All guides

Each guide answers one buying question and shows the figures behind the answer.

3 guides

An orange and black cordless drill driver with a lithium battery pack standing on a wooden table

How to choose

Choosing a cordless drill: the four decisions that outlast the tool

Chuck size, clutch, battery platform and whether you need an impact driver instead. The four drill decisions that still matter in year ten.

Updated 11/3/2026 · 9 min

Photo: Tony Webster from Laramie, Wyoming, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

An open grey plastic tool case holding spanners, a wheel brace and screwdriver, beside a car wheel

Budget and prices

Buy or rent: what a tool costs per job once you do the division

Price divided by jobs is the only comparison that works. Why a drill costs about $1.00 a use, a rotary hammer $22.00, and where renting wins.

Updated 11/3/2026 · 9 min

Photo: Tony Harrison from Farnborough, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

A worker in camouflage uniform cutting timber on a mitre saw in a workshop, sawdust flying

Safety

Eyes, ears and trigger choice: the workshop rules with numbers attached

ANSI Z87.1 side protection, the OSHA noise duration table, and why a sequential trigger halves nail gun risk. The published figures, with their sources.

Updated 11/3/2026 · 9 min

Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Andrew Ryan Smith · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons