There is a good reason why a lot of people choose to stick with a single brand when it comes to power tools -- batteries are fairly expensive, and building up a decent collection of them is a pretty good incentive to stick with the brand that they are compatible with. There are a handful of non-Ryobi products that will work with the company's 18V One+ batteries, for instance, but most other major brands, such as Milwaukee, have their own proprietary systems that are not interchangeable. This might
lead you to believe that other accessories, such as drill bits, might not be compatible either. Fortunately, that isn't the case.
Milwaukee makes a wide range of highly rated drill bits that would make an excellent addition to just about any tool kit. Not only do these come in a wide range of sizes and styles, but they're also made from quality materials and many of them have special coatings that help them to work longer and cut cleaner. Best of all, you don't need Milwaukee tools to use them. These products will work just fine in your Ryobi drill as well.
Read more: 5 Non-Ryobi Products That Work With Ryobi Batteries
How Ryobi's Drill Chucks Work
To understand why Ryobi drills are compatible with Milwaukee drill bits, you may first wish to learn a bit more about how the drill's chuck works. A chuck is the part of the drill that secures the bit in place. There are keyed chucks that require a separate tool to engage the locking mechanism, but most modern Ryobi models use keyless chucks that are engaged by rotating one part of the chuck while holding the other in place. The device itself contains three metal clamps that are designed to grip both round and hexagonal drill bit shanks. These are evenly spaced and move in unison when tightening or loosening the chuck. When the drill is engaged, the chuck rotates with the drill's motor, applying this same rotational force to the bit and allowing the tool to function as intended.
This simple yet effective adjustable clamping system allows modern drills to hold a wide range of drill bit sizes and shapes. The only issue you may encounter with Ryobi's drills is if the shank of the bit is too small or too large to adequately fit in the chuck's clamping range. According to the manufacturer's product support page, "A typical Ryobi Drill Driver will accept bits in the adjustable chuck between 2mm to 13mm. Most typical driver bits will have a standard ¼" Hex fitment for compatibility with both Drill Drivers and Impact Drivers." Luckily, the Milwaukee M18 tools system makes chucks in the same size range. That's why Ryobi is able to use many (if not all) of the bits that Milwaukee currently makes.
Milwaukee's Drill Bits Fit Comparable Ryobi Products
Milwaukee makes a lot of drill bit sets. The company offers sets for wood, metal, tile, hammer drilling, hole saw kits, and concrete drilling and chiseling. While it's difficult to verify the shank size of every product that Milwaukee makes, it doesn't appear that any of them exceed the 13mm maximum size that serves as the upper limit for Ryobi chucks. This makes choosing the right drill bits for your Ryobi drill pretty easy.
Many of Milwaukee's bits are designed for specific power tools and aren't meant to be paired with a standard drill, so you will still need to ensure that you're pairing the right type of bits with the right type of tool, regardless of brand. That said, most standard drill bits that are intended to work with a Milwaukee drill, such as the M18 Fuel ½-inch Drill Driver, will also fit a comparable Ryobi model, such as the standard 18V One+ ½-inch Drill/Driver. These two tools have the same size chuck and can therefore competently grip the same size drill bits.
Some of the bits in these sets have round shanks, and some of them come with hex shanks. Ryobi's standard drills can use both, but certain tools, such as the Ryobi 18V One+ Cordless ¼-inch Impact Driver, use a quick release collet instead of a chuck. These tools are only able to use bits with hexagonal shanks of the appropriate size. That said, the Milwaukee Fuel ¼-inch Hex Impact Driver also uses the same size collet. So, any bit that is compatible with the Milwaukee model will also be compatible with the Ryobi version.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
