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Posted on November 23, 2007 in Carpentry
Drill is the most essential part of any tool collection. It is invaluable for maintenance and repair tasks in the home. It can be either manually driven or electrically powered. But electric drills are the more effective and most common of the two types of drill. Size of the drill is determined by maximum drill bit shank that its chuck can accommodate.
It is used primarily for boring holes in nearly all materials. Facilitated by a number of accessories and attachments it can perform different tasks. These include sanding, screw driving, grinding, mixing paint, etc.
There are many variants of the electric drill. Most of these are available as either main operated drills or battery powered cordless drills. Depending on the purpose for which it is designed, a drill can be single speed, have two or three pre-set speeds, or incorporate a variable speed function. Variable speed is essential if the drill is used to drive screws. And a reversing function allows the user to remove screws as well. Many drills also use adjustable clutches which help in driving the screw without slowing the motor down when the screw seats. It helps in prolonging the motor’s life.
Basic types of drills:
Generally drills are of two types - hand drills and electric drills
Hand drill:
It uses a hand operated crank handle to turn an interlocking gear, which in turn rotates the drill bit. It has a quicker set-up time than the electric drill. It is most useful when you require only a small number of holes. It is useful for drilling into wood, soft metal, and plastics. It generally accommodates most drill bits up to 6mm (1/4″) in diameter in either keyed or keyless chucks, and can also be used for screw driving. Some models in it incorporate two speed gears, double pinion, hollow handle to store bits, and fully enclosed gear mechanisms.
Electric drill:
The most basic of electric drills is rotary drill. It is used mainly for boring holes in a variety of materials. It may be - mains-operated i.e. corded, or battery-operated i.e. cordless. It may have different functions such as variable speed and reversing. With different attachments it can perform different functions, such as sanding and grinding.
How to use a hand drill:
Hand drills must be used very carefully. As they are manually operated they can cause severe injury if misused. It is always better to clamp all material being drilled to a workbench using a clamp. Also, it’s better to place scrap wood underneath the material being drilled just in case the bit passes through into the bench top.
The hand drill should be held vertically. With one hand hold the handle at the top. With the second hand rotate the other handle in a clockwise direction. This turns the chuck and drill bit. Use only light pressure to push down on the hand drill. If a lot of pressure is needed the drill bit is probably blunt.
When you are using the hand drill, for the first few times ask a second person to stand at the side to check that the hand drill is held vertically.
When the drill bit turns through the wood, dust and chippings are brought up to the surface where they collect. This should be brushed away. Don’t blow it away as the dust usually ends up in the eyes which can be very painful.
Importantly, when drilling into a material to a certain depth wrap a piece of masking tape around the bit to mark the point at which drilling must stop.
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