The portable electric drill is one of the tools I cannot live without. And I bet you will agree on me on this. In the workshop, it is one of the most frequently-used tools because of its ease and efficiency to use. This accessory has replaced the manual drills.

The portable electric drill has different chuck sizes. The size of the chuck determines the capacity and speed of the drill. The chuck is the maximum diameter that can fit into the bit shank of the drill.

The portable electric drill chuck has three (3) sizes: the ¼”, the 3/8” and the ½”.

Now, as general knowledge, the speed of the drill, the size of the chuck and the power the drill can deliver has a direct association. Meaning, if your drill’s chuck size is ¼” it has higher speed or rpm than the ½” size, but the 1/2” chuck has more power that it can deliver to bore a hole than the ¼”. This is the advantage of the different chuck sizes - the speed can be sacrificed so that the drill can deliver more power.

If you’re thinking about the 3/8” chuck, well, it is more powerful than the ¼” drill and it has faster speed than the ½” and because of this, the drill with 3/8” size chuck is commonly used.

 

 

When Drilling Into Steel or Wood, The Drill Sizes Should Be These

For some applications, you need to drill holes into steel. When boring a hole into this material, drills are usually designed to function at the stated size. To make a hole up to ¼”, you need a ¼” drill, and 3/8” and ½” drills for those corresponding sizes.

But when working with wood, these bounds can be overstepped. Drill bits with oversized cutters are available in the local hardware store. This kind of drill bits gave reduced shanks of ¼” diameter thus permitting their use with ¼” tools. Holes up to 1 ¼” diameter can be bored in softwood with a ¼” drill equipped with a spade or speed bit, as it is commonly called. With hardwood the limit is about 1” with a ¼” drill and 1 ½” with a ½” drill. A hole saw with permit cutting large holes up to 2 ½” diameter. For all-around use the 3/8” drill will probably serve best.

What Size of Chuck You Need

I’ve lost my chuck key! What should I do? This is a common circumstance when working with a drill. It is a frustrating situation because it can halt the work due to you can’t change the bit. If you lost the drill chuck key and the only solution is to buy a new drill, make sure you get the right size to avoid the hassle of going back to the hardware store.

Just as mentioned above, the drill chuck sizes that electric drills have are ¼”, the 3/8” and the ½”. If you want to purchase a durable and powerful drill that will serve you in long term, the drill with ½” chuck will do the heavy-duty job. An 3/8” chuck will only work in ordinary and less powerful and a chuck of the same size cannot hold a bit larger than 3/8”. If you plan to purchase a powerful drill, choose the ½” chuck. As a general rule, he larger the size, the bigger the shank.

Today, you may find drills that feature a keyless chuck which makes it very easy to change the bit without the need of another tool (key). Most of the shoppers, the drills with keyless chuck are what they look for when they visit the local hardware store. The drill with keyless chuck is much more convenient and easier to use and there’s no key to lose.

 

 

Where Can You Use a Portable Electric Drill?

Depending on the application, the portable electric drill can be fitted with an attachment. The drill can be used for sanding, buffing, driving screws and grinding. The drill can also be used for contour shaping on wood with a cylindrical forming tool or a rotary rasp.

One of the common uses of portable electric drill is to bore a hole with the insertion of a bit. Some of the drill bit which can be used are countersink, screws driving bit, screw mate combination and rotary files and rasps. Just a reminder: when drilling into steel, the maximum size of the drill bit that can used which the chuck will take should be the limit.

Other drill attachments include sanding drum, grinding disc, and wire brush, hole saw, While the drum surform attachment is perfect when the application involves contour, circular and straight cuts.

If you are inserting a bell type hole saw or hole cutter, which is a type of saw blade of ring shape, perfect of drilling hole through a lumber. Other varieties of hole saw can be used to drill on steel.

If you’re drilling in right quarter or tight access, the right-angle attachment is another adapter you can use. This attachment works great when you cannot see where you’re drilling.

A screw driving sleeve attachment is another you can use; this attachment has one simple use - it fits over the screw head helps to keep the tip in place over the screw head to prevent slip-offs.

 

 

To Conclude This

The chuck size is the maximum diameter of the shank which hold the chuck. When purchasing a portable electric drill, the chuck size should be given due importance to avoid the hassle of buying a new one. Selecting the appropriate chuck size can be a big advantage.

As a general knowledge, the 3/8” chuck is used for smaller bit while the ½” is for larger ones. If the job requires more power, the it will be necessary to use the ½” chuck to do the job.

Aside from the chuck size, it is also important to consider the capacity. If the chuck is going to enfold the drill bit, then it is understandable that the bit must match with both the size and capacity of the chuck.

 

 

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