Popular Mechanics - USA (2019-03)

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A drill with a ½-inch chuck

is meant to drill big holes

or tough holes, in thick

steel, for example. But

not everybody who needs

outsize hole-drilling

capability has an outsize

budget. So we gath-

ered a group of corded

½-inch drills, all of which

cost less than $50 (some

quite a bit less). We knew

these weren’t high-end

tools, but we were still

surprised by how unim-

pressive some of them

were when we put them

to work with spade bits,

twist drills, and drill taps.

A few drills passed the

various tests, but only

one was excellent,

especially for the money.

If you’re picky, you

can find a great deal.

/ BY ROY BERENDSOHN /

Chicago

Electric 61741

WEIGHT: 4.6 lb

AMPS: 6.3

LIKES: A decent drill for

mid-range drilling in steel and

lumber. Feels reasonably solid,

with noticeable but not ter-

rible amounts of vibration.

DISLIKES: Poor trigger sensi-

tivity at low speed.

$30

G e n e s i s

GHD1275

WEIGHT: 4.2 lb

AMPS: 7. 5

LIKES: None.

DISLIKES: Could barely han-

dle light-duty work. Smoked.

Literally. The stink was so bad

that the tool was disqualified—

a first in our decades of testing.

$35

H y p e r

Tough DL1137

WEIGHT: 3.6 lb

AMPS: 6

LIKES: Handled small-diame-

ter holes in light materials and

ranked only below the Ryobi in

lack of vibration.

DISLIKES: Finicky. Requires

a light touch and careful

attention at the trigger.

$18

I r o n t o n

XHD-200-IR

WEIGHT: 3.6 lb

AMPS: 4.5

LIKES: A light-duty hole

maker that works well in wood

and steel, within its limitations.

DISLIKES: A lot of limitations.

Larger-diameter drill bits stop

the drill dead in its tracks.

$15

Ryobi D620H

WEIGHT: 4.4 lb

AMPS: 6.2

LIKES: It’s more than twice

the tool of any other in this

test—and the only drill that

could reliably punch holes in a

4x4 with a one-inch spade bit.

It didn’t struggle at all.

DISLIKES: None.

$44

Stalwart

75-399OA

WEIGHT: 3.8 lb

AMPS: 5.0

LIKES: It smoked less than

the Genesis?

DISLIKES: Everything else.

$32

Budget

Drills

WHAT WE PUT

THEM THROUGH

Three days of drilling

through Douglas fir

and mild steel using

various sizes of twist

drill bits, ¼-20 drill

taps, a step drill, and

a one-inch spade bit.