Buying a new cordless drill seems fairly easy until you realise how many diverse options you have available. Using the Milwaukee C18PD drill to illustrate, I take you step-by-step through the various factors of the drill and what each of the numbers and letters on the drill signify.

1. Choosing a Cordless
g
Drill: Get the Right
Tool for Your
Situation

2. Picking out a new cordless drill seems
relatively simple until you realize how
many different options you have
available. Choosing the right drill could
g g
make the difference between getting the
task done quickly and struggling to
complete it.

3. Home Vs. Commercial Use
First think about whether you need a
First,
cordless drill for home use or on the job.
Home models can usually get away with
less power and a shorter battery life.
Since home users will usually operate
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their tools less frequently, they can
choose a drill with a lower durability
rating and an accordingly l
ti d di l lower price tag.
i t

4. Commercial users, by comparison, can't
afford to cut corners without risking the
loss of a vital tool in the middle of a job.
Many cordless drill manufacturers
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actually split their tools into separate
home and commercial lines to make the
choice easier.

5. Power Vs. Weight
While every buyer wants the most power
and the least weight possible, it's usually
necessary to compromise on these two
factors. That's because a cordless drill's
p
power depends on the size of its battery.
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A more powerful drill requires a heavier
build and a larger battery. The usual
power range varies between 6 volts and
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18 volts.

6. While it may be tempting to buy the
most powerful tool available, this can
available
result in a lot of hand and wrist fatigue in
users who aren't in top p y
p physical
condition. Stop and consider your
probable use patterns, then choose a drill
that matches. If you won't be drilling a
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big hole in heavy lumber, pick a lower-
power model
model.

7. NiCad Battery Vs Lithium or NiMH
In addition to power and use concerns
concerns,
you should also pay attention to the
battery.
battery Older cordless models use
nickel-cadmium, or NiCad, batteries,
which are heavier and less powerful than
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lithium-ion or nickel-metal-hydride
(NiMH) types. Lithium-ion types are the
newest and most costly, but also have
t d t tl b t l h
the best weight-to-energy ratio and lose
charge very slowly when not in use
use.

8. Reading a Model/Type/Serial
Number
Most cordless drills include a string of
numbers and letters that help identify
them to the manufacturer but can be
p
puzzling to new users. For instance,
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the Milwaukee C18PD32 is a compact
cordless percussion, or hammer, drill
with and 18 volt lithium-ion b tt
ith d lt lithi i battery.

9. The C indicates the tool's compact size,
while the 18 tells you its voltage. The
voltage
other digits indicate things like torque
and what other elements are sold with
the drill. The C18PD32 offers 62 Nm
torque, while the C18PD22 offers only
51. When sold with no battery or extras,
Milwaukee lists this cordless drill as the
C18PD0.
C18PD0

10. These letters and numbers vary by
manufacturer,
manufacturer but they always have a
pattern. Looking carefully at them can
help y
p you identify it and find the perfect
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cordless drill for you.
This article was written byy
ToolGurus.co.uk, specialists
in Milwaukee and Gedore Tools.
http://www.toolgurus.co.uk/