't been that many.

Unless you plan to do a lot of drilling, or need a heavy duty drill, then I suggest that you buy something like this for under £20 and see how you get in with it.

Check out Lidl and Aldi etc too. They often have inexpensive DIY drills in stock.

If it only lasts a few years then buy another. You will never spend as much as some of the £150 to £200 drills above.

Cheap drills won't last for ever and won't cope with heavy use but they are adequate for most small DIY jobs.

Maybe go a bit higher than £20 but I don't think you need to go over maybe £40 to £50.

My opinion, others may not agree.

Grenage

I have the 4mah version of the drill that Ruski mentioned, and it's brilliant. I use it for 99% of my driving/drilling. I have a corded Bosch SDS for the tougher jobs, which is about twice a year.

benjus

I've had the same drill for about 15 years. It's a basic corded non-SDS hammer drill with a keyed chuck that I bought from Wickes for under £20. Looks similar to this one from Argos: http://www.argos.co.uk/product/7106062

It's got me through countless DIY jobs in those 15 years - I've put up shelves, heavy mirrors, bathroom cabinets, TV brackets, curtain rails and various other things onto various types of wall. I've used it for all sorts of woodworking projects. When used with some half-decent drill bits I've never had a problem drilling into any of the materials I've needed to drill into. Most of the work I do is indoors so having a corded drill hasn't really been a problem. An extension lead is a handy thing to have anyway, and connecting it up only adds a couple of minutes to the overall job time.

I'm sure the £150 drill would do you very nicely. But do you need to spend that much for DIY use? Certainly not.

getmore4less

As above(s). I still have my B&D corded from the 80s.

that could be a good compromise a corded drill + extension lead and a cordless drill/driver.

Put the extra towards quality bits and other tools like power saws when you need them

Aylesbury_Duck

As above. I have had years of DIY use from a mains drill that cost me about £30. It has hammer action, a keyless chuck, reverse mode and variable speed control. I have always invested my money in decent quality drill bits that have lasted ages and have worked in all sorts of materials including some very tough walls and lintels.

Norman_Castle

I replaced a basic Black and Decker hammer drill with a slightly better Skil drill for £14 when Do it All closed down. It won't drill into concrete but I've only needed to do that once so hardly a problem.
The biggest difference between the old and new drill is the variable speed giving a soft start. This makes the drill much easier to use especially for a novice.

getmore4less

Another thing that I think is a good buy when you find them reduces are the large kits of bits and drills

they won't be quality but having a range of sizes to tackle the one off holes is really handy.

You back these up with quality ones that cost close to the same each as a kit for the regular jobs as you realise which ones you need.

Also start to be on the lookout for discounted end of line quality bits drills and fixings to build up a DIY stash.

screwfix often dump fixings on clearance real cheap.

clamps and a portable workbench are good accessories for DIY.

getmore4less

Also if things like curtain rails are on your list then a level of some kind is an essential member of the tool kit.