Specifically, drill bits. Though, after spending too much time around machinists, they're just drills. Adding "bits" gets you the side-eye. Dunno why.
Anyhow! Why do we buy right-handed drills? Right-handed drills make holes in whatever material. So do left-handed ones, and the holes are exactly the same. But when it really, genuinely matters which direction they twist, it nearly always means they really need to turn to the left. Usually because we're trying to get a broken bolt/stud/screw out.
I can very easily put my hands on probably 100 drills in my garage. And all but I think one are right-handed. The oddball was specifically purchased after the head parted company with a fastener, and I had to remove it the hard way. It made me think though--why aren't they all that way? I mean, one of the reasons why the majority of my drills are right-handed is because that's what's available cheaply and easily, and cheap drills are fine for the majority of things I do. There's times where a stubby set of amazing quality ones is the only thing that will do, but that's 2% of the time in my garage. It makes me think that we're all doing things wrong, from the manufacturers right down the line. The default choice should be cut leftwards, as it'll work just the same when you're poking holes in stuff, but it would mean that you'd always have the appropriate size to break off in a bo.... to try to remove a broken fastener.
What's wrong with us!?
Anyhow! Why do we buy right-handed drills? Right-handed drills make holes in whatever material. So do left-handed ones, and the holes are exactly the same. But when it really, genuinely matters which direction they twist, it nearly always means they really need to turn to the left. Usually because we're trying to get a broken bolt/stud/screw out.
I can very easily put my hands on probably 100 drills in my garage. And all but I think one are right-handed. The oddball was specifically purchased after the head parted company with a fastener, and I had to remove it the hard way. It made me think though--why aren't they all that way? I mean, one of the reasons why the majority of my drills are right-handed is because that's what's available cheaply and easily, and cheap drills are fine for the majority of things I do. There's times where a stubby set of amazing quality ones is the only thing that will do, but that's 2% of the time in my garage. It makes me think that we're all doing things wrong, from the manufacturers right down the line. The default choice should be cut leftwards, as it'll work just the same when you're poking holes in stuff, but it would mean that you'd always have the appropriate size to break off in a bo.... to try to remove a broken fastener.
What's wrong with us!?
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