CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, September 06, 2022

We Tried The Cheapest Cordless Power Drill At Home Depot. Here's How It Went

www.housedigest.com: Outside of buying, say, a 2x4 or a flat of pansies, what could be a more prototypical Home Depot shopping experience than picking up a cordless drill? HomeFixated's Mark Lyman says a cordless drill is the handyman's most essential tool (via Art of Manliness). Lyman also says not to be a cheapskate when buying a drill, but we aim to do just that.

3 comments:

Marion Mongello said...

Over my theatre experience in high school, I got very familiar with our cordless drills and impact drivers. I have to say- once you have used it in a building project there is no going back, and there is no greater frustration than being left with a crappy drill, one with a low battery, or one with a dull bit. I wish there was a way to make power tools more accessible, but I also understand the importance of getting nicer quality tools as they are reliable and will last a lifetime. This review seems to say that this drill is comparable to other pricier drills in its category, but in my opinion, if you are buying a power tool it is like an investment. You should make sure it is one with good history from a reliable brand, even if that means spending a little bit more.

Monica Tran said...

If I had $80 and I had the option to buy the Ryobi drill mentioned in the article, I think I'd rather save up just a little bit more for the better quality drills and drivers. I hate to say that because I love all of Ryobi's wild and wacky range of tools they manufacture. Like their flood lights or their leaf blowers, those are pretty sick and they run on Ryobi batteries!!! The drill itself looks bulky as hell though, that thing specs out to 2.65 lbs holy crap that's actually not that bad. A Milwaukee 18v is 2.9 so I guess it's in my head that Ryobi weighs more, but then again there is the added weight of their batteries. Also, this guy in the article is complaining about how the drill bits fall out of the chuck when he puts a bit in and I'm just like dude, just tighten your bits a little more it's not that hard. Manually having to turn the nose won't kill you if you're buying the cheapest drill in the store.

Ellie Yonchak said...

When I saw this article, I knew I had to read it. This was the exact brand of drills that my high school’s theatre program used. I hadn’t known they were the cheapest on the market, but that did not surprise me in the slightest. Personally, I haven’t used any drills except for these, but I will say I have never had any complaints whilst using them. I definitely can understand the need to invest in higher quality tools, but that was something we never could do. It can be easy to disregard the budget option when you can afford to do so, so I am glad that they did genuinely try the tool out and talk about how it compares. Coming from the background that I have, accessibility in theatre has always been something that I’m really passionate about. Without these, I’m not sure we would have been able to make any kind of sets at all, as I know that the school would never have given us the money to invest in a “good” tool. Budget tools exist for a reason and they are what made the shows I’ve done possible.