How to choose a drill or perforator

With the help of modern drills, you can not only drill holes in various materials — wood, plastic, metal, brick or concrete wall. You can also drive and unscrew screws and self-tapping screws, grind and polish with various attachments, and even stir flowing liquids. But how to understand all the variety of training offered on the market and choose from a huge number of models exactly the one that is suitable for solving the tasks you need?

The purpose of our article is to help you make a choice, whether you are buying a drill for home workshop or for professional needs. We have tried to present the information as fully as possible — we very much hope that it will be useful to you.

What are workouts (classification)
Before we start talking about such a diverse group of power tools as drills, let's define the terms. A drill is a power tool required for drilling holes.

Drill with impact The difference between an impact drill and a conventional drill is that, in addition to the traditional "rotational" movements, it also performs forward and backward "forward" movements. This is necessary to increase productivity and makes it possible to work with more durable materials - for example, drilling holes in bricks and concrete. It is recommended to use a conventional drill for working with wood, as the impact mechanism will split the soft material. Impact training is more versatile, because if necessary, the impact function can always be turned off. But they are also more expensive.

Angle drill

Angle drills are used for work in closed spaces and in hard-to-reach places, where there is a need to drill at an angle of 90 ° to the handle of the drill. The gearbox, on which the cartridge is fixed, has the shape of the letter «G» or an angle (hence the name - angular). With the help of such a drill, it is convenient to work in hard-to-reach places - for example, under the hood of a car.

Mixer for drill

Drill mixers, in addition to the usual drilling function, are suitable for mixing fluid materials such as mortars, paints, plaster or cement mixtures, etc. Mixers for drills, as a rule, do not have a shock function, so it is preferable to use them for drilling soft materials (wood). And for easy mixing, they are equipped with an additional handle that can be fixed in several different positions.

Drill driver

Using a screwdriver (screwdriver), you can not only drill holes in various materials, but also tighten / loosen screws, screws and self-tapping screws.They usually have low power and compact size: professionally, such drills are usually used by furniture assemblers, and in the household they are very convenient - unless, of course, you will drill holes in bricks or concrete.

Also, workouts are divided into wireless and electric, according to the power source used. It is recommended to use a self-propelled tool where there are no outlets nearby, in hard-to-reach places and for work that involves frequent movement (since it is very difficult to quickly move from one place to another while dragging wire). The disadvantages of cordless drills are the need for periodic recharging and less energy, as well as the high cost of rechargeable batteries (although some professional models of cordless drills are available with two batteries).

Electric drills are usually more powerful and easier to maintain. They can work for a longer time, but the electric motor is more sensitive to voltage spikes.

Perforators

In recent years, impact drills have also become very common. Their main difference lies in the design of the gearbox, i.e. without going into details, we can say that the main mode of operation of the impact drill is impact, while the drill has drilling, and the blow function is turned on only when necessary. A perforator is needed when it is necessary, for example, to make small holes, recesses, cable channels in the wall and floor.

How do you determine if you need a professional or household tool?

All power tools are divided into two classes: professional and household.Their main difference lies in the permissible loads, i.e. the number of hours the planter can operate without damaging the engine. Professional drills are designed for daily long hours of work and are designed to be used for 6-10 hours a day. The quality of the materials used in the production of professional models is much higher than that of household drills — accordingly, they are much more reliable, less prone to wear and have more power.

The advantage of the home tool is its low cost and low weight. Many manufacturers focus on ergonomic design, i.e. attractive appearance combined with ease of use. A household tool can be used in work no more than 4 hours a day, and every 15 minutes you need to take breaks for approximately the same amount of time.

Professional drills are most commonly used by carpenters, fitters, furniture fitters and other construction professionals. As a rule, they prefer more powerful drills with mains power - although cordless models are also used by professionals if their work involves frequent movement (for example, furniture assemblers, etc.).

As for hole punches, they are most often considered a professional tool because of the specifics of the application — very rarely does anyone need to drill holes in concrete at home, unless you decide to do home renovations yourself. The models offered on the market are divided into light and heavy. Lightweight rock drills weigh from 2 to 6.5 kg and average power from 500 to 1000 watts.Heavy duty hammer drills, with a power of 1000 W and a weight of 7 kg, are often equipped with a hammer function - this can be useful for breaking hard materials (stones, concrete), knocking down old tiles, etc.

Thus, the main selection criterion is still the frequency of use and the amount of work performed. If you are buying a drill for the needs of a home workshop, you should not spend extra money on professional models. In non-industrial volumes (up to 4 hours per day), household drills with a power of up to 500 W can do almost any job. Well, if construction is your specialty, then we strongly recommend not to save money and buy a solid professional tool - such a drill will last longer and is adapted for large volumes of work (for example, there is less return).

How to choose a workout

The main technical characteristics of drills, both with and without impact, are the rated power, the number of revolutions (or rotation speed) and the maximum drilling diameter.

The power ratings of drills on the market vary from 300 to 1500 watts. On the one hand, the user will need an energy consumption indicator so as not to overload the electrical network at home, and on the other hand, to understand how quickly and easily your new assistant will cope with the task at hand. As a rule, drills with more power have more options — for example, you can drill larger holes. And for working with soft materials (wood) and small drills, a drill with a power of up to 500 watts will be sufficient.

The number of revolutions (or rotation speed) - this characteristic is measured at idle revolutions of the planter and shows the capabilities of the tool when working with different materials and accessories. In general, the higher the number of revolutions, the more possibilities - even at low power, this gives the planter more productivity. Also, if you are going to work with attachments (sanding, polishing or cleaning surfaces), a drill with a high number of revolutions is preferable. They provide excellent performance. Currently, there are drills on the market that provide up to 3000 revolutions per minute, but this figure can be higher in expensive professional models. In general, impact drills have higher revolutions than ordinary drills.

An important point is also the adjustment of the rotation speed, which is adjusted using a special regulator. It provides additional ease of use — for example, if you want to use a drill for driving screws, you need a low speed, and for drilling holes in hard materials, you need the highest possible speed.

Such a characteristic as the maximum drilling diameter (in conventional drills it is given for wood and steel, in impact drills — also for materials such as concrete and bricks) is necessary for the user so as not to burn out the engine of the tool on the very first working day. In order for the training to serve you as effectively as possible, we strongly recommend that you do not exceed these indicators.

Rock drills usually use an SDS-PLUS clamping mechanism, which allows the use of only special drills (drills) and does not require a clamping key.Some rock drill models use conventional cartridges.

Cordless drills

The main feature of cordless cordless drills is flexibility, as well as lightness and ease of use. These lightweight and mobile self-powered tools are widely used by professionals and hobbyists alike. All cordless drills are sold complete with chargers.