With power drills there are two basic kinds, electric and cordless.
Cordless drills have become very popular over the past few years
because of the convenience of taking them places that a corded drill just
can’t reach. Figure 2 shows a typical cordless drill, an electric drill is
very similar.
Using a power drill is very similar in
some ways to using a brace drill. Once
the bit is tightened securely in the
chuck, place the tip of the drill bit on
your mark and square up the drill to
your work piece. One thing that makes
this easier with the power drills is that
most have a bubble level on top of the
drill. This level will square the bit front
to back, but you’ll still have to pay
attention to squaring the bit from side to
side. With a firm grip on the drill,
slowly squeeze the trigger.
With most power drills the more you
squeeze the trigger the faster the chuck will spin. Fig. 2 A typical cordless drill
Start slowlyuntil the tip of the bit is into the wood.
Some safety tips on using power drills.
- Bits and chucks spin at a high rate of speed, make sure you’re holding
the drill tight before you squeeze the trigger. - Role up sleeves and tie long hair back to prevent them from getting
caught in a turning bit. - Make sure before you take a bit out or put a new bit in the chuck that
you first unplug the drill. - Clamp the work piece down to a solid surface to prevent it from
turning as the bit digs into the wood.
Always read the instruction manual of your particular drill before it’s used.