The operation of a power drill is straightforward for basic tasks like drilling holes, but understanding its settings can vastly improve its versatility and precision. Milwaukees drill/drivers and hammer drill/drivers feature various symbols and settings that adjust functionality and torque levels. By familiarizing yourself with these symbols and settings, you can optimize your drill for different materials and tasks, from drilling holes to driving fasteners and even handling dense materials with a hammer drill. Pay attention to the torque selector, mode selector collars, and other indicators like the battery level, which ensure efficient use of your Milwaukee drill.

The general operation of a power drill isnt rocket science: you squeeze the trigger, the bit spins, you put holes in things. However, that only applies when all youre doing is putting a hole in something, and you dont especially care how big or deep the hole is. If youre looking to do more detail-oriented work, you should take a close look at the tool. Most power tools have multiple functions and settings that can help you do your best work.

For example, if youre using a Milwaukee-branded drill/driver or hammer drill/driver, you may notice a variety of small symbols patterned around the devices tip and handle. By learning what these symbols mean and how they affect your drills functions, you can set your drill to best suit the material youre working with and the size and depth of the hole youre shooting for. For even more useful info, check out our close look at the history of Milwaukee Tools .

Drill/driver settings

The Milwaukee drill/driver, as the name implies, can be used for both drilling holes into materials and driving fasteners into existing holes. To use these functions, you need to set the devices onboard selector for your preferred mode and power level.

The modes are marked around the torque selector collar behind the devices tip. According to the Milwaukee drill/driver owners manual (PDF) , if you want to use the drilling mode, you need to turn the selector collar to the drill symbol so it lines up with the selector arrow on the top of the device. It looks like a little left-pointing arrow with some diagonal lines on it.

If you want to use the driver mode, you need to turn the selector collar to one of the numbers printed around it. These numbers are the clutch settings; if youre trying to drive in a larger fastener, you need to set the torque on the device higher to accommodate. For even bigger jobs, a Milwaukee hammer drill can help out with major remodels .

Hammer drill/driver settings

Since a hammer drill/driver has more functions than a regular drill/driver, the icons that control its functions are a little more varied and complex. Like the regular drill/driver, the hammer drill/driver has a torque selector collar with numbers on it for controlling torque levels. In addition to that, though, theres a secondary application selector collar behind it with three symbols: a drill, a hammer, and a screw. Rotating this collar allows you to set which of the devices three modes you want to use.

The drill setting is for the drill, used to bore holes. The screw setting is for when you want to drive a fastener into a hole. The hammer setting is for the hammer-drill, used for when you need to make a hole into especially dense material like masonry. Keep in mind that the torque selector only comes into play when using driver mode; it doesnt matter what number its on when using drill or hammer-drill mode.

Miscellaneous icons

While the icons and numbers on the selector collars are the most important symbols to understand for your drills day-to-day usage, there are a few other icons and switches you should be aware of.

If you look on the side of your drill, youll see a button with a little side-pointing arrow on it. Thats the forward/reverse setting. Push the button to flip the drill bits rotation to clockwise or counterclockwise. You should also be mindful of the battery fuel indicator on your drills attached battery pack. The battery symbol has four bars next to it that wink off as power is consumed. If all four bars are on, youre at full charge, and if only the leftmost bar is on, youre almost empty.

The exact placement of the icons on your Milwaukee drill may vary slightly depending on your model, but they all mean the same thing. Once you understand the icons on one drill, youve got the gist of it. Once youve got a good handle on all your drills functions, you might expand your collection of highly rated cordless Milwaukee tools .