What cheap drill for guitar work?

carlos

Never owned one before but have a few holes to make in my guitars for all sorts of things like backplates, pickguards, pickup rings, etc. Something cheap, cordless and idiot-proof.

Thanks!

Sporky

Depends a bit on what you mean by cheap. I have the previous version of this and it's superb - light, enough power and the chuck will take a 13mm bit.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gsr-10-8-2-li-cordless-drill-driver-li-ion-in-l-boxx-10-8v-2-0ah-503774

carlos

@Sporky ;
Would this have enough power then? It's also 10.8 V
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLACK-DECKER-Lithium-Ion-Compact-Cordless/dp/B019XWAQT0

equalsql

I can recommend Screwfix's own brand.
I've got one and it's bloody excellent!

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eri744com-18v-2-0ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/9284t

WezV

I am going to suggest An actual cheap one
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4556677

I have one in my guitar assembly tool kit.  

  It's a nice light weight and holds its charge well.

i put a shed together with it a few months back too

Sporky

carlos said:

@Sporky ;
Would this have enough power then? It's also 10.8 V
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLACK-DECKER-Lithium-Ion-Compact-Cordless/dp/B019XWAQT0

The Bosch is measured differently - by the same standards it's a 12v. The B&D is lower torque (though probably enough for most jobs), and I couldn't see any mention of battery capacity.

I think it's worth spending a bit more on something that'll just keep going - I've had my Bosch for at least 8 years now. Metal gears help with longevity.

If you're only going to have one then I'd go 10.8 or 12v - lower won't have enough power, higher will be unwieldy. And two batteries.

Corvus

If it's just for tiny holes I like a tea & biscuit powered hand drill, dirt cheap and easy to control, always powered up too. Or an Archimedes drill even cheaper and no chance of breaking tiny drillbits. But I may be a luddite/cheapskate and a batt drill like ^ will be more usable for other stuff.

FelineGuitars

Sporky said:

Depends a bit on what you mean by cheap. I have the previous version of this and it's superb - light, enough power and the chuck will take a 13mm bit.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gsr-10-8-2-li-cordless-drill-driver-li-ion-in-l-boxx-10-8v-2-0ah-503774

That is a great drill - it's what we use all day long here at Feline - we have 3 or 4 of them.
If I had to replace them I'd buy the same again

carlos

Thanks for all the tips!

FelineGuitars

Not sure about the Facebook like you get with each hole drilled though....

Sporky

FelineGuitars said:

Sporky said:

Depends a bit on what you mean by cheap. I have the previous version of this and it's superb - light, enough power and the chuck will take a 13mm bit.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gsr-10-8-2-li-cordless-drill-driver-li-ion-in-l-boxx-10-8v-2-0ah-503774

That is a great drill - it's what we use all day long here at Feline - we have 3 or 4 of them.
If I had to replace them I'd buy the same again

I'm really tempted to get the new 12v flexi system - fully compatible with the old 10.8v stuff, and I have the 18v one already. Really handy stuff..

http://cdn.axminster.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1800x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/1/0/103608_xl.jpg

Evilmags

When I started doing up my house U had to buy a load of tools. All of the Bosch is still running. The B&D stuff burnt out. 

Rocker

Mains powered is usually cheaper than battery. Unless you intend to work at the edge of the earth....., battery is good but mains better. IMHO of course.

Nomad

The B&D spec is given further down -1.5Ah battery, max torque is 12.5/26 Nm, which implies two gear settings but I don't see a switch for changing the gearing.

I got a Parkside branded one from, I think, Lidl, and it's been fine. 16V, 2Ah, two gears, 30 quid. I wanted something lighter than my big cordless which is a bit too hefty for one-handed use or more precise work with small drill bits. The little Parkside is fine one-handed for DIY stuff like driving screws (surprising amount of torque), and I found it much more manageable for small jobs - keyless chuck, so it's fine to put a steadying hand around the chuck while drilling at lower rotation speeds. Also has a row of LEDs on the side that light up to show the state of battery charge.

Having said that, I'm with Corvus on the Mk1 cordless, especially for small stuff where it's easy to keep the balance between speed and torque. I got a little Archimedes pin vice thing a while back, but haven't used it yet, and I have a set of conventional  pin vices which have been handy for really small holes (say, 1mm or less) in materials like wood and plastic. The Archimedes thing is more suited to applying higher rotation speeds than can be done with a normal pin vice, which somewhat implies harder materials, and I haven't had a need to hand-drill anything like that yet that I can't get onto my little milling machine.

Sporky

Rocker said:

Mains powered is usually cheaper than battery. Unless you intend to work at the edge of the earth....., battery is good but mains better. IMHO of course.

Mains powered is also generally bigger and more unwieldy. For guitar work you don't need that sort of grunt and the trailing cable gets in the way.

I have the 10.8v Bosch, a 9.6v Hitachi (hex bits only), a teeny 3.6v B&D (hex bits only again), an 18v Bosch, a 21v Panasonic and a few mains drills; the mains ones don't get any use. They're more faff, heavier and no more powerful than the bigger cordlesses.

Actually, the 18v Bosch, with the SDS+ head on it, is better at going through the ultra-hard brick of my house than the big mains SDS+ drill I have, and far easier to work with.

Nomad

Mains powered drills also tend to be noisier. For prolonged use, I'm much more likely to reach for the ear defenders with a mains one than I am with a cordless.

Andyjr1515

While I'm also a great fan of Bosch, I got one of these on offer for about £35 in the 'old' homebase, fully expecting it to be poor.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/WORX-WX128-2-0Ah-Lithium-Ion-Driver/dp/B010LVO7GU/ref=sr_1_3?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1497168484&sr=1-3&keywords=worx+drill

 Usability-wise, it's lightness made it my go to drill for my guitar builds and mods and so, convinced that it would fall to bits, or burn out, or the battery would lose charge over time, I bought another one.  Which hasn't been taken out of its box yet...four years and many builds later.

I really didn't expect that!

Sporky

For hobby use I'd think pretty much anything will be fine.

Rocker

When the rechargeable batteries fail, as they always do sooner or later, replacements cost nearly as much as a new drill (the same model). More working stuff going to the recycling centre which is a shame. Mains drills, just plug them in! Noisy? What the hell are you doing to your guitar that the noise of a drill becomes an issue? Usually only a whiz whiz when drilling a pilot hole is all that is heard....

Sporky

Rocker said:

When the rechargeable batteries fail, as they always do sooner or later, replacements cost nearly as much as a new drill (the same model).

Yes. The batteries are the expensive bit. Use and charge them correctly and you'll get years and years of use out of them.

Perhaps you could post a link to a mains drill comparable in size, weight and power to the 10.8v Bosch?

carlos

Sorry to interrupt your geeking out over drills, but I bought the Guild as recomended by @WezV and it did the job wonderfully.