Best Corded Drill UK 

On this page we check out the best corded drills that are available on the UK market today. Before we even start to look at those, why should you buy a corded drill instead of a cordless drill?

After all a cordless drill is more portable, can be used just about anywhere and they are pretty affordable these days. So what are benefits and advantages of using a corded drill?

This may sound obvious but just to avoid any confusion whatsoever, a corded drill is one that plugs into a power source, so that means it can only be used if a power source is available wherever you are going to be doing your work. It will come with an electric lead and a UK 3 pin plug.

So this page is about corded drills and if you would prefer you can click on this link about the best cordless drills.

Below we have created a list of what we believe to be the top ten corded drills currently available in the UK market today. Below this table we have then done a summary review of each drill. Under that we have included a useful buying guide for the key features that you should look out for, when buying a corded drill.

You can click on any of the product names below to read a summary review of each drill. Beside each drill name you will see a percentage number. That number refers to the average buyer satisfaction for each product on the list.

That is scored out of a maximum of 100%, so the higher that number the better buyers rated it. We got that score from looking at many websites which sell these drills and noting the buyer rating score. We then worked out the average.

There are a number of common questions that buyers ask when they are thinking about buying a corded drill. We shall go through each one below. The reality is that most drills today are actually pretty good quality.

This type of corded drill has been around for a very long time and the manufacturers have made a ton of improvements along the way. Below we answer the most important questions about buying a cordless drill.

Answer

We would recommend that if you just want to buy one drill, then a cordless one, is going to be the better choice. That said, it really depends exactly what you are looking for from your drill.

The benefit of a corded drill is that once plugged into a socket, you have a never ending power supply. In other words the battery will not run out, and you do not need to worry about charging it. Generally speaking, corded drills are also more powerful, and a better option for those tougher jobs.

The cordless option is better if you don't like trailing leads or if you need to use a drill where there is no power supply, or indeed if you need to use in a variety of places.

Answer

The prices for these types of drills start at around £25 and go up to about £100 depending on exactly what you are looking for. The average price of these drill types is between £35-55.

If you can afford to spend around £50-70 then you will get a drill that will last you for a very long time and of very high quality. In essence though, it will depend how much it is going to be used, and how much you can afford.

A typical home owner who will use this type of drill every now and then, really will not have to spend much more than £40 to get a good all-purpose drill, that can handle wood, metal and masonry with some ease.

Contractors and professionals typically buy higher end products as they just get a lot more use. The more expensive drills are also a lot more durable as the moving parts are all made from metal.

They are also of a higher construction quality.

Let's have a detailed look at what you need to know about these drills as that helps greatly in narrowing down your decision.

Q. Which Chuck Size is best?

Answer

The chuck basically is what holds the drill bit. You want this to be very strong as otherwise drill bits slip and that is just a pain in the ass.

Some chucks need a chuck key to tighten and loosen the drill bit.

Others have what is called a keyless chuck, which means there is no need for a chuck key, as you just tighten using your hand. These are of course much more convenient. 

That means you never have to worry about losing a chuck key which is great. If you have ever lost a chuck key, you will know what I mean. It is also so much quicker to change bits.

For tougher drilling I would always use a chuck with a key that you tighten by hand as it is less likely to slip. If you drill a lot of metal then a chuck with a key is also the better choice.

Chucks come in different sizes and the size of the chuck will determine the size of drill bit or drill attachment that you can use. The most popular is a 3/8" chuck and you can also get 1/4" and 1/2" chucks.

For most users the 3/8" chuck will cater for almost every job and is the one that I would recommend.

So to summarise for most people a 3/8" keyless chuck is the one to go for for general work.

Answer

The bigger and more powerful the motor you have the better. Again for general purposes most drills will have sufficient power for doing jobs around the home. However if you like to have that extra thrust at your finger tips then the bigger the better. It is similar to family car versus a sport's car.

These drill motors are measured in amps. There is quite a variation in these but the general range is 5-10 amps. This simply will improve both the speed and the overall performance and power of your corded drill.

Motors that use a higher current will also last longer as there is little danger of the motor burning out, or the brushes starting to wear. As a general rule of thumb the more power that you have the better.

Answer

Depending on what you are drilling, you should ideally drill at different speeds. Drilling through metal typically needs a higher speed than when drilling through wood.

This can get really technical and could bore you silly. How hard you push the drill, the type of material you are drilling and the type of bit you are using all impact which speed you should drill at.

So to keep this simple most home owners will need a drill that can operate at 700-1,000 rpm.

The only time you ever really need to change this is if you are drilling through very specialized materials. So although you do need some element of speed variation you do not need to have a wide variation.

Answer

This is measured in blows per minute  (BPM) For me this should be a standard feature on every corded drill. It is primarily used for drilling through concrete, bricks, stone etc. If it didn't have this feature I just wouldn't buy it.

A big mistake made by many drill users is to permanently leave this hammer function on.Just make sure that you never do that as you should not be drilling through wood or any form of metal with a hammer function.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I have seen this happen. if I had then I would be a very rich man indeed.

Answer

A lot of people look for a reverse function in a drill. With a corded drill, unless you are trying to use it with a driver set, then I see little point in having this feature. I use this type of drill for drilling holes and what is the point in having a reverse on that.

Corded drills are not really designed to be used as screw drivers or impact drivers, though some can be used for that purpose. They are not really the tools for those type of jobs though, so not something I would look for myself.

Contractors and professionals will always want to buy a real heavy duty product. This is because they will need something that will be able to withstand a whole lot of abuse. 

Now for most ordinary people, they will want to buy a drill for around the home and garden. Most people will probably opt for a cordless drill as it is just a handier tool to have.

My own recommendation would be to have both a corded and cordless, if you can afford to do that. The advantages of having a corded one at home is that you don't ever need to worry about having a charged battery.

The corded version will also have a lot more power for doing those tough jobs like drilling through masonry.

You get all the benefits of owning a Dewalt drill, and this is what the professionals would pick anyway.

There are of course plenty of choices as you can see. For most people this will come down to price in the end. It just makes common sense to always try and get the best value for money.

I am a big DEWALT fan and although these are always a bit more expensive, I love their products. For me you get the right balance between high quality and a decent price. They also offer great warranties on their products.