What Can You Use if You Don’t Have a Drill

2 min read

What Can You Use if You Don’t Have a Drill

Tools are important to every professional and amateur handyman. Unfortunately, tools break and get lost, and sometimes you’re in urgent need of a tool that you don’t have at hand for one reason or another.

Here at Fantastic Handyman, we’ve made a series of helpful articles about what you can use if you don’t happen to have a certain tool available:


Check also:

What to Use When You Don’t Have a Hammer
What to Use if You Don’t Have a Screwdriver
What to Use if You Don’t Have a Wrench


We are continuing the series with another essential tool every handyman should have in their tool box.

What Can You Use if You Don’t Have a Drill

The main function of a drill is to make holes for bolts in hard surfaces. The other function is to ease the stress of screwing bolts instead of using a manual screwdriver. It does come in handy when you have to screw a multitude of bolts.

So with this said, you can easily replace the second function by using a common screwdriver, as tedious as it can be. For drilling a hole, however, you need something different.

Method #1: For drilling holes into plastic

  • Heat a sharp piece of copper;
  • Place over the plastic surface, where you wish to drill a hole;
  • Let it melt the plastic into the shape of a hole.

The trick is to have the ideal size copper piece, but you can easily find it in your local hardware store.

Method #2: Make your own bow drill

  • Use two wooden sticks – tie a strong piece of string on both ends of one to serve as a bow, and the other should have a sharp end on one side and a handle on the other.
  • Scrape out a small hole in the wood, where you wish to drill your hole.
  • Place the pointy end of your second stick there and apply pressure.
  • Wrap the string (bow) around the drill bit.
  • Drill into the wood by pushing on the handhold and moving the bow.

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Method #3: Brace and bit

If you happen to own a tool called a brace, and if you’re in need of drilling larger holes, this is your solution. Simply apply pressure at the top of the brace and rotate the u-shaped bit.

Method #4: Self-drilling screws

You can save yourself a lot of trouble if you simply get your hands on self-drilling screws. Look in your local hardware store and just use a normal screwdriver.

These are the four most commonly used replacements of your drill tool. More handy tips on tool replacements are coming up, so standby.

Picture source: sergey0506/shutterstock.com

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7 Responses

  1. Christian Morales says:

    Nice Hack Life Tips.

    In my opinion, use your creativity when you have limited resources.

  2. Eric Crown says:

    Great article. It is good to remind us to use ingenuity to solve problems, like heating a pc of copper to drill a hole in plastic.
    As a home owner always wanting to change things, I cannot imagine not having an inexpensive 6-18volt battery powered drill. As a professional, having a high quality battery powered drill than can stand up to rough duty is important. But a typical homeowner can have a lesser tool, like a 6volt or 12 volt. Some even come in a convenient little bag for storage.

  3. Simon says:

    Eric Crown – some people don’t have the luxury to quickly run out to buy a tool when one breaks. So this is great info to have in an emergency.

  4. Landon "Wood Expert" Edgington says:

    Great blog! you might wanna add this too without a power drill: You can find a nail. Locate a nail that is smaller than your screw. Puncture your wall. Drive the nail into the wall far enough to make a hole. Remove the nail. Remove the nail and insert the screw.

  5. Sue Marcott says:

    Trying to drill drain holes 1″ in the basement of new whiskey barrel planters. The wood is hardwood. Bought a 1″ metal bit and a pilot bit.
    Finally got one hole drilled. But, the core is now stuck inside the 1″ bit. Removed the pilot bit. Any suggestions.
    Thanks, Sue

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