4 ms·

Not all drills have a torque limiter. As I understand it, you're more likely to find those on cordless drills than their corded brethren. I've actually never us

Not all drills have a torque limiter. As I understand it, you're more likely to find those on cordless drills than their corded brethren. I've actually never used a corded drill with a torque limiter, but most of cordless ones I've used have had them.

throwanem 6y ago
Corded drills seem hard to find these days. The only one I have is a couple of decades old, and I don't run fasteners with it, not least because it lacks both torque limiting and speed control. I'd expect a modern corded drill to live in the high-power contractor tool niche, like how a rotary hammer compares with a handheld hammer drill. Ikea, perhaps unsurprisingly, sells a cheap cordless driver ($20 US) with a torque limiter.
- Spare_account 6y ago
  https://www.diy.com/departments/bosch-550w-240v-corded-hammer-drill-easyimpact-550/3165140840668_BQ.prd https://www.diy.com/departments/bosch-550w-240v-corded-hamme... Perhaps this is unusual in the US but entry-level corded drills are readily available in the UK. I don't know if this store is a good example, but this USA based store appears to stock a range of cheap corded drills: https://www.lowes.com/pl/Drills-Drills-drivers-Power-tools-Tools/4294607722?refinement=4294776950&int_cmp=DrillsDrivers%3AC%3ATools%3AMerch%3Acorded_drills_visual_taxonomy https://www.lowes.com/pl/Drills-Drills-drivers-Power-tools-T...
  - throwanem 6y ago
    I can't see the Lowes page right now, but Home Depot is a comparable retailer, and a store near me (but not the one I usually go to) looks to stock a couple of absolutely bottom-tier corded 3/8" drills, plus a broad range of light and medium corded hammer drills with 1/2" chucks. The broad niche between those, of general-purpose 3/8" and 1/2" light and medium drill/driver tools and impact drivers, looks to be pretty universally filled by cordless tools. (Which makes sense, given the razor-and-blades or inkjet-and-cartridges business model to which battery-powered tools lend themselves.) I wonder if corded drills might be more common in the UK because your higher mains voltage means less current is required for a given power output. With conversion losses, you can't realistically pull more than a horsepower out of a typical 120V/10A circuit without risking a breaker trip, even if there's nothing else connected to the circuit. That makes a corded tool potentially much more of a pain to use than a battery-powered one, so even if the corded version would otherwise be much more cost-efficient, it still may be a tougher sell in the US. I've heard the same power limitation described as a reason why electric kettles basically don't exist here, although since kitchen circuits are typically rated for higher current than most others, I suspect the absence of good electric kettles may have more to do with steeped tea having been displaced by drip coffee in Americans' morning cups.
    - Reason077 6y ago
      > "I've heard the same power limitation described as a reason why electric kettles basically don't exist here" I never realised that, but it makes sense. Canadians don't use electric kettles either and they like their tea! When I lived in Canada everyone seemed to have a stovetop whistling kettle. Looking at my Australian-designed Chinese-built UK kettle, it's rated at "2760-3000W", which is far more than can be drawn from a standard US 120V outlet.
    - Lev1a 6y ago
      > I wonder if corded drills might be more common in the UK because your higher mains voltage means less current is required for a given power output. With conversion losses, you can't realistically pull more than a horsepower out of a typical 120V/10A circuit without risking a breaker trip, even if there's nothing else connected to the circuit. That makes a corded tool potentially much more of a pain to use than a battery-powered one, so even if the corded version would otherwise be much more cost-efficient, it still may be a tougher sell in the US. I wonder if that's also why I've seen almost no electric/induction cooktops in American media even though from my Central European POV induction tops are safer, easier to regulate etc. than gas cooktops.
      - telotortium 6y ago
        That's not an issue for stoves specifically in the US - stoves, dryers, ovens, and other large fixed appliances are wired for 240V in the US as well. It would be an issue for non-fixed appliances like electric kettles, which only have 120V 15A available.
      - jjeaff 6y ago
        There are quite a few electric cooktops in the US. I would guess more than half are electric. As for induction, not as much, but I always see them for sale in any appliance store. I believe they are more expensive. As for not seeing them in the media, that is likely because electric cooktops don't make for good video. The pop of a nice blue flame is much more interesting. Additionally, most high end kitchen appliances are gas since gas is preferred by most professional kitchens.
    - 6y ago
- jdeibele 6y ago
  My dad left me his tools. One day the garage door was left open too long and somebody stole some drills. They only took the cordless ones, leaving the two with cords. It gave me some idea of what things were worth at the pawn shop.
tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago
I've never seen a corded drill that was meant for driving screws as opposed to drilling only. If you use a sledgehammer instead of a screwdriver, don't complain about furniture falling apart.
- selectodude 6y ago
  >I've never seen a corded drill that was meant for driving screws as opposed to drilling only. That's more a function of battery-powered drills being good enough and the stuff that requires a plug is designed to drill through concrete. My cordless Milwaukee has pressure-sensitive speed and a very granular torque setting, along with hammer drill and screw settings. My Ikea furniture is basically bulletproof.
  - firebird84 6y ago
    You can drill through concrete with a cordless drill too, they're definitely good enough, especially with modern batteries.
mywittyname 6y ago
Ikea sells a drill designed for putting together their furniture. The $20 version is fine for most use, but the $40 one is much heftier and can be used for lot of stuff. Everyone should have a basic toolbox that includes a cordless drill.
slingnow 6y ago
If you're using a corded drill to assemble furniture, you're doing it wrong. Corded drills are just _drills_. Cordless drills are typically drill / drivers.

throwanem 6y ago

Corded drills seem hard to find these days. The only one I have is a couple of decades old, and I don't run fasteners with it, not least because it lacks both torque limiting and speed control. I'd expect a modern corded drill to live in the high-power contractor tool niche, like how a rotary hammer compares with a handheld hammer drill. Ikea, perhaps unsurprisingly, sells a cheap cordless driver ($20 US) with a torque limiter.

Spare_account 6y ago
https://www.diy.com/departments/bosch-550w-240v-corded-hammer-drill-easyimpact-550/3165140840668_BQ.prd https://www.diy.com/departments/bosch-550w-240v-corded-hamme... Perhaps this is unusual in the US but entry-level corded drills are readily available in the UK. I don't know if this store is a good example, but this USA based store appears to stock a range of cheap corded drills: https://www.lowes.com/pl/Drills-Drills-drivers-Power-tools-Tools/4294607722?refinement=4294776950&int_cmp=DrillsDrivers%3AC%3ATools%3AMerch%3Acorded_drills_visual_taxonomy https://www.lowes.com/pl/Drills-Drills-drivers-Power-tools-T...
- throwanem 6y ago
  I can't see the Lowes page right now, but Home Depot is a comparable retailer, and a store near me (but not the one I usually go to) looks to stock a couple of absolutely bottom-tier corded 3/8" drills, plus a broad range of light and medium corded hammer drills with 1/2" chucks. The broad niche between those, of general-purpose 3/8" and 1/2" light and medium drill/driver tools and impact drivers, looks to be pretty universally filled by cordless tools. (Which makes sense, given the razor-and-blades or inkjet-and-cartridges business model to which battery-powered tools lend themselves.) I wonder if corded drills might be more common in the UK because your higher mains voltage means less current is required for a given power output. With conversion losses, you can't realistically pull more than a horsepower out of a typical 120V/10A circuit without risking a breaker trip, even if there's nothing else connected to the circuit. That makes a corded tool potentially much more of a pain to use than a battery-powered one, so even if the corded version would otherwise be much more cost-efficient, it still may be a tougher sell in the US. I've heard the same power limitation described as a reason why electric kettles basically don't exist here, although since kitchen circuits are typically rated for higher current than most others, I suspect the absence of good electric kettles may have more to do with steeped tea having been displaced by drip coffee in Americans' morning cups.
  - Reason077 6y ago
    > "I've heard the same power limitation described as a reason why electric kettles basically don't exist here" I never realised that, but it makes sense. Canadians don't use electric kettles either and they like their tea! When I lived in Canada everyone seemed to have a stovetop whistling kettle. Looking at my Australian-designed Chinese-built UK kettle, it's rated at "2760-3000W", which is far more than can be drawn from a standard US 120V outlet.
  - Lev1a 6y ago
    > I wonder if corded drills might be more common in the UK because your higher mains voltage means less current is required for a given power output. With conversion losses, you can't realistically pull more than a horsepower out of a typical 120V/10A circuit without risking a breaker trip, even if there's nothing else connected to the circuit. That makes a corded tool potentially much more of a pain to use than a battery-powered one, so even if the corded version would otherwise be much more cost-efficient, it still may be a tougher sell in the US. I wonder if that's also why I've seen almost no electric/induction cooktops in American media even though from my Central European POV induction tops are safer, easier to regulate etc. than gas cooktops.
    - telotortium 6y ago
      That's not an issue for stoves specifically in the US - stoves, dryers, ovens, and other large fixed appliances are wired for 240V in the US as well. It would be an issue for non-fixed appliances like electric kettles, which only have 120V 15A available.
    - jjeaff 6y ago
      There are quite a few electric cooktops in the US. I would guess more than half are electric. As for induction, not as much, but I always see them for sale in any appliance store. I believe they are more expensive. As for not seeing them in the media, that is likely because electric cooktops don't make for good video. The pop of a nice blue flame is much more interesting. Additionally, most high end kitchen appliances are gas since gas is preferred by most professional kitchens.
  - 6y ago
jdeibele 6y ago
My dad left me his tools. One day the garage door was left open too long and somebody stole some drills. They only took the cordless ones, leaving the two with cords. It gave me some idea of what things were worth at the pawn shop.

tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago

I've never seen a corded drill that was meant for driving screws as opposed to drilling only. If you use a sledgehammer instead of a screwdriver, don't complain about furniture falling apart.

selectodude 6y ago
>I've never seen a corded drill that was meant for driving screws as opposed to drilling only. That's more a function of battery-powered drills being good enough and the stuff that requires a plug is designed to drill through concrete. My cordless Milwaukee has pressure-sensitive speed and a very granular torque setting, along with hammer drill and screw settings. My Ikea furniture is basically bulletproof.
- firebird84 6y ago
  You can drill through concrete with a cordless drill too, they're definitely good enough, especially with modern batteries.

mywittyname 6y ago

Ikea sells a drill designed for putting together their furniture. The $20 version is fine for most use, but the $40 one is much heftier and can be used for lot of stuff. Everyone should have a basic toolbox that includes a cordless drill.

slingnow 6y ago

If you're using a corded drill to assemble furniture, you're doing it wrong. Corded drills are just _drills_. Cordless drills are typically drill / drivers.