Drill attachments: what are there, how to choose and use?

Every master has a drill in the arsenal, even if he is simply forced from time to time to fix shelves or cabinets at home. However, you often have to deal with the fact that you need to do some special type of work, but there is no equipment for this.

Drill attachments serve to simplify the work with this tool, as well as to expand its functionality. Armed with these designs, you can avoid buying many other expensive tools: lathe, metal cutting accessories, and the like.

Any additional construction for the drill can be purchased at the store. The price for such a nozzle will be several times lower than for a full-fledged equipment that gives a similar effect. This is due to the fact that you already have a mechanism: the drill itself will be responsible for the rotational movement. But it is the motor that is the most expensive part of the vast majority of technical devices.

However, you can not only buy a nozzle, but also make it yourself, especially when you cannot find something in stores that completely suits you. No one wants to spend money on something that doesn't quite live up to expectations. Sometimes it is easier to make some of the designs yourself. It is both cheaper and more practical: home-made devices serve no worse, while fully meeting all the requirements.

It should be borne in mind that both factory and home-made nozzles quickly fail if used too intensively. They are ideal for home use when they are only used intermittently, but they cannot replace industrial machines.

There is a huge variety of drill bits, accessories and attachments. This applies not only to the details of the mechanism (for example, a brush holder). The vast majority of such devices are attached instead of drills, thanks to which the drill turns into a completely different, new tool.

Many of the existing designs cannot be used with low power drills. This is due to the large weight of the nozzles, which will have to not only spin up, but also maintain a high number of revolutions for some (sometimes quite long) time. It is recommended to use a drill with a power of at least 600 W. This is the minimum power at which the tool will function properly with any accessory.

Most of these attachments or accessories are designed for typical drills, and it is not always possible to find the right one if you use another type (for example, a mixer drill, which is much larger than the usual one).

In order to make a vertical hole, two types of devices are mainly used: racks and attachment guides.

The drill stand is a structure consisting of a supporting frame on which there is a guide groove. The bushing is fixed on the bed. The drill clamp is directly attached to the sleeve. The sleeve is moved up and down using a special handle. A special feature is the selection of materials and the method of fixing them. The nodes should be as rigid as possible, and the guide bed should also have increased durability.

Metal racks, electromagnetic racks are widely represented on the market. In everyday life, you can often see homemade wooden racks, which, in terms of functionality, differ little from professional metal ones. Guide attachments - a simplified version of the rack. Professionals often refer to guide attachments as hand tools. It has greater mobility, in contrast to the rack, so the attachment is more often purchased for domestic use.

This type includes types of nozzles designed to simplify the procedure for drilling "difficult" holes. This can include both accessories for drilling at right angles and tools that allow you to adjust the angle of inclination of the future hole.

Partially this can be attributed to the guide attachments. This refers to those that have a tilt adjustment function. By fixing the guide frame (or two, as is the case with most modern attachments) at a certain angle, you can easily drill any hole. Attachments for drilling at an angle of 45 degrees are also popular. For these needs it is necessary to use a special machine. Machine options are abundant on the modern market.

Many people use homemade drill stands, equipping the clamp with the ability to rotate. So you can have on hand a device for vertical drilling, and a device for drilling at right angles, and a structure with an adjustable angle.

The use of such a device greatly facilitates the grinding of engine valves. If there is a nozzle for grinding valves on a drill, then you do not have to use a manual device or a pneumatic machine. In another way, a drill attachment is called a suction cup.

The suction cup is attached with one end to the drill and the other to the valve stem. It is important that the drill is set at a low number of revolutions. It is in this case that the best results will be achieved.

Another argument in favor of choosing a method for lapping the valves with a drill is that you will need a small amount of lapping paste. You should not neglect its use at all, but its amount should be minimal. You also don't have to put in any physical effort. It is believed that the lower the pressure, the lower the likelihood of lapping incorrectly.

Such devices are intended for sharpening drills and are perhaps among the most popular devices. They are necessary when there is no circular saw, lathe or other bulky tools at hand. Outwardly, they look like a round disc with many holes of different diameters.

Inside the disc is a whetstone that rotates when the drill is turned on. All you need to do is insert a twist drill into a suitable hole. The stone sharpens the drill at a 118 degree angle. It is important to pay attention to the fact that the wrong choice of diameter can lead to poor sharpening of the drill or even its deterioration. On the other hand, if you want to sharpen at a different angle, it is logical to use a larger hole by manually adjusting the angle of the drill.

In the vast majority of cases, a spare whetstone is included in the kit. It is also usually possible to purchase additional stones. The abrasiveness of the stones varies.

To tighten the screw piles with a drill, you will need to use an increased power unit. At least it should be equal to 1 thousand watts, but the number of revolutions should be small. Usually, such devices produce 3 thousand revolutions per minute. In this situation, you need to find one that will give 600 rpm.

You can make the attachments for twisting the supports yourself or pick up ready-made options. The stores feature multipliers that are used specifically for these purposes. Self-made multipliers for twisting screw piles do not differ much from store-bought ones, however, they lose to the second in aesthetic appeal. Plus, the purchased multiplier will last longer.

A drill can turn out to be a full-fledged lathe. Even in the Soviet Union, special devices were produced to facilitate the work of home craftsmen. They had many attachments for fixing the bars, were equipped with an angle adjustment function. If you have a similar model in your garage, but until this moment you did not know what it is for and how to approach it, watch the video instruction.

Now the industry does not stand still, and similar machines are also produced. A wide range of machines are available on the market. They are equipped with a special vice, with the help of which the drill is fixed. However, when choosing, you need to be careful: many of these machines are not suitable for some drills, as well as screwdrivers.

Homemade tools are more popular because the drill lathe is usually a hobbyist. For professional use, they prefer to purchase full-fledged independent tools.

For information on how to make a lathe from a drill, see the next video.

When working in hard-to-reach places (for example, on the roof), workers or owners who prefer to repair their house with their own hands, faced the same problem. To cut off the excess, adjust the size of the sheet, or just trim it a little, they had to go down every time and do this work with the help of special equipment. It is quite understandable that you cannot take it with you to the roof. Then the engineers came up with a special "scissors" attachment for the drill.

The scissors attachment has become a real salvation, significantly reducing and simplifying such work. In the future, they began to use it simply in repair work: when it is necessary to cut a mesh-netting, cut out a part of a specific shape.

It should be noted that with the help of these "scissors" you can cut not only metal. They are great for working with plastics.

It so happens that you need to drill a hole in some hard-to-reach place, for example, inside a narrow box, where the drill does not go.Angle adapters have been invented especially for such cases. They represent an adapter in the shape of the letter G. As a rule, both the rotation speed and the torque itself are stored here, so you will not notice any difference if you simply work with a drill or a tool with such an attachment.

Stoppers are needed in order not to drill a hole deeper than necessary. After all, it often happens that through perforation is not needed. In the classic version, such a stopper is attached to the drill from above, after which the hole is drilled until the stopper rests against the wall. However, variations are possible.

Some people prefer to place a stop on the drill. It looks like a plastic nut. The principle of operation is the same: as soon as the nut hits the wall, you must stop drilling.

There are also completely artisanal ways. For example, some people limit the length of the drill by wrapping a piece of adhesive around it in the desired location.

The use of accessories for drilling tools has both its supporters and opponents. Nevertheless, it is worth taking a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages in order to objectively assess the usefulness. So, the pros of using such devices.

• Savings on the purchase of equipment. It is quite logical that buying a nozzle or even a whole structure will be much cheaper than a new technical device. For example, an inexpensive set of cutters will cost from 1,500 rubles to 2,200 rubles, and a milling machine will cost from 3,500 rubles and more.
• Saving space. Storage of such devices will require much less space in the garage than bulky new tools.
• Large selection of accessories. You can find not only classic drilling attachments. Wonderful nozzles will turn a drill into a lathe, a metal cutter, and a construction apparatus for screwing piles - there can be a great variety of options.

Of course, this list is far from complete. Each person can find additional benefits that are meaningful to him. The disadvantages include, first of all, limited functionality. Obviously, the attachment cannot be compared in the quality of workmanship to a full-fledged machine. It is also necessary to check before buying whether this device is suitable for your drilling tool. In our age, when there are an infinite number of manufacturers, it is extremely easy to make a mistake with a choice and buy an absolutely inappropriate thing.

There are some simple rules for choosing:

• always pay attention to the manufacturer, read reviews;
• Take your drill with you to the store and feel free to try on an attachment or attachment - this can save you money.

Most often, craftsmen need to make a special rack, since it is the most versatile of all devices. It can be used for straight drilling from top to bottom - vertical drilling at right angles. The maximum height of a bar for drilling is determined only by the height of the rack and the length of the drill.

A thick sheet of metal or chipboard up to 5 cm thick can be used as a bed (base). A profile with a square section will serve as a stand. You can also take the guides with which ordinary drawers slide out and slide in. Then you don't have to think about the mechanism for moving the drill. The carriage can be made from corners. A drill clamp is attached to it. For fastening, you can use ordinary clamps that hold the water pipes together.

The rack can be made according to the drawings available on the Internet.

You can watch a detailed step-by-step instruction on how to assemble a drill stand with your own hands in the video. There are different options below, so you can choose whichever one suits your taste.