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I have a Metabo (Walter is Metabo, FYI) BE1020 (see www.metabo.com), made in
Germany.

It has a torque-limiting clutch which I have tripped a couple of times. It
comes in handy when breaking through the back face of a part. Virtually all
of Metabo's drills have this feature (some of the really cheap "made in
China" drills may not). It is a good idea to use the included side handle as
the safety clutch is fairly stiff.

The BE1020 has electronic speed control (what they call VTC) so it runs at
full RPM at maximum load. It has a two speed gear box. These two features
make the tool great for tapping. The max speed is set via a dial on the top
of the drill, and the trigger will go from zero to whatever the max setting
is.

The electronic speed control will shut down the machine if it overheats (a
co-worker did that only once) and when the brushes need to be replaced.

It cost me about $300 Cnd. and is well worth the money, IMO. I drill
aluminum, mild steel, cast iron and cast tooling steel with the machine. You
should be able to use any tap which will fit in the 1/2" chuck (which I
believe is made by Rohm).


Thanks, Robin. That looks like it could be a winner. There's also a
slightly smaller version that I might consider. It doesn't seem to have
as fancy electronics as yours, but looks pretty similar otherwise, and
is about $55 US less. As I mentioned before, I have a big spade handle
drill, so don't feel the need for anything too torquey.

http://www.metabousa.com/metabo/us/u...attelectronict
wospeeddrillbe710_00830.html

http://www.metabousa.com/metabo/us/u...wattelectronic
twospeeddrillbe1020_00831.html

http://www.allprotools.com/store/page177.html

Ned Simmons