Drill advice

[John Harris]

New to Kreg pocket jig. I see they require 2000rpm drill.  I have two cordless drills and mas out at 1500rmp.  I would like to buy a corded drill that is decent and wont brake the bank.  I want a metal chuck and keyed will be fine because it will be dedicated to the kreg bit i.e. do not need to quick change bits.

[John Schaben]

Wal-Mart carries a little Black and Decker one speed for under $20. You could probably do one for less on Craigs List. Not much load drilling pocket holes so you don't really need a top shelf drill nor one in top notch condition for that matter.

[John Harris]

According to Kreg you should use a 2000+rpm drill.  All the cheaper ones seem to be topped out at 1200 to 1500 rpm.  What rpm is the $20 B&D?  I can't find a corded B&D on walmarts site.

[Dave Adshead]

I used my cordless 1400 rpm drill for a pine project I am working on. It drilled the holes with ease. I suspect that in the holes in the exposed area's that I plugged, the tare-out was caused by the slow RPM. I did not notice the tare-out until I inserted the plugs.

[John Schaben]

Hi - Mine is 2000 rpm, I got it about a year ago though. I took a look at the WalMart site and it looks like they have discontinued that one. I did find this Skill for under $30 though:

http://www.skilshop.com/factory-reconditioned-skil-6277-02-rt-6-5-a...

 

Here's a 0-2,500 rpm Hitachi for $20

http://www.bigskytool.com/Hitachi_D10VH_38_Drill_6.0_Amp_EVS_Revers...

John Harris said:

According to Kreg you should use a 2000+rpm drill.  All the cheaper ones seem to be topped out at 1200 to 1500 rpm.  What rpm is the $20 B&D?  I can't find a corded B&D on walmarts site.

[gesper]

I currently use a 18 Volt cordless drill, which has a max rpm of 1200, on the couple of projects I have completed it worked fine.  I thought about using a corded drill... but Mine is lost in the garage somewhere, i'll just keep using the cordless until I find my corded.  I have only worked with Pine and 3/4" plywood.

[RICHARD MORAN]

I've used my cordless 18 volt many times with the Kreg jig and never had an issue. Mostly on pine but i did use oak once or twice.

[Michael Hritz]

I use a corded Makita hammer drill (with the hammer feature deselected) which is pretty much dedicated to the Kreg step bit as I seldom need it to drill concrete. I get cleaner holes than with the cordless & don't have to switch bits. To drive screws I use a 19.2 volt Craftsman. Both drills about 4 yrs old.

[John Schaben]

Hi Michael - What is the rpm range on your Makita?

Michael Hritz said:

I use a corded Makita hammer drill (with the hammer feature deselected) which is pretty much dedicated to the Kreg step bit as I seldom need it to drill concrete. I get cleaner holes than with the cordless & don't have to switch bits. To drive screws I use a 19.2 volt Craftsman. Both drills about 4 yrs old.