# This is \*not\* a drill. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 7, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300 "2004-01-07T22:52:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/1 "2004-01-07T22:52:56Z")
No, Happy Jobmate People, this is _not_ a drill. This is an _actual_ pissed-off customer. I just want to drill a hole. A small hole, through a light material. Maybe I deserve frustration for opting for a low-end tool at Canadian Tire, but seeing as I don’t know if or when I’ll need to drill _another_ hole, I decided not to be too extravagant and stuck around the $50 mark. Still, I don’t think its too much to ask that the copy on the box should be descriptive of what’s actually _inside_ the box. Let me check that again: > [@](#): > > 12v Cordless drill […] includes four bits. Okay. This tool _looks_ like a drill. I’d even go to so far as to say that, if you inserted a _bit_ into the chuck, it would, by virtue of its functionality, _be_ a drill. I’m not fussy about the size of the bits, I just need to get some network cable out of sight. Your product is as describes only as far as there are four objects suitable for insertion its business end included in the case. The problem is, they are not _bits_. They are interchangable screwdriver heads. A screwdriver, you will note, is not a _biting_ tool. As a consequence of this discrepancy, I find that I have _not_ purchased a drill. I have purchased an ungainly powered _screwdriver_, which is rendered preredundant by my existing, practically-sized powered screwdriver. I should like to hasten to declare, should there be any confusion, that this morning was marked by a distinct absence of a pressing need for another powered screwdriver which would neccessitate making a two-and-a-half-hour round-trip via soggy public transit in the face of freezing rain and barely-navigable slush and slurry. No indeed. I just wanted to make a little hole in something. So let’s review, shall we? [ul][li] **drill** n. _a tool with a sharp point and cutting edges used for making holes in hard materials (usually by rotating rapidly or by repeated blows)_ etym. D. _drillen_ - to bore.[/li] [li] **bit** n. _the part of a tool (such as a plane, lathe or drill) used for cutting or drilling_ etym. OE. _bite_ - to bite.[/ul][/li] Anyway, my feet have warmed up and my ire has cooled off just enough that I’m now ready to bundle up again and drop another $4 on transit. Maybe if I hurry I can make it in time to buy some bits and still be back before the sun sets and the temperature drops. Not likely, though. Screw you. Fucking tools. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/2 "2004-01-07T22:56:24Z")
> [@](#): > > … Your product is as describe **d** only as far as there are four objects suitable for insertion **in** its business end included in the case. … Grrrr. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/3 "2004-01-07T22:58:04Z")
It might not be a biting tool, but it’s a tool that bites. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/4 "2004-01-08T00:08:48Z")
Larry, around these parts, we call those screwdriver tips “Screw bits”. Sorry pal. But to someone who hasn’t owned a drill (or used one apparently), in quite some time or on a regular basis I suppose it would be totally misleading. DOn’t know what else to say… Sam ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/5 "2004-01-08T00:32:32Z")
Oh, I see you’ve played drilly-spoony before. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/6 "2004-01-08T00:33:43Z")
I always though they were called drill bits 'cause they were the bit that goes in the end of the drill. Learn something new everyday, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/7 "2004-01-08T00:53:01Z")
Actually Miller, technically, what we refer to as a “drill bit” is actually correctly referred to as a “drill”. And what we refer to as a “drill” today is technically a “drill motor”. It’s just the evolution of certain American phraseology. Sam ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/8 "2004-01-08T01:42:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GaWd \* > \*\*Actually Miller, technically, what we refer to as a “drill bit” is actually correctly referred to as a “drill”. And what we refer to as a “drill” today is technically a “drill motor”. > > It’s just the evolution of certain American phraseology. > > Sam \*\* Actually, this is wrong. I’ve been working in a machine shop for fifteen years, and I can tell you from personal experience that professionals refer to “drill bits” (or, indeed, any tool or piece of machinery) as “that thing.” Or ocassionally, “that other thing.” As in, “Hey, Miller! Hand me that thing! No, that _other_ thing!” ---
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/9 "2004-01-08T05:45:40Z")
You should have gotten a Dremel tool. It comes with a lot of “things” - some of which will make holes and it has a lot of other uses. And it’s less that $50. Also, if it says “Dremel tool” on the box, well, it probably won’t have a screwdriver in there. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/10 "2004-01-08T06:32:00Z")
This calls for a harshly-worded letter to Sandy McTire! ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/11 "2004-01-08T06:38:37Z")
This calls for a harshly-worded letter to [Sandy McTire!](http://01larry55.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/tire.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/12 "2004-01-08T23:19:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*Actually, this is wrong. I’ve been working in a machine shop for fifteen years, and I can tell you from personal experience that professionals refer to “drill bits” (or, indeed, any tool or piece of machinery) as “that thing.” Or ocassionally, “that other thing.” As in, “Hey, Miller! Hand me that thing! No, that _other_ thing!” \*\* So what does today’s loose machineshop language have to do with the fact that 50 years ago a “drill bit” was actually a drill and the thing that powered it was called a “drill motor”? I understand about “these”, “those”, “that”, and the “whoozewhatsit”(I’m a car and tool guy), I was just trying to interject a bit of trivia to the thread… Sam ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/13 "2004-01-09T00:02:32Z")
And I was just trying to inject a little humor. It’s all good. By the by, I inexplicably lied when I said I’ve worked for fifteen years in a machineshop. 'sonly been ten. Fifteen years ago, I’d’ve been 13. Don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I typed that… ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/14 "2004-01-09T00:03:15Z")
Where I come from we call them “that…there, the, the, yeah. No, the one next to it. Yeah, the, the, the philips thing. Yeah. No, the small one. Yeah that’s it.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/15 "2004-01-09T00:08:42Z")
We used to have one of those, **photopat** , but the doohickey fell off and the whaderyercallit never worked right in the first place, so we threw it out. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/16 "2004-01-09T00:08:56Z")
Your thingamajig done tore up? ---
**Author:** ![235clear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/439d5e/32.png) [@235clear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/235clear)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/17 "2004-01-09T00:53:41Z")
In the ‘loose contractor’s language’ of rural Georgia, what you purchased, **Larry** , was a ‘screw gun’, so called because it looks like a gun and is useful for driving screws when used with _drive_ bits. It ‘becomes’ a _drill_ when used to make holes after removing the drive bit and inserting a _drill_ or _boring_ bit. (Confusin’, ain’t it? _\_) So _technically_, you did indeed receive four bits, but your pissed-offedness is still quite understandable. If the product is marketed as a _drill_, one would expect that the included ‘bits’ should be _drill_ bits, unless otherwise specified. But now that you mention it, I don’t recall having bought a ‘drill’ in years that _didn’t_ come prepackaged with drive bits instead of drill bits (mainly, I suppose, because they’re cheaper). I guess you were just supposed to _know_ that…somehow. Great thread title, BTW. Can I come out from under my desk now? ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/18 "2004-01-09T01:04:55Z")
I don’t understand – use the phillips to start the hole and use the straight blade to finish it. Or did you expect one of the bits to be just the size you needed? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/19 "2004-01-09T09:00:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Where I come from we call them “that…there, the, the, yeah. No, the one next to it. Yeah, the, the, the philips thing. Yeah. No, the small one. Yeah that’s it.” \*\* This sounds like part of a porn story. Please continue. ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300/20 "2004-01-10T00:53:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*And I was just trying to inject a little humor. It’s all good. > > By the by, I inexplicably lied when I said I’ve worked for fifteen years in a machineshop. 'sonly been ten. Fifteen years ago, I’d’ve been 13. Don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I typed that… \*\* I have nothing to add to the drill discussion… But Miller, you are MY age? Weird, I’ve always thought you were much older…(sorry, hope I didn’t offend you… 🙂 ) ~J [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-drill/223300.md?page=2)