Little late to reply...but...for anyone else in the same boat.
I got my first hand drill when I was 7 (I may be off a year or two) as a Christmas gift from my grandfather. Every birthday/Christmas he got me and my cousin matching tools. Nice stuff too, nicer than he'd buy for himself (I know because I inherited his old tools a decade and a half ago when he passed away.) usually Craftsman back when they only sold stuff with lifetime warranties. I still have and use most of the tools he bought me.
That first drill was a corded Black and Decker and it lasted me a long time through many many projects. I finally burned it up a few years ago. It was a 3/8" chuck but I had some large bits with undersized shanks - drilling 5/8" holes through 1/8" steel was more than it could handle after 20 some years of use. I got a 1/2" craftsman corded as a replacement for it and that's my new "big job" drill. It doesn't get used very often but for bigger jobs it's done very well.
For day to day use I have a 18v cordless DeWalt I picked up on sale because it was "last years model" about 6 years ago. Love it. Most of my friends at the time had 18v DeWalt stuff (they've since moved on to the new lithium models) so we were able to share batteries. Most of them had the fancier models with hammer drill options - but mine was just the base model and I much prefer it because it's smaller and lighter. It's taken a beating too, I've dropped it off ladders and roofs several times and while a little scuffed it still works just as well as the day I bought it. When the batteries were new I was able to go through about 2lbs of 2" deck screws on a charge. Now I get through about 3/4lb per charge. Still not bad.
Before that I had an old Makita cordless I got when my dad upgraded - it was a lot bigger and a lot weaker...but still a very well built tool.
Honestly a good cordless drill is IMHO an essential. But if you're willing to deal with cords you can get more drill for the same price by going corded. Which is fine if you're mostly using it at a bench. I have a feeling though once you have a drill you'll be using it more than you expect! Get a nice bit holder for it and some quality screwdriver bits and you'll be using it all over the place on nuts/bolts/screws as well as for drilling.
Whatever kind of drill you get I'd STRONGLY advise against getting a single speed or multi-speed. Variable speed is the the only way to go IMHO. When I got my first drill it was variable speed but at the time that was rare and a fairly new and expensive feature. My dad and grandpa both frequently borrowed my drill for their own projects because theirs didn't have variable speed
Drilling larger holes through tougher material it's nice to slow down and get more torque. IMHO the slightly higher cost for variable speed is worth every penny.
Presses are great and make it so much easier to drill accurate holes. I had an older version of the Harbor Freight 5 speed bench press up until a few months ago when the friend who gave it to me on indefinite loan finally needed it back. I really miss it now. But the current version just isn't made nearly as well. I've looked at them in the store a few times and seriously considered picking one up...but every floor model I've seen has had horrible runout on the spindle (meaning when the bit that holes the drill turns it doesn't turn exactly around it's center - it wobbles) and that kind of defeats the whole point of a drill press. So I've been watching craigs list for an affordable older used press instead.
If you do go with the HF press pick up one of their dial indicators as well and use it to check the runout on the spindle. They're good about accepting returns/exchanges so just be prepared to use that a few times to return them until you get one that's fairly accurate. You may still have to do some adjustments to the table to get it square - but once setup a good drill press makes so many jobs quick and easy. I really miss having one, fingers crossed I find a replacement soon...garage sale season is just starting for us around here so my chances are getting better.
I got my first hand drill when I was 7 (I may be off a year or two) as a Christmas gift from my grandfather. Every birthday/Christmas he got me and my cousin matching tools. Nice stuff too, nicer than he'd buy for himself (I know because I inherited his old tools a decade and a half ago when he passed away.) usually Craftsman back when they only sold stuff with lifetime warranties. I still have and use most of the tools he bought me.
That first drill was a corded Black and Decker and it lasted me a long time through many many projects. I finally burned it up a few years ago. It was a 3/8" chuck but I had some large bits with undersized shanks - drilling 5/8" holes through 1/8" steel was more than it could handle after 20 some years of use. I got a 1/2" craftsman corded as a replacement for it and that's my new "big job" drill. It doesn't get used very often but for bigger jobs it's done very well.
For day to day use I have a 18v cordless DeWalt I picked up on sale because it was "last years model" about 6 years ago. Love it. Most of my friends at the time had 18v DeWalt stuff (they've since moved on to the new lithium models) so we were able to share batteries. Most of them had the fancier models with hammer drill options - but mine was just the base model and I much prefer it because it's smaller and lighter. It's taken a beating too, I've dropped it off ladders and roofs several times and while a little scuffed it still works just as well as the day I bought it. When the batteries were new I was able to go through about 2lbs of 2" deck screws on a charge. Now I get through about 3/4lb per charge. Still not bad.
Before that I had an old Makita cordless I got when my dad upgraded - it was a lot bigger and a lot weaker...but still a very well built tool.
Honestly a good cordless drill is IMHO an essential. But if you're willing to deal with cords you can get more drill for the same price by going corded. Which is fine if you're mostly using it at a bench. I have a feeling though once you have a drill you'll be using it more than you expect! Get a nice bit holder for it and some quality screwdriver bits and you'll be using it all over the place on nuts/bolts/screws as well as for drilling.
Whatever kind of drill you get I'd STRONGLY advise against getting a single speed or multi-speed. Variable speed is the the only way to go IMHO. When I got my first drill it was variable speed but at the time that was rare and a fairly new and expensive feature. My dad and grandpa both frequently borrowed my drill for their own projects because theirs didn't have variable speed
Drilling larger holes through tougher material it's nice to slow down and get more torque. IMHO the slightly higher cost for variable speed is worth every penny.Presses are great and make it so much easier to drill accurate holes. I had an older version of the Harbor Freight 5 speed bench press up until a few months ago when the friend who gave it to me on indefinite loan finally needed it back. I really miss it now. But the current version just isn't made nearly as well. I've looked at them in the store a few times and seriously considered picking one up...but every floor model I've seen has had horrible runout on the spindle (meaning when the bit that holes the drill turns it doesn't turn exactly around it's center - it wobbles) and that kind of defeats the whole point of a drill press. So I've been watching craigs list for an affordable older used press instead.
If you do go with the HF press pick up one of their dial indicators as well and use it to check the runout on the spindle. They're good about accepting returns/exchanges so just be prepared to use that a few times to return them until you get one that's fairly accurate. You may still have to do some adjustments to the table to get it square - but once setup a good drill press makes so many jobs quick and easy. I really miss having one, fingers crossed I find a replacement soon...garage sale season is just starting for us around here so my chances are getting better.
