Best right angle attachment for drill/driver?

[ondablade]

I need to buy one, and was just wondering if anybody has views on right angle drives.

When fitted with a chuck they are not much shorter than a drill driver. so it looks like the plan may be one of the very compact ones with a hex shaft input, and a 1/4 hex socket output - that way you can fit a chuck with a hex shank (which I already have) if needed to handle stock drills, but can revert to a hex shank drill if needed to get into very tight spaces.

Famag do a very nice looking one http://www.rutlands.co.uk/hand-tools/dr ... attachment, but Rutlands are looking for around £70 for it. Bosch I usually find are at about the right price/quality point, but I've not seen one. There's lots of cheap eastern ones, but it's hard to figure what the quality is....

 

[Keenedge]

Pm sent, these ones are very good, 64Nm torque. More than a lot of the cordless will put out.

 

[moz]

I've had one of these for years and it's been fine. High quality, made in Japan IIRC. It's got me out of many a fix.

http://www.tilgear.info/products/224/14 ... rive_unit/

John

 

[cambournepete]

If only you'd got a Festool cordless drill...

I know, hat, coat...

 

[jasonB]

I use the trend snappy one and have done quite a few 1" holes through joists and the like with it without any problems. I do use a lot of hex recess tooling so have plenty of drill bits etc that fit.

I did have one of type but not upto cordless use, though it may not have been an Axi one.

Jason

 

[ondablade]

Thanks guys, some options to peruse there. You're probably right on the Festool Pete, but I just couldn't see it at the time....

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

Does it need to be 90°, or could you get away with one of those 'Flexi-Drive' shaft extension thingymajiggies? I've managed quite a few tasks with one, as long as you don't go hell for leather it's worked for me, they're only about £6 as well. Although if it's more heavy duty stuff & used all the time then yeah, go for the 90° extension.

Cheers _Dan

 

[GPB]

I bought the Screwfix angled drill chuck to drill roof timbers and joists for bolts. Cost £35 and has been faultless.

Cheers
Graham

 

[ondablade]

I'm thinking 90 deg Dan, as i want to be able to screw as well. The Screwfix unit looks pretty solid G, but I'm thinking of the type with a 1/4 in hex socket rather than a chuck as they are much more compact and I already have a hex shanked chuck.

It seems that some might argue that a right angle drill is worth coughing up for, but they are expensive and I'm not sure how well they might work as a screwdriver: http://www.bosch-pt.co.uk/boptocs2-uk/P ... ct_id=5782

 

[NetBlindPaul]

ondablade,

I have the GWB10RE, it is very good as a drill, not so much as a screwdriver, no torque adjustment.
I have the Wiha angle driver that JasonB posted a link to on the Axminster site and I have not found it very good.
For screwdriving I always use battery tools anyway.
I have this one:
http://www.bosch-pt.co.uk/boptocs2-...t+series/119043/GWI+10.8+V-LI/11599/index.htm
Which I find OK, and I have a Makita 3/8" hex chuck that goes in it though that then makes it quite long, so less use as an angle drill.

I don't have many 1/4" hex drill bits.

I also don't know how to add clicky links like JasonB!

HTH

 

[OPJ]

If only you'd got a Festool cordless drill..

Or, a Metabo!! ;-)

 

[ondablade]

That Metabo is a very comprehensive and nice looking kit Olly! This whole area (drills/driver/impact drivers/right angle versions/rights angle drives) is actually a bit of a minefield - it's hard to figure out just what exactly is available, what can it do/how best is it used and what is the cost.

As it happens I have a small 10.8V blue Bosch drill/driver, as well as a hefty 18V NiCad blue Bosch bought for about €160 new in 2009, but both are fitted with a chucks.

I also have a similar impact driver they were handing out for free at the time I bought the 10.8V, but I've not yet figured out what it might be useful for yet. I'd struggle to work up the conviction to buy another tool at this stage.

I had a dig and can't find any sign of a right angle attachment for either of the drill/drivers like the Metabo, and the chucks don't seem to be the quick release variety. Maybe Bosch don't want to sell against their other products??

It's looking (?) like maybe the Famag drive is the best shot for what I have at this stage - a good quality compact drive that I can run with or without a chuck using my hex shank Bosch chuck.....

 

[jasonB]

I don't know what the Famag is like to use without the handle, there does not look to be that mach to get hold of and apply pressure as a lot of the time a handle gets in the way. The body of the trend one is longer and gives you something to get hold of while still being the same sort of O/A length. If you do use the trend handle it comes out the side not the top.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the trend one, so I can second jasons recommendation..

 

[OPJ]

That Metabo is a very comprehensive and nice looking kit Olly! This whole area (drills/driver/impact drivers/right angle versions/rights angle drives) is actually a bit of a minefield - it's hard to figure out just what exactly is available, what can it do/how best is it used and what is the cost.

In which case, you may also be interested in this article, as much as I hate to plug my own work! :roll: Metabo's angle attachment looks like it's been designed for the Max 12 Powermaxx drill. I don't know whether it's backwards compatible with others, or even if it's available separately. It is only a magnetic hex holder though, primarily for driving screws, which some may see as limitation.

As mentioned in the article, Metabo do sell this angle attachment but, it's not the same.

Re: impact drivers (again, I mentioned this on Toolstop's blog); I've used mine mostly for removing rusted screws, driving long screws in vertically (where gravity can't help you and it's difficult to get behind or under the tool) and also for removing machine screws from power tools, which can be notoriously tight and won't always budge with a standard drill/driver.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I have a slightly different take on it:

I've always had to be cost conscious when buying tools. I try to buy well but simply couldn't justify £loads on right-angle attachments. Had I realised how much they'd get used for DIY, I'd have spent more, but I've had three altogether, two which have lasted:

I strongly recommend not buying one unless it has decent, large steel gears and an accessible bevel box. As soon as you get it, re-pack the box with some decent grease, diluted slightly with a bit of clean engine oil. Not only will that make it last longer, but it vastly improves the torque available at the business end, which is important when running on batteries. If you can't get at the bevel box, walk away, unless it's 'disposable' (like the Axminster one). The ones with chuck thread are better than the shaft ones (I have ground three flats on one of mine to improve the grip), and the reversible ones with 2:1 gearing are better still (with care will drive a holesaw).

A while ago I gave in and bought a right-angled cordless drill:
- a cheap clone of the DeWalt/Makita type. It's not all that well made, and the battery pack will die eventually, but it's been enormously useful.

The chuck will grip a short diamond pozi bit pretty well, with almost no projection, so you can get under kitchen cabinets, etc. and into the eaves of the attic. The battery box swivels to get it out of the way (but it's still chunky). I'm not sure if I'd recommend that exact one, but on offer it's a lot cheaper than the pro option, for something that's an occasional get-out-of-jail item. I paid full whack for mine (£60 - kicked myself because it had just come off-offer), but don't regret it now. The trigger is in a silly place though. I have to use both hands, and it would be better up near the front really. You need a surprising amount of force behind the chuck too, for screwdriving, even with diamond bits, so having one that fits the palm of the hand is good also.

Cheers,

E.

Have to say though that having two clips for screwdriving bits is better than Bosch!

 

[ondablade]

It looks like a big advantage of a one piece drill/driver versus the attachments has to be the extra control it gives Eric. I'm one of those people hat really struggles to buy budget tools - not because i've any objection, but because somehow i always seem to end up finding out the hard way that i bought something that fails or won't do the job.

It sounds like you got it right though. It's actually a rational strategy on this sort of stuff for moderate use given how fast this sort of stuff becomes obsolete - I've for example just figured that the max torque available from my 18V NiCad driver isn't much more than is available from the 10.8V bought a year later. :roll:

 

[losvre]

Hello guys,

First post here but I have to say that metabo does angle attachment for the LT/LXT series

Have a look at metabo site or lawson-his site if you want to buy one now

Best

 

[Shultzy]

How about the orbiter from Rutland, does lot of angles, and you can get at the gearing to repack the grease.

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/hand-tools/dr ... 00/orbiter

 

[Mark A]

I bought a right angle attachment from Aldi a few weeks ago for about £3.99 I think. Don't know if they still have them, but it works ok. And it's made in Germany