"John Lynch" wrote:

After years of thinking I can get along without one, I've decided
to buy a portable drill.

Like everybody else, you will love it.

What should I look for? Volts, Amps or what? Sears has one going
on sale for $70. The ad says it has 14.4 volts. It doesn't
mention amp. I want one that I'll be satisfied with.

If you want cheap, you won't get the best features.

.... a switch to lock out the clutch, so you don't have to rotate all
the way around to the drill setting... if you don't also buy an
impact driver, you'll be glad for that feature

.... a single sleeve ratcheting chuck, not to be confused with the
two-handed "keyless" garbage

.... a choice of low/high or low/medium/high gears

.... nickel metal hydride (NiMH) or lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries
instead of cheap/poisonous nickel cadmium (NiCad)

.... two batteries, replacement batteries are expensive

.... easily replaceable brushes

.... light weight

Some swear by impact drivers for driving/removing screws.

If you can afford it and you don't need a very high powered drill,
IMO Makita's duo (6935FDWDEX, impact driver plus drill) at
Amazon.com looks awesome for $195 US after immediate $25 discount
and free shipping.

If you can't afford both, you can get the drill for about $135 US
after immediate $25 discount and free shipping. I think it includes
all of the above mentioned features.

I have no loyalty whatsoever to Amazon.com or even Makita, and would
encourage mention of other merchants and brands. But I do like those
features, if I haven't missed any.

Good luck and have fun.









Any advice would be appreciated.

John