Bits of advice on finding the right drill

Instructor Patrick Connerty (left) displays a Milwaukee battery-power drill with instructor Edward Harubin, who has a DeWalt corded power drill, at the Boston Carpenters Training Center. Battery drills are more popular today. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

For anyone who owns a home, few things are handier than a power drill. Whether it's used to make holes in a wall or fix a broken refrigerator door, a hard job can seem easy with a power drill.

"It's a tool that everyone should own," says Benjamin Tilton, director of the Boston training program for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.

But trying to decide what drill to buy can make a person's head spin as fast as a 3/8-inch, 14.4-volt cordless - which, can have over a thousand revolutions per minute. There are about a dozen manufacturers and scores of models. Drills come in all shapes and sizes. Prices start at around $30 and climb to more than $500.

"They look more like basketball shoes than drills," says Jim Gaddis, production manager for FBN Construction, a high-end Boston remodeling and construction firm. "They are all kinds of colors. They're kind of cool-looking these days."

Tilton, who oversees training of most of Boston's union carpenters, offers this guideline: "We tend to go with the higher-priced commercial equipment because it lasts. For a homeowner, it doesn't have to be the high end, but you don't want it to be poor quality either. I would tend to go somewhere in the middle range for everyday use."

If you haven't purchased a power drill in awhile, your first question might be whether it should run on a cord or battery. That choice is easy, according to the pros. "Corded drills are pretty much obsolete, especially for the homeowner," says Gaddis, "We still use them for drilling through concrete, but I don't think a typical homeowner would need one."

Expect to pay between $150 and $275 for a good cordless power drill, according to Gaddis. To avoid having to stop midproject because of a dead battery, it's worth getting an extra battery pack, according to Tilton and Gaddis.

The most important consideration in buying a drill is how you plan to use it, Gaddis says.

"If it was going to be for my great aunt, who is looking to hang pictures on the walls or do little projects around the house, I might suggest a multitool kit - a selection of tools that run off the same battery and a drill is one of them."

But a more powerful tool is in order if you're drilling a lot of holes in wood or screwing wallboard into studs, Gaddis says. An 18-volt drill should be sufficient for most home projects, though you can step up to 24 volts for heavy-duty drilling.

Specialists agree that a drill should feel right, so try them out before you buy. "It has to fit your hand," says Tilton. "There are ergonomics involved. You can get repetitive stress injuries."

Shoppers have many choices of where to purchase a drill: big-box home improvement stores, department stores, hardware stores, and online retailers. Tilton advises shopping around.

"It's worth taking the time to check out the prices," he says.