PRODUCT REVIEW
Biggest diameter holes test Spade bits enable bigger holes to be drilled because they have very little friction. The downside is that the holes can be rough and inaccurate if you don’t take care. All the drills managed 15mm (copper pipe size under sinks) and I drilled sequentially bigger holes until I got to 32mm diameter – my largest spade bit.
Longest screws test Self-explanatory really – there is little need to pull out a screwdriver these days – a good drill driver will drive most screws with ease. The best test is to try to find out what the limits are when driving increasing sizes and gauges of screws into a big wooden block. All drills managed to drive 4 gauge 70mm long screws into softwoods but things became decidedly more difficult beyond that.
To the outcomes… The tests
What I then needed was a set of standard tests based on the specifications of the drills to try each one in turn and see how each performed. With two 14.4v and two 18v drills to try, each test had to be fair to the capabilities of each tool.
First up is, of course, the drilling test. Ensure a fully charged battery is in place and then use a new drill bit (10mm is max size in each case) to drill as many holes into a test piece as you can before the battery runs out. I used quality drill bits because, although some drill bits were
supplied in the kits, I wasn’t convinced that they would last well enough to conduct a fair test. Fortunately, I had enough 18mm plywood offcuts to conduct the tests easily. I could have used thicker stock for the tests but that would mean having to lift and clear the drill bit several times and that might affect the results. This probably means that the number of test holes exceeded my expectations but I did also try using the drills in 75mm thick softwood and they still managed to drill through that without too much effort.
Wickes Cordless Drill Driver 10.8v Lithium Features: Case: Plastic carry case Chuck: Keyless chuck (2-handed) 10mm Torque settings: 18+1 Speeds: Variable 2+forward/reverse Battery Pack:1.5 Ah L Ion Light: LED Charger: 30 minutes Battery: 3 light charge indicator Soft grip handle
Specs: Torque 18Nm Steel 6mm Wood 19mm Weight 0.97kg Cost £35
The Wickes drill driver is the most compact and light of the set, but the design is more pistol-like with the battery stored inside the handle. It needed to be used in ‘slow gear’ to ensure that the 10mm holes were drilled – it stalled in ‘fast gear’. While it drilled its 138 holes it did become quite hot but never seemed at risk of failing. Its 14.4 volts of power seemed to be more than adequate for a drill that is compact and obviously looks like a DIY tool.
I used quality drill bits because, although some drill bits were supplied in the kits, I wasn’t convinced that they would last well enough to conduct a fair test".
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It managed to drill up to a 32mm hole in softwood with a spade bit, again needing to be in low gear to avoid stalling. The Wickes drove a 70mm long woodscrew into softwood well with no grunts or groans, but it became more difficult with anything much longer. Drilling steel was a slow process and needed a sharp new drill bit to achieve the results.
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