What is the difference between gear 1 and gear 2 on a drill?

The motor in a cordless drill has one useful speed range. The gearbox is what makes it useful for two very different tasks — boring a 40mm hole and drilling a 3mm one — by changing the ratio between the motor and the chuck. Everything the selector does follows from the fact that the total work available does not change; only how it is delivered.

Step by step

1. Use gear 1 whenever the bit is big.Spade bits, augers, Forstner bits, hole saws and anything over about 12mm in wood. These bits remove a lot of material per revolution and need force, not speed.
2. Use gear 1 for every screw.Driving is a torque job. In gear 2 the drill spins the screw fast, cams out, and stalls the moment the head starts to seat. In gear 1 it drives steadily and the clutch can do its job.
3. Use gear 2 for small holes in wood and metal.A small twist bit cuts by rotational speed and takes a light chip each turn. In gear 1 it is slow and inefficient, though it will still work.
4. Use gear 2 for masonry with hammer action.Percussion drilling depends on blow rate, and blow rate follows chuck speed on a combi. Gear 1 with hammer action makes a far slower hole in brick.
5. Change gear only with the drill stopped.Moving the selector under power grinds the gears together. Stop, move it, and if it will not click home, rotate the chuck a few degrees by hand so the dogs line up.
6. Read the drill's own complaints.If the drill bogs down, twists in your hand or stalls, change down. If the bit burns or polishes the work instead of cutting it, and it is small, change up.
7. Remember gear 1 for mixing.Paint, plaster, tile adhesive and grout on a paddle mixer are always gear 1, and always at low trigger. Gear 2 throws material out of the bucket and overheats the tool.

Tips

• The number on the selector is the gear, not the speed setting — the trigger controls speed within the gear. Gear 1 at full trigger is still slower than gear 2 at half.
• A three-speed drill splits the same range more finely; the principle is identical and the top gear is still the one for small holes.
• If your drill has only one speed, you have a lower-cost tool rather than a broken one, and everything above still applies via the trigger — just accept it will stall sooner on big bits.

Common mistakes

• Driving long screws in gear 2 — The drill has nothing left when the screw meets resistance, so it stalls, the bit cams out and the head rounds. This is the single most common gear error.
• Using gear 1 with a small masonry bit — Fewer blows per minute means a much slower hole, and people conclude the drill is not powerful enough when it is simply in the wrong gear.

Questions people ask