Reversible air drill

[zzapp]

Will purchase first air drill. Have lots of other types. For a 1/4" mini drill how important is the reverse feature?

 

[Mel]

Not at all!

Of course that's just my opinion. With slower electric drills, the reverse feature is pretty handy. In over 25 years of building, I have never found it useful with the hi-speed air-drills. It just adds size and weight to the drill.

 

[RyanM]

I've had no need for a reversible one yet either. But I would avoid a keyless one, and stick to the key'd ones.

See this thread

 

[zzapp]

Thanks. I figured with the massive 20 inch pounds developed by a 1/4" drill if I stalled it I could just reach down and twist it out.

 

[RScott]

If I need reverse I just turn the chuck backward by hand. And as someone else said, don't get a keyless chuck. The key type holds the bit tighter and if you do need to back the thing up, with a keyless chuck you just loosen the chuck when you try to turn it backwards.

 

[Steve Ashby]

A Rohm keyless chuck is the bomb

I think I am going to have to jump in here with a competing opinion. At the suggestion of Bob Avery, I purchased a Rohm keyless chuck for my Sioux drill and it has functioned perfectly. It is easy to operate and has never backed off. Also, you do not need a reverse feature. If you ever need to back out a stuck bit (which rarely happens), you can manually spin the chuck and there is no problem with the chuck backing off and the bit falling out. After changing bits about a jillion times, the Rohm chuck has been a real time saver. See Avery tools.

 

[Dave Cole]

How important is the reverse feature?

After 15,000 rivets, I would say it is not important at all.