Drilling Machine Good for Home DIY?

Walk into any suburban garage and you will hear the same question spin like a stuck bit: is a compact drilling machine actually good for home DIY, or is it just a shiny toy that dies when the real work starts? After six weekends of putting the 10 mm Electric Screwdriver with a 14.4 V lithium battery through every torture test a normal homeowner can invent—assembling IKEA wardrobes, mounting 2×4 shelving, boring 30 mm pine pocket-holes, and even mixing paint with a paddle bit—I have the shavings on the floor to give you an honest answer.
To begin with, the specs that matter. The 10 mm keyless chuck grips everything from a delicate 1 mm HSS twist bit to the fat 8 mm masonry bit you need for curtain rails. Fourteen-point-four volts is the sweet spot: it punches harder than the 12 V crowd yet avoids the wrist-busting heft of 18 V monsters. The 1.5 Ah pack delivered 67 consecutive 4 × 35 mm pine screws on a single charge; that is an entire closet organizer kit with juice left for touch-ups. Re-charge took 52 minutes on the included 2 A charger—just long enough for a coffee and a YouTube tutorial.
Ergonomics decide whether a drilling machine ends up in the “reach-for” drawer or the dusty back shelf. At 1.1 kg bare, this unit hangs off a ceiling screw without the tremor that cracks plaster. The rubber over-mold is slightly tacky, so it clings to a ladder rung when you need both hands free. Fifteen clutch positions plus drill mode let me feather-drive brass drawer pulls without stripping the soft heads, then spin the collar to 20 Nm and bury Spax screws into pressure-treated deck boards. An LED ring at the base throws a shadow-free halo exactly where the bit kisses the surface—no head-torch yoga required.

Torque talk is where skeptics raise an eyebrow. The spec sheet claims 28 Nm hard torque; I measured 26 Nm with a digital torque adapter, close enough to trust. That translated to clean 6 mm holes in red brick on speed-2, provided I used a sharp masonry bit and did not bully the trigger. Speed-1 tops out at 400 rpm, good for auguring 25 mm Forstner holes in softwood without burning the rim. The brushless motor (yes, at this price) keeps the housing cool enough to hold after a five-minute continuous boring session.
Battery anxiety is the hidden DIY killer. Lithium-ion has no memory effect, yet many users still baby it. I left the pack in the garage at 2 °C overnight and lost only 4 % capacity the next morning. After three months of weekly top-ups, the cells still accepted the full 1.5 Ah, proving that the built-in BMS (battery-management system) actually balances cells instead of just turning the light green.
Limitations? Sure. The 10 mm chuck will not swallow a ½-inch paddle for drywall mud. If you build a deck with 150 mm structural screws, you will want an impact driver companion. And the single battery means downtime if you forget to recharge—buy a spare pack for the price of two pizzas and your workflow is bullet-proof.
So, is the drilling machine good for home DIY? If your world revolves around 3–8 mm screws, occasional 6 mm masonry holes, and the eternal parade of flat-pack furniture, this 14.4 V cordless marvel is not just good—it is liberating. It hands you professional speed without the hospital-grade weight, and it stores on a shelf no deeper than a cereal box. In short, buy it, charge it, and you will drill, drive, and smile your way through every Saturday project list the hardware store can throw at you.