Right-angle drill/drivers?

[Victor Robinson]

Being in perpetual renovation mode at our house, I'm always coming across odd-jobs and new justifications for tools. One issue I consistently seem to run into is drilling and driving in tight spaces (e.g. between stud bays), narrow cabinet boxes, etc. I always find another way to handle the task...sometimes it ain't pretty. I figure I should just end my misery and get a right-angle driver, as they are not THAT expensive and will end up coming in handy quite a bit.

But I'm sort of torn on whether to get a right-angle impact driver (e.g. Craftsman Nextec, Hitachi) or a right-angle drill/driver (lots of different brands). I often need to drill holes in those tight spaces, so that seems to negate the impact drivers. On the other hand, after using an impact driver, I don't want to go back to stripping out screws, even if it's the occasional tight space screw.

Do you guys find these things useful? Any specific models?

Or should I keep saving my pennies until I can afford what seems to be the ultimate solution - Festool Ti15 with the different heads.

[Cary Falk]

I am using this one. I find that I need to drill more in tight corners then drive big screws. The drill can drive screws when needed.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31f-8OTFtnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[Victor Robinson]

I am using this one. I find that I need to drill more in tight corners then drive big screws. The drill can drive screws when needed.


That guy's definitely high on my list if I go drill/driver. You make a good point about the size of screws often used in tight spaces. I like the adjustable head - other brands are fixed at a right angle. $89 recon for this one with 2 batts seems like a good deal. Wish my 12V combo was Bosch!!

[johnny means]

I've had the Bosch I-Drive for years now. The form factor is great. It gets into tight spaces at all sorts of problematic angles. But, I must say I hate it. The one problem I have is that it doesn't always run in reverse after I switch directions. When trying to back out a screw I can never be sure which way it's going to turn.

[Kevin Bourque]

I have a right angle attachment that fits any drill. I don't need to use it very often so buying a right angle drill would be a waste for me.

[Matt Meiser]

I'm not sure how heavy duty your needs are but since you mentioned Festool, the CXS also has a right angle adapter. It's not a drilling studs type of tool but I lone the drill and the right angle adapter has been more useful than I ever imagined.

[Victor Robinson]

I'm not sure how heavy duty your needs are but since you mentioned Festool, the CXS also has a right angle adapter. It's not a drilling studs type of tool but I lone the drill and the right angle adapter has been more useful than I ever imagined.

Thanks, Matt. The CXS is a sweet little drill/driver and I think a good (but expensive) substitute for 12v drill/drivers. But I already have a new-ish 12v combo that I am happy with until it dies. I'd want a Festool drill/driver for the right angle head and the eccentric chuck. I have a lot of green and black but have never been able to justify the expense for their drills/drivers. Since I'm not ready to splurge on a T15 or Ti15, I figured I'd look at the cheaper options for now.

[Victor Robinson]

I've had the Bosch I-Drive for years now. The form factor is great. It gets into tight spaces at all sorts of problematic angles. But, I must say I hate it. The one problem I have is that it doesn't always run in reverse after I switch directions. When trying to back out a screw I can never be sure which way it's going to turn.

Hmm, that doesn't sound good at all. I hope it's a one-off problem with your unit (though that's not a good thing for you!) as opposed to a widespread issue with the model.

[Dave Zellers]

I have this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Makita-DA3010F-8-Inch-Right-Angle/dp/B0000789HO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360892688&sr=8-1&keywords=makita+right+angle+drill
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Love it. Very powerful.

[Dick Mahany]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I also needed a compact 90 degree cordless drill a few years back. Since I already had several DeWalt 14.4 tools, I just went with the body-only version of theirs to save some money. It doesn't get a lot of use, but when I need one, it's great to have. Probably a lot of alternatives out there, but considering the cost/ value / frequency of use combination, I would do the same again.

[Kevin Groenke]

We have a couple Sioux corded angle drills and a Milwaukee M12 cordless. Both are good: the Sioux has a nice form factor for repetitive production work, the Milwaukee for occasional tight-quarters work, of course the led is nice when you're inside a cabinet. The Milwaukee M12 family of compact cordless tools is very broad: we've got the the jigsaw, recrip saw, oscillating tool, impact driver, driver, drill/driver all are good and there are tons more. The XC 3ah batteries can go in all of them to improve the longevity. Milwaukee CPO sells refurbs 25%-50% off going retail. Milwaukee makes a nice angle driver attachment too but I've never seen a angle drill chuck that wasn't pretty clunky. If you want to go cheap, Sioux knock-offs (http://www.amazon.com/Neiko-8-Inch-55-Degree-Quarters-Right-Angle/dp/B000XUHA8C/ref=sr_1_3?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1360899681&sr=1-3)are out there, if you have lots of compressed air, air angle drills (http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-inch-reversible-air-angle-drill-67474.html) can be had quite cheap too. Of all of these, I thank the cordless type will be the only one with a clutch for driving.

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-kevin

[Dave Bonde]

I have the Bosch 12 volt now but years ago I bought a cheap (like 10 bucks then) right angle attachment that had a small chuck on it from Harbor Freight and have abused the heck out of it for years and it works really well, I use more for drilling than driving, being able to chuck whatever I want in it was nice option.

[Sam Murdoch]

The Makita that Dave refers to is a classic best of its kind in electric right angle drills - one of the most versatile. I have an old Sioux that I changed the chuck to a quick change. I love this little drill but it IS NOT VARIABLE SPEED - a huge deficiency. I think for tight spaces a drill/driver is more useful than the impact, as you normally might need to drill a hole first. I love Festool and when the time comes that I need to replace my Panasonic drill/driver and impact driver I will likely jump into the green pool again and buy a CXS. It will do all of the above without missing a beat or stripping a screw.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I have the Festool T15 drill with right angle head. It is nice, but there are many other lower cost options out there.
For the cost of the Festool, you could buy several of the other options to cover light duty in very tight spaces to heavy duty drilling of larger holes in studs.

[Ed Labadie]

When I remodeled my house 12 years ago had the same problems. Bought a 12 volt Dewalt and never looked back. I beat that poor drill to death, it just didn't know it and kept on running.

In the last year I've been updating my cordless to the new 20v max Dewalt stuff, the next purchase will be the right angle drill driver. I'm not a big fan of the 1.5 amp/hr batteries, so it'll be a bare tool purchase.
This is the one with batteries:

http://www.dewalt.com/tools/cordless-drills-right-angle-drills-dcd740c1.aspx (http://www.dewalt.com/tools/cordless-drills-right-angle-drills-dcd740c1.aspx)


Ed

[johnny means]

I recently bought Dewalts 20v right angle drill. I've been converting to Dewalts new line up, so was able to go with the tool only. I found it at Lowes mispriced for a $100. I'm very pleased with it. Boring 1" holes through joist is no problem. It has an extra deep chuck that allows me to sink the bit in to the tip when space is really tight.

IMO, right angle attachments don't make a right angle drill. The Festool setup won't get you into the tight spots that a right angle drill will.