I’ve gone through a screw gun or 2 (or more) since my first one back in the ’80s, so I call myself an expert. So here is the best screw gun and the best drywall screw gun and accessories. The best AC Corded Electric Drill is at the bottom. My view: get the best quality you can afford and keep it for life.
We have other gift-idea-articles also (links at bottom).
Small Budget Best Screw Gun Winner:
The Black & Decker 3.6-Volt: I bought this on a day that I forgot my main tool, and it was low price at Home Depot. It was a quick-buy but wow, was I pleasantly surprised, it is a great quality screw gun for the price. It charges fully after years of hard use and it has not seemed to lose any power. I love my little orange drill.
Medium Budget Best Screw Gun:
The Dewalt DCF813S2, s 12-Volt Electric Wrench: over 1,000 lbs of torque, wow. This company knows what it is doing. Doubles as a perfect drywall screw gun or drill.
The three-year warranty is nice.
Big Budget, Highest Quality Screw Gun:
The Hitachi, now called Metabo* makes this 18V brushless powerhouse.
- ½-inch chuck will take any shank
- comes with two 18 volt lithium-ion batteries
- operates at 3 speeds
- automatic overheating protection
- only 11 lbs
- high torque setting for fast drilling
I love the belt hook: finally, someone is thinking over in Germany. Nice that the Japanese sold Hitachi back to the inventing country.
An unheard-of 3-year warranty on the battery packs: wow. They have an extremely long runtime
*Metabo comes from ‘metal boring’, the name for the original German drills.
Must-have accessories:
The icing on the cake of your best screw gun.
Hardened Steel Screw Bits: hello there
Quality screw gun bits don’t chip and turn into powder. I hate that! There will be times you need to really push hard, and those ‘budget’ ones from China?… sorry China, but they chip and go to the trash bin. I stopped buying any bit that is not top-of-the-line-period.
This set has 7000 great reviews.
100 Piece Combo Pack
This one has 4x the variety: nice. Because the metal is hardened steel, this set should last a professional for a very long time, not to mention a DIY-er. Just a smart investment we make.
Hex Drill Set
I have learned not to try to save money with drill bits, it is worth buying quality. In fact, it’s more expensive in the end to buy low-cost tools because they break and go dull.
But you can really push a Dewalt.
These have the hex base so they can be used in a screw gun tip or a normal drill chuck. Thanks Chuck.
Sort of pricey, but it’s worth it.
Magnetic Bit Tip Holder
I have been through quite a number of these and they all have pros & cons. What we look for is a strong magnet and an outer shell that does not rotate, so you can hold it as you screw.
Makita is the winner with this baby. Six clams. Very nice.
Universal Socket:
Don’t laugh but this doubles as guitar tuning winder! This socket adapter fits tightly around any size screw-head, hook, or thumb-screw up to 3/4 inch. RAK won’t break.
37 Hole Hex Bit Organizer—Magnetic:
This relates to my own invention, just below! Actually, you could make this tip holder yourself with a drill and wood, but the tips would fall out if you flip it. This is a rubbery and magnetic unit so they stay put.
This is a nice and low-cost add-on.
I invented the TIP-TIP. No patent pending: make you own today!
My best invention ever: glue your tip holder to your gun! We hate stopping to find the right tip… and for you dedicated readers, I made a video of how to do this: include the idea with your gift!
The type of glue is key. I like construction adhesive in a caulk gun tube because it’s so inexpensive. But Goop is the best glue for most things like this. You just wipe the surfaces clean with rubbing alcohol and do it.
You need a small bit holder like the one you see here: it has one row. If you buy one with a few rows, it sticks out too much, and in working you only need several bits, not many.
Sometimes you need options
This Chapman set comes with a screwdriver handle and lots of options. Very cool.
Check out the lever arm you can add to the shaft. It slides on to handle for more turning power. This is a complete set with all the slight variations in the size of bits.
Watch the Jay Leno 5 min. video on facebook here (it’s not found in an obvious place on the ChapmanMFG website).
Countersinks
The head of a screw, when sunk to flush with the wood, provides great strength as well as a clean look.
Dewalt had the forethought to make the drill bits inside all accessible with the same size Allen wrench. Why didn’t you think of that Mr. Stanley?
Spade (a.k.a. Spoon) Drill Bits
These spade bits can be sharpened, but I won’t go into that here.
To make this tool better, add on a larger size bit, not included in the set. Why? Those larger TV/computer plug holes we put in the back of the cabinet or desk:
This 1.5-inch spade is what I got.
Flex-Angle Tip Holder: my favorite tool for 2020
I took a chance on the more expensive one: I’m so happy with it. I used it several times per month just around the house and show it off to my buddies.
The best screw gun accessory I own, very high quality.
I use it all the time: I always know where it is.
Socket Drivers
It’s great to drive sockets with power. Select the longer shaft for a really nice addition to a screw gun gift.
These drive fittings come in two most common sizes—the ¼ inch and ½ inch.
My suggestion: since most folks have large and small sockets in a typical set, grab one of each…(both are options on this page).
Non-Hex Drill Bit Converter
I did not know this existed until last Christmas. Way to go Daddio!
Let’s you use standard round drill bits in your hex screw gun. I actually invented this in my mind many years ago.
Too late for that patent.
Here is a very useful add-on.
Stubby Ratcheting Screwdriver.
Size matters. But bigger is not always better. Sometimes you cannot get a screw in or out without a very short screwdriver and this one comes with hardened steel bits: it’s actually essential.
I had several individual shorties with different tips.
I replaced then all with this one. Nice.
Cordless Drill Holster
Cleary this is really cool, but it is also very useful. You just thread your regular belt through the slots and ‘hang ’em low’. This keeps you from having to put the gun down while you get the workpiece ready, then reach down while you hold your wood, etc, and drop stuff—BLEEP! It holds adapters/bits in the outer slots.
Look and buy here.
Mixing paint and mud just got easier 
Has a hanger for when not in use: attaches to any gun and saves your arms (especially when drywall mud mixing). Very handy.
It can be used for concrete mixes. When your buddy comes over, use it to bake a cake.
Smart-Bit Depth Limiting Drill Bit 
Overcomes our arch-enemy: sinking the screw too deep.
This is the best drywall screw gun combination on this page. You can replace the bit when needed.
Drill Stand for Hand Drills
There are times we need a perfectly vertical, or square hole. So this is like a drill press you keep in your cabinet.
Most of us don’t have room for a drill press anyway. Saves mucho dinero on a drill press.
Corded Drill Winner is the Dewalt DWD220.
Period.
In our tool gift post (link just below), we featured the Dewalt DWD220 over the DWD210G even though it costs a bit more because 210G does not have a clutch (the adjustable inner gear slips to prevent the drill or screw from binding, breaking, or going too deep). The clutch makes it a very good drywall screw gun if you need one so you can control the screw depth.
This is the highest quality corded screw gun on the market and not as expensive as I predicted when I shopped for it. A lifetime tool. We chose this because it excels in every category:
- Brand
- Chuck size
- Clutch or no clutch
- Speed
- Reversibility
- Ergonomics (2nd handle can be added quickly)
This Dewalt leaves the others in the dust. Really the best screw gun out there for the money.
Other gift idea pages—we love our tools as you can tell:
- Our list of cool tools…we did not know some of these even existed…like a vise that mounts in your trailer hitch…cool.
- Painting tools are not sexy or fun to buy, but everybody always need something.
- Some new tool inventions we give to people how are ‘handy’ and have everything already.
This article looks informative.
Still my favorite is the flex angle tip holder. So cool.