It was in early 2007 when I realized I needed my cordless drill to have a 1/2″ chuck. At the time I had an aged-but-still-great Black & Decker 18V Firestorm drill, but it only had a 3/8″ chuck.
I had bought a set of Milwaukee hole saws to complement my Ridgid set, and the larger sizes only worked with the included 7/16″ or 1/2″ arbor. Since you can’t use a 7/16″ or 1/2″ diameter arbor in a 3/8″ chuck, I figured it would be a good time to upgrade. I replaced my B&D drill with a Hitachi 18V drill, and enjoyed the step up in power in addition to the larger chuck.
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Since then, and also stemming from all the product features and specs I’ve looked at for ToolGuyd purposes, I have formed some general expectations and judgements about 18V cordless drills.
Generally speaking, when you see a 3/8″ drill chuck on an 18V or 20V Max cordless drill, that’s usually a sign that you’re looking at a lower-end drill. Most pro-grade and higher consumer models have 1/2″ drill chucks.
3/8″ chucks are often less expensive than 1/2″ chucks, which means lower retail pricing, but they also sometimes reflect a drill’s power. What’s the point of pairing a 1/2″ drill chuck with a motor and gearbox that can’t handle larger drill bits or hole saws?
Until recently, I held the stance that 3/8″ was a deal breaker when it comes with 18V cordless drills. While one might not use larger drill bits or accessories on a regular or even occasional basis, it’s going to really suck when the time comes and all you have is a 3/8″ drill.
There are reduced-shank drill bits, but sometimes a 7/16″ or 1/2″ bit or tool shank size is unavoidable.
Metabo’s compact 18V cordless drill, model BS18 Quick is what challenged my long-standing belief that 18V-class drills with 3/8″ chucks are lower end and deal breakers.
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My usage habits are very different now than they used to be.
I sometimes use a 12V Max-class compact drill, and unless it’s a Milwaukee M12 Fuel brushless model, it’s going to have a 3/8″ chuck.
When I need more power, control, or features, I use an 18V cordless drill. If I need even more power, I dig out my corded Bosch hammer drill.
So do I really need a 1/2″ chuck on my cordless drill?
Power tool accessories have also changed a little bit over the years, with latest generation drill bits and hole saw arbors being more optimized for cordless drills. It has also become common to find accessories optimized for impact drivers and wrenches.
I just checked online, and my local Home Depot has 35 of Milwaukee’s 3/8″ shank quick-change hole saw arbor (model 49-56-7250) in stock. I also quickly checked the details for Milwaukee’s latest 13pc hole saw kit, model 49-22-4025, and both of the included arbors have 3/8″ shanks.
Oh, I still use larger diameter drill bits, but not usually with my cordless drill. These days I’ll sooner use my drill press or corded drill, or I might reach for the latest heavy duty cordless drill I’m testing.
I certainly wouldn’t consider Metabo’s latest compact 18V drill to be puny. It can deliver up to 425 in-lbs of torque, and comes with the brand’s neat quick-change chuck design that removes to expose a 1/4″ hex bit driver chuck.
The Metabo BS18 drill kit, as discussed in my post last month, is surprisingly inexpensive at $149, and that’s with 2 batteries. It’s what earned that drill a spot in my best $100 cordless drill kits roundup, and thus far it’s proved to be worthy of a mention in next year’s best cordless drills recommendations.
But it does have that 3/8″ chuck.
I really like this drill, and it didn’t take long for it to convince me that it was an exception to my 18V-class drills with 3/8″ chucks are cost-focused compromised pieces of junk attitude.
I’m not ready to abandon my hardened stance in favor for 18V drills with 1/2″ chucks, but I think this is the first time I’ve made an exception. Generally, 18V drills with 3/8″ chucks still are cost-focused with compromised designs.
I have convinced myself that the Metabo was paired with a 3/8″ chuck not to cut costs, but for the sake of greater compactness and ergonomics.
I feel a little bad for being so against 3/8″ 18V drills when I can’t remember the last time I fully utilized the 1/2″ chuck on my cordless drill (bonus points if you can remember which brand and model I own).
But I have simply seen too many examples of entry-level 3/8″ drills that are underpowered, bulky, or less appealing in other ways.
To me, a 3/8″ chuck on an 18V or 20V Max drill is still a deal breaker, although I now know of at least one exception. Are there any other models you know of that also break out of this generalization?
Dave L.
Can you get a replacement chuck that’s 1/2″? I have necked down bits but I still can’t see getting a NEW drill with a 3/8″ chuck.
Stuart
Sometimes, though good keyless chucks don’t come cheap.
Pablo
The base on the 1/2″ quick release is probably too big, given that the QR collar on the 3/8″ chuck looks already tapered to make it fit.
https://www.metabo.com/com/en/accessories/cordless-tools/accessories-for-quick-drills-and-drills-screwdrivers/
RJT
Who the hell would buy a drill with a 3/8″ chuck?
A home owner !!
SteveR
I think you’re probably right about that. Most of the time, a 3/8″ chuck is sufficient for most home repairs and installation work that we see. You can buy the 20V Max DeWalt or 18V Milwaukee drills with 1/2″ chucks, but do you really need the extra size and power? Sometimes, having more power or larger tools can get you into trouble, as you’re tempted to make a repair that’s best left to a professional. Just because you have the tools to take a car apart down to its bare chassis doesn’t mean you should.
I bought a 20V DeWalt drill four years ago, and it’s fine, but it’s a bit heavier than I care for. I should have bought the 12V model (with a 3/8″ chuck) for my needs. Watch shows like “Ask This Old House” and observe what the craftsmen use, especially for trim and other indoor projects. More often than not, they use 12V drills. The power’s more than adequate, and it’s a lighter tool, major factors in making the purchase.
On the other hand, Stuart’s correct about how smaller/lower powered drills generally get you a less-featured tool. That’s been the case for years, across all types of products: cars, kitchen appliances, vacuum cleaners, etc. We get bullied, if you will, into buying the more-featured (and more expensive) product just in case we might need or want the extra power someday. No one wants to go to a gunfight armed only with a knife, right?
There’s no reason why you should have to buy a Cadillac when a Chevrolet is sufficient for your needs. They could offer a Chevrolet that’s as feature-rich as a Cadillac (and they’re getting very close to doing that), but they make more money selling Cadillacs, so….
Hang Fire
Today’s cordless drill/drivers have the torque for 1/2″ bits, and as you said 3/8″ usually means a promo quality drill (except for Metabo of course), so yes, a deal breaker. (But I wouldn’t turn down a great price on a Metabo 3/8).
Toolfreak
Whether or not a 3/8″ chuck is a deal breaker probably depends on having other drills. It’d be pretty cumbersome to only have a big, heavy 1/2″ drill and use it for EVERYthing, though we did use big, heavy drills before all the compact stuff hit the market.
I don’t have any 1/2″ drills yet, but if I do get a cordless 18V, it will probably be 1/2″, since I have the compact 12V Max drills and drivers to do just about everything else.
As the article pointed out, it also seems a lot easier to find reduced-size shank bits these days, so you can get a 1/2″ bit for your 3/8″ chuck and even 3/8″ bits with a 1/4″ hex shank for drivers. This wasn’t the case before – if you wanted to drill 1/2″ holes in wood or soft metal with a 3/8″ drill, you used a spade bit. If that didn’t cut it, you had to get a 1/2″ drill.
It was news to me that the M12 FUEL had a 1/2″ chuck. That’s pretty awesome. With advances in tech, the electric motors will probably keep getting more powerful and more compact, and we will have the power and torque we get from an 18V Li-ion drill in the 12V compact form factor, just like how the current 12V compact tools have similar if not better power and torque than the older 18V NiCd powered ones.
pete
If im buying a 18v class drill it’s because I want it to be able to do everything I might come up against. If I’m buying a 12v class drill it’s because I would like something more compact and easier to carry around and handle in fact.
If a 18v drill doesn’t have a 1/2″ chuck than it’s certainly a no-go for me.
jeff
yes a 3/8″ chick is a no go for a hand drill. 5/8″ for a drill press. I have 3/8, 5/8, and a 3/4 or 1″ drill chuck for my mill, the later ive never used I cant find a chuck key for it…its massive.
Sean
I just noticed the 1/2″ chuck on the M12 drill last week. The two I own are both 3/8″.
I noticed it while looking at the flyer they put in my M12 compact vacuum box. The picture did make it look quite bulkier than the 3/8″ but who knows if that is true in person. If it is much bulkier, I’d almost prefer the 3/8″.
I probably wouldn’t buy an 18V with a 3/8″ chuck either but I’m not looking for a compact 18V. That is what my 12V is for. I want the 18V to have every advantage possible for the times when 12V isn’t enough (i.e. power, hammer-mode, accept large bits, etc.) The Makita LXPH03 I have fits that bill. It was actually kind of shocking holding the LXPH03 and the LXPH01 side-by-side. They both have 1/2″ chucks, but the 03 is substantially bigger, and I wouldn’t want to be using it all day.
Nathan
IF – priced and designed to be a smaller, lighter drill driver but still on the 18/20V cordless systems then I’d probably tolerate a 3/8 chuck. has to be smaller / lighter than the others in the range though.
but like most of the ones I see with plenty of torque and speed ability – I wouldn’t consider the 3/8 chuck.
Brandon
I can’t justify owning more than one cordless drill at this point, so I made sure to get a 18v with 1/2″ chuck to be able to handle anything I needed to do. If I only needed a 3/8″ chuck, I would probably only need 12v power, too, and the 12v drills are much lighter to lug around and use.
Jay
For what I’m trying to accomplish, yes, a 3/8″ chuck is a deal breaker. I want to decrease the number of tools I have to carry on the truck. Right now I carry two drills, a 3/8″ DeWALT cordless and a 1/2″ Milwaukee corded hammer drill. Going forward I want to carry only 1 drill instead of two.
Only very rarely do I need the hammer drill but find that it’s 1/2″ chuck often comes in handy. So the plan is to replace both drills with a single 1/2″ cordless sans the hammer functionality to take advantage of a more compact form factor.
Still trying to figure out if the quality of a hammer drill is higher (better chucks, all metal gears, etc.) than the non hammer models.
Stuart
From what I’ve seen, hammer models are extremely similar to non-hammer models, except for the added vibratory hammer mechanicals and mode selection option.
I haven’t compared internals, but I would be shocked if I found hammer models with different chucks, or gearing.
There are some brands that have separate hammer drills that aren’t mainly based on non-hammer drills, and that’s where you might see differences in components or quality.
Jay
Thank you for the insight. Right now I’m leaning toward a medium duty compact cordless drill-driver.
Mike
Nope. Hammer drills are actually a liability marketed as an asset, by selling more capability. Only vie for hammer options is you actually will be drilling (small) holes in masonry, but only few and far between. Cuz in reality, hammer drills are not particularly great at drilling in masonry. They’re much better at causing tool failure, due to the nature of the cost-benefit that most drill brands use. They want to sell the hammer function, but don’t want to pay for decent internals/upgrades. I advise pick a decent drill/driver that appeals to you, and then if you find masonry drilling is a part of you life, consider a lower-priced SDS rotary hammer. Hitachi offers some pretty darn affordable rotary hammer drills at like $70 bucks I think. Trust me, an intro level Hitachi SDS rotary hammer will run circles around even a $400 Metabo brushless hammer-drill/driver, when it comes to masonry drilling. Not to mention comfort…’standard’ hammer-drills will leave you feeling like you got hit by a car the next day, even if you drilled only like maybe 24 holes, 3/8″ wide 3″ deep. Rotary hammers are the exact opposite.
Jerry
When I got my DeWalt hammer drill a few years back, it had a different chuck, than the non hammer drill counterpart. It was a ratcheting type with hardened inserts in the jaws, so you could tighten it tighter, and the inserts would create more ‘bite’ on the drill bit shank. Looking closely at the jaws, you could see the difference. Do not know if they still use a different chuck for the hammer drill anymore, but the chuck was about the best one I ever used, keyed or keyless. Saved it when the drill puked out.
glenn
18v drill with a 3/8 chuck?
Wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole.
Dwain (OZ Tool Talk)
I like to own a compact and a premium sized drill, so 3/8″ is an acceptable compromise to me, ONLY IF it is a great tool. Having said that, I’ve never owned an 18V 2/8″ chuck drill.
I assume you still own and love the (wonderful) 18V Bosch striker.
Mike
There are still plenty of ‘pro-grade’ drills with 3/8″ and even 1/4″ keyed chucks, usually high-rpm capable and often with carbide jaws, sometimes coming in a right angle shape for better access in tight spots. They are mostly A/C powered though.
Understandably, most users, defined here as the DIY and/or trade ‘generalists’, will be best served with 1/2″ keyless chucks in the 18v lineups, since having one drill to ‘do it all’ seems to be a legitimate top priority.
Where I diverge from this school of thought is the ‘do it all’ part. Sure, 1/2″ is obviously a bigger number than 3/8″, but 1/2″ is not always the end of the road in terms of capability. Just as a 3/8″ chuck becomes too limiting, so too does 1/2″. RPM’s are also important, as are practical limits of arm and bone strength. Plus, compactness cannot be dismissed.
My point is; there is no ‘true’ does it all drill, not even from better brands like Metabo, Hilti, Fein, Festool or whatever.
It’s probably better to use a Bosch ps31/32 or a Fuel M12 or Festool or whatever you prefer for most tasks, combined with maybe an A/C high RPM hammer-drill, and step up to SDS rotary hammers, 7/16″ impacts, and geared ‘Hole-Hawg’ types when appropriate.
My last, and probably most important point is this: bit quality. As Stuart mentioned, bits come in reduced shanks more and more every day. Especially the better quality offerings. To me, it seems a better approach to use a 3/8″ chuck with a high quality albeit reduced shank bit compared to a 1/2″ chuck drill with full shank ho-hum bits. Overengineering is a real and important thing. All these new fancy drills will not last long if you use them frequently at the end of their torque/size ratings. The latest and greatest Fuel might actually produce a gazillion pounds of torque, but for how long and how many times? Like a Subaru might be rated at 2hp per cubic inch of engine with corresponding torque ratings, but you really don’t want to haul boats behind it. The 3/8″ vs 1/2″ issue is real, but overemphasized in my view. But that’s just me. Everyone is different. At least that’s what they tell me.
Final thought: Panasonic/Greenlee drills actually provide ratings of drilling range capability that includes duration/frequency of hole size. They say this model CAN drill a hole of x value, but only so deep, and the drill must cool down for y minutes. But a smaller hole of size z can drilled continuously. Doubt PR saturated brands like Milwaukee or DeWALT would ever be that professional when hawking their professional tools for professionals to be used professionally. Cuz B & D and Milwaukee are professional companies. Professional marketers and retailers.
Hugh
So are you trying to say use the right tool for the job? You can’t use a rotary hammer for everything. In most tile drilling I wouldn’t use a rotary hammer but a hammer drill works perfect to drill through without breaking the tile.
Bruce
I would never have a cordless 3/8 drill. I’ve had a few and upgraded them to 1/2 Jacob’s chucks. There are times when you need to use a hole saw on sheetrock, no matter how big the hole is (within reason), a cordless drill is going to be successful at that, but if you only have a 3/8 chuck, you are out of luck, Chuck. 🙂
In the bad old days I used a 9.6v Makati to drive a 3″ hole through the exterior of a house while installing a condensing furnace. Do you have any idea how many batteries that takes?
Michael
One drill or many, if I’m going to wield a 18/20 volt drill it better have a 1/2 in chuck.
Hilton
I too would not want an 18v drill with a 3/8″ chuck. I do however have a made-in-Japan Ryobi 14v with a 3/8″ chuck and I use this for drilling small holes where accuracy is required. The chuck on this drill is excellent with no run-out.
My 18v Makita has to handle all tasks, holes in brickwork/masonry, wood boring and even pocket hole joinery.
Toolpig
Definitely a deal breaker for me. I do not want to buy all new hole saws to match a smaller drill. I have the 2 compact brushless drill from Milwaukee and love them. They both have 1/2″ Chuck’s. I don’t want anything smaller than those two tools. I also have the fuel gen 2 hammerdrill as well as the Makita XPH07. All 1/2″. I wouldn’t look twice at a 3/8″. I don’t care who makes it.
Jon
I loved the two 1/2″ drills that came in the Ryobi set I was given several years ago. They were used but still very powerful. The blue & gold style. Eventually I burned them up using them for things like 3/4″ auger bits in OLD studs, mixing drywall mud, etc. that they had no business doing. I got an M12 drill/driver and impact driver kit, which I love, but still wanted another option when I needed more power, larger chuck, or just another drill so I don’t have to swap bits repeatedly for some tasks, particularly pocket screws. So when a guy listed on my local classifieds a shiny, new, unused 18v Ryobi drill and sawzall for $10 each or $15 together (he didn’t need those two from the largest pack he had purchased) I grabbed them. Sweet! What a steal!
Then, a couple weeks later, I finally had a chance to use the drill. No more onboard bit storage. What?? Dumb. But not a huge problem, just an inconvenience.
Then I tried to chuck a large bit in it and discovered that it’s only 3/8″. I had been so pleased with my older Ryobi drills that it had never even occurred to me that anyone made an 18v drill with just a 3/8″ chuck. I guess they make both.
Since then Bosch gave me a sweet hammer drill, so I’m covered in that department now, but I’m still irritated that they made a dumb drill that looks just like the good one.
Oh, the other thing people might not immediately notice is that the 3/8″ chucks are often more shallow than their 1/2″ counterparts. More than the difference in diameter in a keyless chuck would explain. There’s less contact surface, and you can’t bury a bit in the chuck for those occasional times when the typical length makes the whole setup barely too long to get into a tight spot. Just a dumb design, and it irritates me whenever I see it. But I still use it enough that I’m not going to get rid of it. Actually I put a lot of wear-and-tear on it, saving my Milwaukee and Bosch tools for when I need their advantages.