Cord or Cordless Drill - Which do you prefer?

[Kev Godwin]

Last night my wife asked me why I don't use my favorite corded Makita drill very much that she gave to me for X-mas many years ago. That got me to thinking. I replied and said I do use it (and other corded ones) often but now I use my cordless ones more. I see I use my cordless ones for mostly assembly as a driver with a clutch and for light & occasional drilling. I still use my corded models if I have a lot of drilling to do or if it is fairly heavy work.

Have others found this too - cordless for the lighter daily stuff but still use the corded models when muscle and/or duration is needed? I have a cordless hammer-drill too, but it can't even come close to my corded model even at 24 volts.

Cord vs. Cordless? What application for you?
Kev

[Tom Veatch]

Pretty much same as you describe, Kev.

The 4 cordless drills (1 18v right angle, 1 18v hammer, and 2 "regular" 1 18v, 1 12v) are the drilling/driving workhorses as far as frequency of use, but when muscle or duration is needed and the drill press isn't appropriate, my DeWalt 1/2" corded comes off the shelf.

[Adam Strong]

Being a sub-contractor and doing lots of odd jobs, Cordless is my mainstay. In my home shop I find myself using the cordless for assembly, I have 2 so that I don't have to fool around with changing bits for pilot holes. I also agree about the hammer drill... My Dewalt XRP Hammer drill will work in a pinch, but it doesn't hold a candle to the corded Bosch.

[glenn bradley]

I use corded when I need raw power or higher speeds.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

Cord or Cordless Drill - Which do you prefer?
Yes - is my answer ;).
I have a few of each, plus a few cordless screwdrivers.

I'd honestly be lost without all of them.

[Jason Beam]

For driving? Cordless, 99.9999% of the time. I have a 12v impact driver that I use for nearly all of my driving. I didn't think I would, but I've been won over by it. It's a great model that I can feather the trigger nicely to get super control - as much or more than a standard cordless drill. It's the 12v Panasonic - not the Li one, though. I've used other impact drivers and they're jerky and sensitive. Much harder to feather. I love my panasonic, tho :)

For Drilling? When hand-held I go corded 75% of the time because those times are nearly always pocket hole drilling. But most of my drilling is done on the drill press when possible. Unless they're in assemblies that don't fit well on the table (i try to avoid that). I would say I only rarely use my cordless drill for actual drilling.

[johnny means]

I don't even own a drill with a cord.

[mickey cassiba]

At work I mostly use cordless for fasteners and drilling. I had a PC 19.2, but the poor thing up and died. Awaiting delivery of my new DW 18V as we speak. Itching to try out the hammer function. I have one concrete wall that acts as the spine for our main shop, and it seems that something always needs to be hung up near the top. Ground worrk gets the big rotary hammer(DW, corded). I also use a 12V impact driver, amazing little beast!
At home I use an old PC9.6 volt drill driverfor light duty stuff, for the heavy stuff I have an ancient Skil D-handle...good for mixing paint and mud too.
At the bench I have an old c'man corded 1/2" that just refuses to die.
mickey

[Robert Parrish]

I had to drill several hundred holes in my house (cement block) to install hurricane shutters, I started out using my cordless hammer drill but soon switched to a corded one. Cordless drills don't have the power for heavy drilling. I just bought a new Bosch hammer drill yesterday as my Porter Cable drill bit the dust trying to drill 4" deep holes in my pool deck for a safety fence.

[Byron Trantham]

I have a 14.4 and 9.6 cordless and a Milwaukee hole shot corded. I bought the Milwaukee to drill pocket holes. The cordless ones didn't hold up to all the drilling and as it turns out they run too slow. Just yesterday I was drilling 562 shelf pin holes and as always the the veneer would tear out here and there. I got to thinking would the corded one work better. Man did it! The extra speed cut those hole nice and clean. We need both! ;)

[John Keeton]

I use corded when I need raw power or higher speeds.Same here!

And, this is where I do a 180* from my general philosophy of "get the best one can afford." I really do not use a drill much, and I have an inexpensive "disposable" Firestorm corded drill, and an inexpensive "disposable" cordless that is my "shop" drill that I use for driving screws and general shop work. Like others, I try to drill on the drillpress if possible.

Seems the technology of cordless drills changes rapidly, and I have found that the cheapies last me 5-8 years, and I just toss them and buy another for $30!

Probably not a good plan, but one that works for me.

[Tony Bilello]

I mostly use my cordless driver/drill. I use the corded when I need more muscle and the drill press for accuracy but timewise, the cordless gets used 90% of the time.
The cordless gets used mostly for driving screws.

[Scott T Smith]

Similar to most of the respondees, I use both. Glenn Bradley said it best though.

The only thing that I would add is that the 28V Milwaukee is the strongest cordless drill that I have. It is superior to a 3/8" corded drill and comes closest to replacing a 1/2" corded drill (but it's still not a replacement).

My Festool C12 is my favorite drill for the woodshop.

[Jon Toebbe]

I use a corded drill exclusively, but that's because I'm a penniless grad student. You can get a nice, name-brand corded drill for a lot less than a cordless model. Plus, as others have mentioned, a corded drill will have the guts to handle heavier work (pocket screw holes, masonry, etc.) all day long. I don't really notice the cord anymore, and that Bosch fits my hand very nicely.

That said, a cordless would be handy for lots of home improvement type jobs when I'm up on a ladder.

[Randal Stevenson]

For light drilling/assembly work, I tend to use the Bosch 10.8 volt drill and impact driver (ps20 and ps40).
Outside, around the house and more construction work (building porch, deck,ladder work, etc) I tend to use my 15.6v Panasonic, and my 12V Ryobi Impact driver (Nimh and Li respectively).
For concrete work, metal work, stripped screws (corded goes slower), etc. Corded all the way. I even bought a corded, Ryobi with the clutch, drill, for my pocket screw station.

[Garth Keel]

most of the time. But when wire brushing, my corded Milwaukee can't be beat!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I use both. If electricity is close by I prefer corded. But sometimes for convenience, I'll use my cordless.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a few cordless drills;

- a Millers Falls #5 that does most of my small drilling

- a Stanley eggbeater

- a Stanley Brace

- a cheap 18V Canadian Tire special

I also have a few corded drills

- Milwaukee 1/2' pistol grip

- Milwaukee hole Hawg

- Hilti hammer drill

- Bosch hammer drill.

Most used drills, the Millers Falls #5 and the I/2" Milwaukee.

Regards, Rod.

[Scott Stafford]

While in the shop and around the house I use the little Bosch 10.8/12v tools but one place I always use a corded drill is when I'm using my Kreg Jig. Cordless drills just don't have the necessary RPM's to clear the chips. I looked at almost every cordless drill, but none match the 2500 rpm of a corded Milwaukee drill.

I may be wrong, but I think Kreg recommends the use of a corded drill in their owner's manual.


Scott in Montana

[Mike Heidrick]

I have two of the bosch 10.8V drivers that get used all the time for driving screws. When I need general drilling I use the Makita or Dewalt 18V cordless. I have a few corded drills but to be honest they do not get used much. I have a drill press that gets almost all my corded work and the Kreg Foreman is pneumatc and gets about 98% of teh pocket hole work.

I think once I get the 10.8V Bosch PS30 drill (guess they are 12V max now) I will even use the 18Vs less. Those little drivers are the cats meow IMO for light work. They are out on my bench ALL the time and I am always reaching for them.

[peter kolb]

I own 5 cordless drills and two corded.
I agree that the the corded drills have more power and possibly more
rpms. I am seriously considering using the cordless drill until they die amd
replacing them with corded drills. Every 3-5 years I am having the batteries
rebuilt. This is a expenses that I would not have with a corded drill.
Peter

[Kev Godwin]

Thanks for all of those comments Creekers! My wife now understands why I don't always use my "favorite corded drill" she gave me!:D
Kev

[Sean Tracey]

My favorite drill is air. Nothing sinks a hole better and fits in more areas.

Cordless are clunky, but serve a purpose if you aren't in a shop.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I use corded when I need raw power or higher speeds.

Bingo.

One Dewalt 1/2" corded hammer drill (that doesn't have to be operated in hammer mode) when I want to slam holes in concrete floor/foundation, or drive lag screws into treated 4x4. The "I ain't screwing around here" stuff.

Two cordless - one for drilling holes, and the other for filling the holes with screws - they nearly always travel as a pair. Two chargers, one'a them cool flashlights that don't need a hand to point them at the target, and 5 batteries - three weapons loaded, and two spare magazines ready to go.

[Brad Westcott]

Same as the others.

Rough carpentry or big holes. Corded.

For convenience and light work, cordless, which is 90% of the time.

When the application demands accuracy, the drill press, if possible.

[Erik Frederiksen]

My profession is remodeling and I use cordless drills almost exclusively. I very rarely come across a task that a good modern cordless drill can't handle.

I do use a Bosch corded hammer drill for concrete.

[Nathan Callender]

All I had up until a few months ago was a corded drill and it got me by quite well. It was a wedding present, and a cheap one at that, so I honestly can't wait to replace that particular unit, but I can't seem to break it outright (the chuck is useless though...)

I finally bought a cordless for driving pocket hole screws. I find that the clutch on the cordless is really necessary for that type of work. Well, I drove a few pocket hole screws successfully until I got overzealous and put one right through a face frame. :-0 Now I use the corded for drilling pocket holes, pilot holes and anything heavy, and the cordless does everything else. It's wonderful to have both!