What an Installer Drill Should Do

 Not being much of a fan of pitting tools against other brands, I prefer to test them against the job expectations they generally are up against. I'm order to do that, we have to have realistic expectations of what a given tool is intended to do.

For instance, for what I refer to as an "installer drill", has a double chuck (or more likely, collets) to have a drill bit and a driver bit chucked in at the same time. Ready to change immediately without having to change out a whole tool.


These drills are especially useful when mounting things.  Drill the hole, drive the screw, all with the same tool.  Very handy, especially in tricky situations like when working on a ladder or when you have to use one hand to keep things from moving out of place.

In my most common situations,  I use my installer drill, a Worx Nitro Switchdriver,  to mount heavy items like tv's and storage units to walls, into the wall studs.  I also install smaller items like smoke alarms, security cameras, light fixtures, ceiling fans, etc... into drywall or wood.

The heavier, bigger items usually have to tie into wall studs.  So I'll use a bit to drill a pilot hole in one collet, and a hex driver to drive lag screws into them.


For the smaller items, I'll chuck in a brad point drill bit sized to drill holes into drywall for wall anchors, with a Phillips, Robertson, or Torx bit to drive the screws into the anchors.


That's literally at least 90% of what I use that drill for.  It MUST be powerful enough to drive a ½" lag 3" or 4" lag screw into a 2x4.  Or strong enough to drill a ½" drill bit through a structural steel wall stud for heavy duty wall anchors.  If it can't drive those, I can't use that drill.  It's that simple.


The test I give any such drill I am considering  is first drill and drive a typical lag screw into a 4"x 4" piece of wood post. Again, if it can go into a typical 4" X 4", it will go through drywall and 2 by material.

Then I have some scraps of galvanized steel I keep around just to drill ½" diameter holes through.  Most metal wall studs are 25 gauge but can go as thick as 16 gauge.   If I can test it on a piece of 16 gauge galvanized steel,  it will definitely go through anything thinner.

Obviously,  bits will make a difference.   I always test with a good, sharp drill bit and drilling pilot holes.  

Many such drill/drivers like this have a selectable clutch setting for driving screws.  Keep in mind that those clutch settings are there to stop the bit before going too far and damaging the material.  You can and should be able to use the drill mode to drive bigger lags and bolts where stopping soon enough is not a concern.


For example,  I used to have the Worx Switchdriver before there was a Nitro brushless version.  So, it had a brushed, 20V motor.  It could NOT, even staying in drill mode, drive those ½" lags into a 4" X 4" post.  It could not drive the ½" bit through the metal wall stud.

It wasn't until they introduced the Nitro brushless motor Switchdriver that it could indeed pass those tests. For example, to drive the 3 or 4 inch lag screws into wall studs requires having drilled the appropriate size pilot hole.  It also requires running in drill mode as well.   But yes, it can achieve that task. Up to a certain point anyway. 

There are other, similar tasks like mounting shelves and cabinets, that these type of drills are particularly useful for.  Especiacilly drilling and driving typical sized bits and screws. Their smaller form factor, and often the ability to swap chucks/bits one-handed go a long way.

Is it "overpowered"? Of course not.  It has its place as a "drill the pilot hole then drive the screw" without needing two or more tools, maybe up on a ladder...  We're going mostly into drywall and wall studs here.  But that's all most mounting/hanging work is.  We shouldn't have unrealistic expectations.

There aren't too many of these dual-chucked installer drill types out there.  A lot of folks, especially in the tech/installer/professional handyman realm are still undecided on if the type itself is a gimick or not.  It's not unfair to be skeptical.   Although from my experience,  with the right one, they are incredibly useful.

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