Screws and Drills – A Dream Come True
It’s surprising to think that the first cordless drill was invented in 1961 by Robert Riley for Black and Decker. Having worked with my Dad rebuilding a second home on Lake Candlewood in Connecticut, the idea that in the 60’s we could avoid endless extension cord problems of tripping, unplugging, the curse-creating tangles and the never-quite-long-enough cords would have rewritten many bad memories.
Being an architect for the last 25 years, I saw the explosion of cordless drills early in my career, essentially the late 70’s. By then batteries had become good enough that they would last more than half-an-hour and rapidly the cordless drill and later the pneumatically-powered nail drivers took over where screwdrivers and hammers once ruled the day. But the cordless drill didn’t just replace the screwdriver, it completely changed the way we think about making anything.
Anybody who is older than 40 remembers that glue and nails were often the primary candidate for the Sunday afternoon fix-it job. And whenever there were nails involved there were hurt fingers, split wood, and inevitably a call to the local carpenter to actually make something right.
But the cordless screwdriver is a miracle invention. Not only does it make your fastening easy by pre-drilling, but with a huge variety of screws of almost any length, any thread size and spacing, virtually anything can be attached to anything (especially within the crude tolerances of weekend desperation). And it even makes the inevitable need for unscrewing due to miscalculation so much easier.
It’s become so successful that new frustrations have arisen. Rather than just the simple, normal Philips-head screw bit and perhaps the occasional slotted-screw, the hex and square bit as well as something called a “torx” bit mean that new frustrations can be found almost as vexing as those of the long gone extension cords when the screw head being used doesn’t match the bit you happen to have handy. That being said, the cordless drill and the infinite variety of screws that are available are a marriage made in heaven for the guilt-ridden home repairman, creating quick fixes that, while artless, seem to hold for a while.
