There are many drills on the market and finding the best drill for beginners can be hard. Before you make an investment in a drill, you fist need to establish exactly what features you want.
Below we will help you understand what is available. The drill for beginners we recommend is at the bottom of this article.
There Are Two Types of Drills That are Suitable For Beginners
Drill Driver
This type of drill is cordless, and can be used as a regular drill, or a electric screwdriver, however, they are often underpowered when compared to combi drills.
Combi Drill
Combi drills are cordless, have a lot of power, and they have 3 built in modes, regular drill, hammer drill function, and drill driver. Combi drill is the drill you want as a beginner, and we will look into it in more details below.
A combi cordless drill will generally have the following features:
Drill Mode
This is your regular drill mode, this mode will be used for drilling into wood, steel, and various other materials.
Hammer Drill Mode
Hammer drill mode is for drilling into masonry, for most beginners, this will be drilling holes into your homes brick walls to hang items. What the hammer drill mode does is, when you are drilling into masonry, the chuck will move back and forth as well as regular spinning.
This back and forth action helps the drill bit acts as a chisel, chiseling away at the masonry, this is why masonry drill bits have a flat chisel like bit at the end of the drill bit. Hammer drill mode makes it easier for you to drill into brick compared to regular drill mode.
Drill Driver Mode
Drill driver mode turns the drill into a cordless electric screwdriver, the drill will fasten and unfasten screws and bolts with the right screwdriver bits.
Adjustable 2 Power Speed Settings
Generally found on more expensive combi cordless drills, there is a button that allows you to adjust the power speed of the drill. They are usually known as Low/High or 1/2. When in low, you usually get around 25%-35% of the drills power, in high, the drill will give you full power.
Adjustable Torque Settings
Adjustable torque settings are important feature when using the drill in drill driver mode as a screwdriver. Adjustable torque is the tightening power, when driving screws, you don’t always want to tighten with too much torque as this can damage the material you are screwing into. For example, when screwing cabinet screws, not much torque is required, you want to select the right amount, so the screw is tightly in without causing any damage.
What Do The Combi Drill Specs Mean?
We will take a look at the specs on a combi cordless drill to help you narrow down the best drill for you.
RPM
Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) is the rate at which the chuck is rotated (spins). Higher RPM is better, the faster the chuck spins, the less friction there is, making drilling in and out of objects easier. Higher RPM is also good for when using the drill as an electric screwdriver, as higher RPM will drive screws faster.
Blows Per Minute
BPM (blows per minute) is used in hammer drill mode. The figure for this refers to the number of times the drill bit will chisel away at the masonry per minute. Higher end cordless drills will usually have between 27,000-30,000 bpm, mid-range cordless drill will usually have 22,000-26,000 bpm.
Torque
Torque is the amount of power behind the RPM. You can have high RPM, but if the torque is very low, the drill will have a tough time drilling into stubborn materials. Higher torque will ensure you have a easier time drilling through stubborn materials. Torque is also important when using the drill as a screwdriver, hinger torque will allow you to tighten screws better, and unscrew stubborn tough screws.
What Cordless Combi Drill is Best For Beginners?
The best cordless combi drill is the Ryobi R18PD3-215GZ
Ryobi Cordles Drill Key Features
- Excellent cordless combi drill for beginners
- Drill into brick walls, wood, steel and more
- Plenty of power with 50Nm of Torque, 1,800 RPM and 23,400 blows per minute
- Electric screwdriver mode with adjustable fastening torque
- Easy to handle due to only weighing 1.7kg with battery
- Ergonomic soft grip handle, feels comfortable in the hand
- Part of Ryobi’s latest ONE+ range, interchange battery between Ryobi cordless tools
- Excellent value at under £80
Ryobi R18PD3-215GZ Cordless Drill Specs
| Combi Drill Rating |  (4.8 / 5) |
| Max Torque | 50Nm |
| Blows Per Minute | 23,400 |
| Max No Load Speed (RPM) | 1,800 |
| Adjustable Speed Settings | Yes |
| Torque settings | 24+Drill Torque settings |
| Brushless Motor | No |
| Variable Speed Control Trigger | Yes |
| Drilling diameter in wood | 38mm |
| Drilling diameter in masonry | 13mm |
| Drilling diameter in steel | 13mm |
| Battery Type | 18v ONE+ |
Ryobi have been making tools since 1943, they have been around for a long time. Most people are familiar with Ryobi tools as they are well known and respected brand. Their power tools have a reputation of being built to a high standard and built to last.
What’s Included
- 1x Ryobi Combi Drill
- 2x 1.5Ah Battery
- 1x Charger
For under £80 you are getting a lot of drill. At this price, most cordless combi drills are made by unknown companies that have not been around as long as Ryobi.
The Ryobi R18PD3-215GZ cordless drill has the following features
- Drill Mode
- Hammer drill mode
- Drill driver mode
- 2 Adjustable power settings
- 24 Adjustable torque settings
- Variable speed trigger
If you have any other cordless combi drills to compare, you can quickly see that the Ryobi is excellent value for money considering it is a well-respected brand, and the best cordless drill for beginners, you cannot go wrong with this cordless combi drill.
