Cordless drill

Ruby-Tuesday

DH works long hours and has little time for DIY.  So I would like to learn how to put up shelves, curtain rails, little DIY jobs.  Can you please recommend a lightweight, not expensive cordless drill (I've never used one before) and maybe a DIY for beginners books and some Youtube videos to get me started.

Emmia

We have Bosch drills - one standard cordless and the other hammer action (to say this building is solidly built is a bit of an understatement) purchased when we realised that whilst the first one would be good for 95% of walls, we do not really have those walls!

We also have a set of Bosch drill bits of various types and sizes, which has covered us for almost all jobs.

Bosch 70-Pieces X-Line Titanium Drill and Screwdriver Bit Set (for Wood, Masonry and Metal, Accessories Drills) https://amzn.eu/d/3tbTuoF

grumbler

Emmia said:

We have Bosch drills - one standard cordless and the other hammer action

A new DIYer doesn't need both. What they need is a combi drill.

This one is good for small jobs, even for a brick wall - https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/bosch-gsb-120v-li-12v-combi-hammer-drill-2-speed-gsb-120v-li-2-x-2ah-batteries-at-ebay-buyaparcel-4279681. It's also good as an electric screwdriver.

For concrete -  https://www.kelvinpowertools.com/bosch-gsb-18v-55-18v-brushless-combi-drill-1x-5ah-c-83-p-37011?utm_source=google&utm_medium=basefeed&utm_campaign=redback

more expensive with two batteries, but one is enough for DIY.

There are cheaper brands with still decent quality.

housebuyer143

What are your walls made of? If it's brick, then get one with a hammer action because then it's going to work on everything. 
I prefer corded because I think it's better in terms of power for the price. 

I got a corded Bosch drill for about £30 on Amazon and it's the best thing. Goes through brick and block very easily 

Then just get some decent drill bits. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Electric-Hammer-EasyImpact-carrying/dp/B093C724YH/ref=asc_df_B093C724YH/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=534823757452&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7611812572320573252&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007415&hvtargid=pla-1395064838760&psc=1&mcid=376013cbdbe73711acc9a4e6799b8cf8&th=1&psc=1

Emmia

grumbler said:

Emmia said:

We have Bosch drills - one standard cordless and the other hammer action

A new DIYer doesn't need both. What they need is a combi drill.

This one is good for small jobs, even for a brick wall - https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/bosch-gsb-120v-li-12v-combi-hammer-drill-2-speed-gsb-120v-li-2-x-2ah-batteries-at-ebay-buyaparcel-4279681. It's also good as an electric screwdriver.

For concrete -  https://www.kelvinpowertools.com/bosch-gsb-18v-55-18v-brushless-combi-drill-1x-5ah-c-83-p-37011?utm_source=google&utm_medium=basefeed&utm_campaign=redback

more expensive with two batteries, but one is enough for DIY.

There are cheaper brands with still decent quality.

Just to be clear we have two, because we bought one, and then found it wasn't powerful enough to deal with the construction of the walls, so had to buy another

We mostly use the first one now as an electric screwdriver.

Section62

housebuyer143 said:

What are your walls made of? If it's brick, then get one with a hammer action because then it's going to work on everything. 
I prefer corded because I think it's better in terms of power for the price. 

I got a corded Bosch drill for about £30 on Amazon and it's the best thing. Goes through brick and block very easily 

^This

For hard brick or block walls a corded drill is much better, and a low-cost cordless with hammer function will quickly get wrecked if used on the hammer setting in hard walls.

A low-cost corded drill with hammer, plus a low-cost cordless (without hammer) would be a good combination for a DIY starter.  One advantage of having two drills is the ability to cut down the number of bit swaps - i.e. have the drill bit in one and the screwdriver bit in the other.  Quick change bits are available, but then if you need the hammer function then you shouldn't be using a bit holder so there's not much advantage.

A low-cost cordless is fine for DIY jobs so long as they don't get overworked/abused... and the best way of making sure they don't get abused is to have a more powerful alternative for those difficult jobs.

For occasional DIY jobs I'd steer clear of the high-end cordless options.  The first thing to go is likely to be the battery, and the batteries on many cordless drills don't take kindly to being left weeks/months without use.  Replacements are usually expensive and not cost effective.

chrisw

Corded drill and decent cordless screwdriver like Bosch Ixo.

I've had numerous cordless drills over the years and they're invariably flat when you come to use them and then refuse to charge. My Bosch corded drill must be 40 years old and my electric screwdriver 20 years old, both still going strong.

DullGreyGuy

chrisw said:

Corded drill and decent cordless screwdriver like Bosch Ixo.

I've had numerous cordless drills over the years and they're invariably flat when you come to use them and then refuse to charge. My Bosch corded drill must be 40 years old and my electric screwdriver 20 years old, both still going strong.

If thats the case why is a cordless screwdriver any different?

Have had a Bosche cordless drill for about a decade, it came with two batteries. It's only used occasionally and so a battery lasts a couple of years. When ones dead the other is fully charged so just switched over and the dead'un recharged again. 

The batteries are fairly chunky and do add a fair bit of weight, smaller batteries are available which maybe an idea if you are wanting light but then you'll be running out quicker etc.

grumbler

I consider myselfe a very experienced DIYer.
I have 3 Bosch combi drills - two cordless I mentioned above and the smallest SDS corded one.  I hardly ever use the latter - mainly for chiseling. IMO, the smallest one is capable of doing most DIY jobs, even concrete with a good drill bit.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

I agree with a corded drill for brick or stone, having the right tool for a job makes life so much easier. 

You should be able to get a Dewalt SDS corded drill for under £100, it will last and if you ever wanted to sell it there will be some value due to the brand.

In terms of cordless again I've got Dewalt, first one was around £100 as it came with a battery, 2nd one £40 as was just the unit without a battery, third one was £100 again as a second battery is useful and it had a higher capacity.

Makita tools as good quality as well. 

I had an Evolution mitre saw (around £120) and swapped it for a Dewalt a while back (£150 but next size down) and the difference is very noticeable, much less noise and a much smoother tool to work with. 

Even when it comes to wall plugs buying the better quality ones over the standard cheap red or brown ones gives a better fixing, same with screws the more expensive ones drive better and there's less bendy ones in the box. I'd also pick up some quality bits, they should be about £3 a bit but will last and last without getting worn away. 

I tend to look on the big named places like Toolstation or Screwfix and then Google the model number and buy from the lesser know suppliers, Toolstation in particular seem very expensive at the moment.

The way I see it is you are saving a lot by not paying for labour, even if you spend a bit extra on quality tools you are still better off. 

ic

Proper DIY is a good channel on YouTube.  He has plenty of videos showing simple stuff through to bigger projects.  In this vid he goes through recommendations for tools: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azi3iS_MU9E&ab_channel=ProperDIY