Quick-change drill/driver sets

[Rick Moyer]

I have had several cheeper sets of these (Hitachi, DeWalt) which have been marginally satisfactory. I know Norm uses the Jack Rabbit, some like Snappy, etc. I have not seen either of those in person or any others for that matter so I am asking for your thoughts and recommmendations on a good set. What are the differences, if any, between how any of them work? I'm guessing they all are similar in that they have a chucked body that the drill/driver pc. fits into and flips, or do some have seperate drill pc and driver pc.? Who makes the best? I have experienced with the cheeper ones that you can easily strip out the set screws holding the bits/drivers.

[Charles Lent]

I have the Snappy bits, chucks, etc. and am quite happy with them. All brands of hex shank tools will fit the Snappy chucks if they have the retainer groove on their shank. I use the Makita flip-over drill/driver bits (these are now sold under several different brands) with the snappy chucks without any problem and I can quickly replace the drill/driver with a larger hex shank twist drill bit or a different screwdriver bit such as square drive very quickly when I need to. The Snappy chucks are usually left in all of my driver/drill units (I have one for each) and they are only removed if I should need to insert a drill bit that I don't have a hex shank version of. The new impact driver drills don't even come with the old Jacobs style chucks, so I think hex is the way of the future.

Charley

[Steve Clardy]

I have 3 different brands.

Snappy
Some brand that sears used to sell
Bosch


Bosch has the best [to me] chuck insert.
No pulling any sleeve to insert the bit. Just snap it in. You do have to pull the sleeve back to remove the bit.

[Ed Labadie]

The Snappy collet type drill bit adapters are great! They take a regular drill bit, so no having to buy hex shank bits.
I took a couple, and put extra long bits in them, works great for deep pilot holes.

Ed

[Prashun Patel]

I've tried a bunch.
Nothing beats a 2nd drill/driver... It might sound pricey until you consider that you need special hex driver bits for almost all of the qc systems.

Also, the quick-change systems still require 2 hands to use, which stinks when yr using yr free hand to hold something up.

Also, in most of the qc systems, the driver attachment fits over the drill bit, which means you are restricted to the depth of the bit in the chuck.

Bosch, Rigid, and Makita make nifty liIon drivers in the 10-12v range...

[Randal Stevenson]

I picked up a Craftsman (last of a gift card) and a Snappy set (from Woodcraft). I do notice more runout then when using the drill only (longer things out of the drill get more runout), then when using the drill and the impact driver. I also tried using only the impact driver as a test with one of the Craftsman ones. The drill bits heated up, and will dull a lot quicker in impacts.

Separate drill and driver in my book, unless your on the road doing construction.

[Brian Peters]

The dewalt is one of my favorite but its really pretty cheaply made for something that costs $20+. I've gone through almost 3 sets of them. The drills either don't last or snap after awhile even if you're careful. And if they don't snap the thing gets so loose after awhile and doesn't hold in very well. Cool idea poor end product. Looking into the others posted in this thread now.

[Danny Thompson]

(Semi-jack, warning)

What about hex shank bits? I've broken about a half dozen of the 1/8" Hitachi/Kobalt hex shank drill bits. Is there a better brand out there?

[Steve Clardy]

(Semi-jack, warning)

What about hex shank bits? I've broken about a half dozen of the 1/8" Hitachi/Kobalt hex shank drill bits. Is there a better brand out there?

Lawson Industries [think nuts and bolts co.] sells some fantastic bradpoint hex bits. 6 bit set is about $60.00
Pricey but some of the best I've found.