Quality corded drill with keyless chuck

[Frank Martin]

I am looking for a smallish corded drill with a keyless chuck primarily for pocket holes. I have cordless and larger corded hammer drills. Have not purchased a corded drill for a long time and curious what brand / models are the best quality these days.

[Michael Mahan]

I use a Dewalt 3/8" keyless chuck I think it was 49.oo on sale vari speed reversible
has Way more power than a cordless

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Bosch 1006vsr. $59 retail but $44 refurbished from cpo bosch.
I like it so much I usually grab it instead of my bosch rechargeable

[Greg R Bradley]

Bosch, Makita, and Milwaukee all make 3/8" keyless chuck variable speed drills that do 2500 RPM for clean pocket holes.

Bosch 1006VSR is around $60 and has a decent keyless chuck and the 2500 RPM that works well for clean pocket holes. I have one in regular use in a shop and it holds up well.

Milwaukee is about the same.

Makita 6408 might be a bit better under really heavy use but it is closer to $100.

[Matthew Hills]

Why do you want keyless chuck if it will be dedicated to pocket holes?
(I picked up a cheap corded dewalt at a local hardware store; works well)

Matt

[Jim Andrew]

I bought a Hitachi drill at Lowes, on sale, about 40$, very good quality drill, use it almost exclusively for pocket screw holes.

[George Bokros]

Kreg recommends a drill that runs 2500 rpm for best bit life and clean holes. I have a Milwaukee 0201-20 I use exclusively for pocket holes. cpomilwaukee.com has them for $130.

http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Milwaukee-Site/default/Search-Show?q=milwaukee%200201-20

George

[HANK METZ]

Quality is of course, a subjective criteria. I have had the H.F. 3/8" corded drill (http://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-variable-speed-reversible-drill-60614-9152.html) and have beat the heck out of it (3 years now) and still it delivers at up to 3k r.p.m. Used for pocket holing, it leaves a crisp, debris- free hole, and can also drive screws thanks to the v.s. trigger. For not even $20 I can buy one a year and toss it out even if it still works and not be at a loss for the little money spent. Now that is my definition of quality.

[Jim Finn]

I bought a Hitachi drill at Lowes, on sale, about 40$, very good quality drill, use it almost exclusively for pocket screw holes.
I have this drill also. Has adjustable torque settings and is the smallest corded drill I could find.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Pawn shops have many corded drills, selling for almost nothing. There is nothing wrong with buying a B&D Industrial (pre DeWalt), or Sears Industrial drill for ten bucks. Then add a Jacobs keyless chuck. Be sure to get the soft grip one.

[Charles Coolidge]

I purchased a Craftsman recently for a job, after using cordless drills for years the corded drill felt awesome, smooth, powerful I felt I didn't need top quality since I would only occasionally use it and it worked out great. If I was going to beat the snot out of it I'd have gone with a higher quality.

[Dan Rude]

I have a Milwaukee 0201-20 7 Amp 3/8-Inch Drill with Keyless Chuck, but I have some issues with it for drilling pocket holes. I then pulled out my old pistol grip C-Man and liked it. It was a little underpowered though. Then I remembered a thread where someone recommended the DEWALT DWD115K 8 Amp 3/8-Inch VSR Mid-Handle Grip Drill Kit with Keyless Chuck. I really like it. The only fault I have with keyless chucks tend to loosen when you reverse the bit. I just picked up an Intsy-hex adapter to replace the chuck on the Dewalt. Either drill would serve you well. Dan

[Bill Geibe]

I bought this Hitachi, specifically because of it's higher (2500) RPM for woodworking: http://bigskytool.com/Hitachi_D10VH_38_Drill_6.0_Amp_EVS_Reversible_%28R econditioned%29___i269.aspx Though in this listing it's $31.51, it goes on sale for in the $20-$30 range. Reconditioned Grade A generally means it's like new. Mine looked new when I got it (display unit, maybe?) and I find it great for drilling wood. It's probably the same drill the two Jims mentioned.

Bill

[Frank Martin]

I had heard great things about Milwaukee when they were made in USA, but now they are all Chinese made. So not sure how good the new ones are. They also seem rather long, not sure if there is a smaller model. I will look into the mid handle Dewalt and the Hitachi. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Tom M King]

The best corded 2500 rpm drill ever made was the Rockwell/Porter Cable 664. It's a 1/4" drill, but not with a keyless chuck. I doubt you could even find one now, but most parts are still available. I have one I bought new, and it still runs like a sewing machine.

[Peter Quinn]

Rigid has a 3/8" keyless chuck version that works very well, used it at work for a while. Good tool, cheap too iir. I've never found the keyless chucks tighten as well as a good old keyed chuck, so for something like locked screws where I chuck up and leave the bit for a whole job, I just use a 3/8 Milwaukee keyed drill, bit never slips even in the hardest of woods.

[Andy Pratt]

For what it is worth: I have a corded 9 amp milwaukee (highest amperage they make excepting hole hawgs) and it is all it wants to do to cut a pocket hole in hard maple in one quick push at 3500 rpm (which is the speed you want if you want the least frass on the cut). It is sized perfectly for this, I would say, with no extra power available when I'm doing them fast, so I would stay away from drills on the smaller side in terms of amperage if this is what you will be using it for all the time. Using the milwaukee vs an under powered drill for pocket holes I find that I am at least twice as fast, and end up with a lot less frass on the hole sides.

[Garth Almgren]

The keyless chuck on my Milwaukee 0240-20 Tradesman drill has what feels like a ratcheting action that really clamps down tight. I can't say that I've ever had a bit slip, including up to a 4.25" hole saw.

[Ellery Becnel]

I just received the Makita drill from Big Sky Tools. Looks brand new, with instructions, and a case. Thanks for the tip. I have a 25 year old drill that has needed replacing for
Some time now.

Ellery Becnel

[Roger Feeley]

It's weird, I recently replaced my old Skil with a Dewalt but I hardly ever use a corded drill anymore. Even in the shop, I mostly use the cordless. To be sure, I use my Bosch Rotary Hammer for masonry but my general purpose corded drill doesn't see much use unless I need to do about a million holes. Even then my charger generally keeps up ok.

[Frank Martin]

In trying to find a quality one, I came up with the Bosch that is made in Switzerland:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SUOI/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

It is not cheap, but seems good. Anybody have any direct experience with this?

[David Hostetler]

I have the Ryobi 3/8 clutch driver drill that I have been abusing for years... Works great...

If I had to replace it I would get a Hitachi...

[HANK METZ]

After 3 years of daily “goto” use, I just replaced my $15 H.F. drill with another $15 H.F. drill. Remarkable thing is the battery from unit #1 is still very much useable, so now I have a battery backup to the main.

Oh yea, I also got a free 25 foot tape measure with my 25% off coupon. :rolleyes: