Why I Decided on a Corded Drill over Cordless

If you’re anything like I was back when I started building up my tool collection you have to be really selective about the tools that you buy. I knew I needed a drill, heck I wasted away a bunch of Saturday nights hand-tightening screws for pictures, curtain rods and just about anything else that needed to be hung around the house. Even before I started tackling more ambitious projects like hanging a television on my fireplace. I needed a drill. So many people will talk about how great a cordless drill is, and they are convenient, but you know what, I decided on a corded model instead.

More Power for Less Cash

When I went shopping for a drill at Lowes I decided on the 6 Amp Hitachi because it was affordable and it was a brand I knew of. The little drill was compact enough to operate one-handed, but came with more than enough power to get the job done, or at least that was my thinking at the time. I spent somewhere around $50, the same price that you could pay for a powerful 20V cordless drill from a lesser named company like Black and Decker and get pretty good results, but it wouldn’t be as reliable as my corded drill is for a few reasons.

Lasting Power

I’ve done projects that took me all day long. I’ve spent hours piecing together a dog house, installing new drywall and many other projects that don’t come to mind at the moment. My little Hitachi drill saw me through all of those tasks without fail, but a cordless drill would have been more of a hassle than anything else on any of them. Without at least two or three batteries I would have had to stop and wait for the unit to charge every couple of hours. That would have annoyed me to no end because I don’t like stopping in the middle of a project at all.

Raw Strength

Cordless drills don’t have the oomph that corded models do unless you pay at least two or three times as much money for them. For most people picking up their first tools that kind of money just isn’t available. Whether you need to drive screws through 2×4’s or you simply want to hang up some curtains it’s nice to have all the power that you need. A 20V cordless will handle most standard tasks easily, but when you start drilling with larger bits, and driving into hardwoods it will likely prove inadequate. That’s why a corded drill is so important to have around.

Longevity

Cordless drills last a long long time, but their batteries don’t, and with most brands the battery is almost as expensive as the entire drill. I bought my corded drill back in 2008 and it’s still kicking and I still use it for tasks regularly. A cordless drill would have already burned through a few batteries in that eight year span if I used it as heavily as my corded drill. That means I would have spent much more for the convenience of cordless operation.

Get a Cordless Next

I’m not saying that a cordless drill doesn’t have its place. I now own a cordless as well and it’s a treat to have around. I can assemble shelves and other furniture with it without messing with a cord. I can hang up curtain rods, and do all those other little tasks around the house with ease. It’s nice to not deal with a cord and it saves me a lot of time to just grab the drill and go, but it isn’t good for everything. If you can afford a quality corded drill and a cordless model I would recommend both, but start with the corded model first and only get a cordless after you’ve purchased the other basic tools you need. There’s a place and time for every tool, but a corded drill simply has more uses than a cordless model, and that’s why I still swear by my Hitachi drill today.