Drill to use with pocket holes

[Peter Quinn]

Problem with the cordless is as the battery weakens speed drops unpredictably and the holes get a little rough. I use a 14.4V HD makita occasionally and it does work. I have been using a Milwaukee corded 3/8" that spins at 2200rpm for bigger projects with more screws, works great, kind of a barbell though. I just switched to a pneumatic drill that spins 2400rpms, works even better for plywood and softer hardwoods, not so good in very hard hardwoods as speed drops under load.

Regardless of the drill I use they all seem to work better when I use the dust port on the jig. It really gets the chips out of the way so the drill can push forward.

[Steve Roxberg]

I have used a cordless Panasonic 15.6 v drill with no problems, although my corded Bosch works faster.

Same here, the Bosch corded works much better and I picked one up for around $40 at a woodshow. The bit stays mounted in the drill and ready to go for 3/4" material. Being ready to go is nice as well.

Any old corded drill with high rpm will work, or buy a cheap one when you can.

That said a Cordless will work until you find a deal so no need to spend top dollar.

[Jules Dominguez]

What Jeremy said. I bought a DeWalt D21008 3/8" variable speed corded drill at the borg, I think for about $70, mainly for pocket holes, but I frequently use it in the shop for other tasks. Also, there are times when it's handy to have two drills for a job.

[Rob Will]

I use a corded DeWalt drill.
I have a dedicated pocket hole cart with the K3 jig on top, and a small shop vac on the lower shelf.

Rob

[Don Bullock]

Todd, thanks for asking the question. I was planning to use my Kreg system soon and would have tried to use my underpowered cordless drill. Thank you to all who answered Todd's post. You havwe saved me a lot of aggravation and maybe some kindling for the fireplace.

[Greg Narozniak]

I have a Corded Black and Decker "professional" 3/8 drill lives for the Kreg jig. Holes have always been clean and fast.

[Chuck Saunders]

I bought the Rigid 3/8" corded drill ($46) as the dedicated Kreg drill.

[Todd Bin]

Thanks for all the great responses. I never imagined such a simple question would get so many answers. So, I will get a corded drill but which one.

I was thinking about a Bosch. There is one that goes up to 3000 rpm. Many of the other drills don't seem to have rpm's that even go as high at 2000. Here is the delima. I want a good, sturdy long lasting drill that will do anything I ask but I don't want to have to feel like I am getting a workout becasue the thing weighs so much.

Any suggestions?

[Scott Long]

I am with chuck, I bought the Ridgid corded drill.
The price was right and it comes with a lifetime warranty.

[Steve Roxberg]

I bought the Bosch, they have them on Amazon right now for $50, and it ships free.

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-1005VSRK...5848668&sr=8-4

[Jim W. White]

I think that Bosch would be a great option as would be the Ridgid or Dewalt.

I picked up a very similarly spec'd out Makita locally for about $40 and I've been very happy with it. Low weight, keyless 3/8" chuck, and high RPMs were my only concerns at the time. I already had a 1/2" Bosch corded drill at the time, but it was way to heavy for knocking out pocket holes.

Jim in Idaho

[Chris Padilla]

I have a water-wheel power bit and it does just fine. RPMs vary all over the place depending upon the flow of the creek!

Seriously, it is a pocket hole...I bet 99% of the time it won't be seen so it doesn't matter how clean the hole is. We all have a spare bit on hand anyway and they seem to last forever; I've never broken one and I'm still on my original and I use it all over the place. *ANY* drill will work fine.