remuddler wrote:

I have a Skil cordless drill. I like the weight and balance of the
tool, it does the jobs I want it for, the batteries have lasted
for years and years, but I HATE the chuck and it is getting worse
by the week.

I am on the hunt for a cordless drill with a user friendly chuck
that will actually hold the bits in place, not too heavy, balanced
in the hand, two batteries would be good.

No doubt your Skil has a two-piece chuck.

The best way to avoid slippage IMO is to buy drill bits that have
beveled shanks (maybe preferable) or the type with quickchange hex
shanks (decent quality, avoid Hitachi).

Look for the term "single sleeve ratcheting chuck". Look for NiMH or
lithium-ion batteries. The old NiCad are the weakest, the drill has
cheap NiCad if they don't tell you the batteries are NiMH or
lithium-ion. Try to find the amp hours specification, it should be
at least 2Ah, some Panasonic have 3.5 amp hour batteries, at even 18
V! Lithium-ion batteries are powerful and very light. I think most
drills come with two batteries these days. Some Panasonic
drills have a possibly useful but peculiar way of starting at about
60 rpm instead of starting slowly like most drills.



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