STANLEY STDH7213 corded impact drill

Continuing my series of tool reviews, I’d like to tell you about a drill from one of the well-known tool manufacturers, STANLEY.
This won’t be a very long review, but I’ll still do my best to tell you as much as possible about this tool.

First, a brief aside. Stanley makes genuinely high-quality tools, but since I’d recently noticed a lot of power tools from them, I did a bit of digging online before placing my order to find out more.
It turns out that lately the company has been having some of its tools made by other manufacturers. In particular, the power tools sold here may well be made by Porter or Black & Decker.
That got me wondering how good Stanley tools really are, and whether they’re worth buying at all.
Since this tool is also widely available here, I think this review will be useful.

For this review, I chose a 720 W hammer drill. I was looking for a replacement for the one I currently use, which is already very “tired.”

The tool comes in a yellow-and-black cardboard box; those colors are, of course, Stanley’s trademark.


Here are the basic specs:
Power supply — 220 V, 50 Hz
Power — 720 W
Spindle speed range — 0–3,000 rpm
Impact rate in hammer mode — up to 54,000 blows per minute
Chuck capacity — 1.5–13 mm


There are traces of machine oil inside the box. The drill itself is in a plastic bag, and the chuck has its own bag as well.
It’s disappointing that quite a few perfectly respectable companies sell their tools in cardboard boxes instead of proper cases.


The package includes:
1. STANLEY STDH7213 drill
2. Auxiliary handle
3. Depth stop
4. Manual
5. Warranty card


The manual got oil on it too. It briefly explains, with pictures, what everything is for and how to remove the chuck. If only they’d included an angled screwdriver like the one in the bottom-right picture…


The manual is in English and Chinese.
The manual also says the drill can make holes up to the following diameters:
Metal — up to 13 mm
Wood — up to 32 mm
Brick/concrete — up to 16 mm

It also has a reverse function.


As I mentioned at the beginning, the package includes an auxiliary handle and a depth stop.
After using drills and rotary hammers for years, I can say I’ve never used a depth stop. I rarely use the handle on a drill, but with a rotary hammer I use it all the time.


The handle comes apart, but I don’t recommend taking it apart. When I dismantled the whole thing, a nut fell out, and it took me ages to get it back in place :)


Now let’s take a closer look at the tool itself.
The same yellow-and-black color scheme. The drill is a fairly substantial size; I wouldn’t call it small.


Unfortunately, there’s no choice of plug type, so you get the usual version with flat pins.
I’d recommend not using adapters. It’s much more convenient—and, above all, safer—to simply replace the plug.
The cable is moderately flexible and about 2.25 m long, which is quite good.
For example, the cable on my old drill feels like it’s made of plastic, while the one on my Makita rotary hammer is very flexible. This one is somewhere in between.


There’s a holder for the chuck key near the handle, which is quite handy. Usually, people tape the key to the power cord. The thing is, when it’s taped on, you can use it right there; here, you have to take it out.
From my own experience, I’m used to the key just rattling around in the case.


No real complaints about the looks: it’s a drill like any other, just yellow.


There’s a nameplate on the side with the main specifications, though most of it is in Chinese.
The version sold here has exactly the same nameplate, only in English.


The trigger is a classic design, combined with a speed control and a lock that holds it in the on position.
There’s also a dial on the trigger for setting the maximum speed. It’s usually used when the trigger is locked, but you can also use it simply as a speed limiter. By the way, the limiter has stepped adjustment, which is quite handy.
The forward/reverse switch is on top.
Reverse is certainly a very handy feature on a drill. Personally, though, I’ve only used it a couple of times at most, unlike on a screwdriver, where I use it all the time.


Top view.


The only thing on top is the mode selector, for drilling with or without hammer action, marked with the corresponding drill-bit and hammer icons.


The air intake openings are covered by a grille. Of course, it won’t keep dust out, but it’s still better than wide-open slots.


The gearbox housing is metal and quite large. I’ll compare it with another drill later.


The chuck jaws have grooves. I’ve seen similar grooves in the chuck of a Milwaukee screwdriver.
Personally, I didn’t find them very convenient—or maybe I just didn’t get the point. I can only guess that they help the chuck grip round shanks better, but may cause problems with hex shanks.


The stated chuck capacity is 1.5–13 mm, a fairly common range. I tried clamping a 2 mm drill bit. I could have tried 1–1.5 mm as well, but I don’t see the point: drilling holes that small with a relatively heavy drill would be awkward.
As you can see in the photo, the chuck is generously lubricated and turns very smoothly, without sticking.


The chuck manufacturer is not identified at all; the only information given is the clamping range and the chuck's mounting thread size — 1/2-20UNF.


I honestly tried to remove the chuck, but got stuck trying to unscrew the retaining screw. Since the drill has reverse and the chuck is threaded on, this screw prevents the chuck from unscrewing.
But my screwdrivers just kept slipping out of the slot. The manual shows an L-shaped screwdriver, but I don't have one at home.


The front bearing has a seal that looks like some kind of felt.


This is what the drill looks like fully assembled.
The handle can be fitted for either a right- or left-handed grip. Since I'm right-handed, I fitted it as shown in the photo.


The depth stop is secured with the same screw as the handle. But I have to say, inserting it isn't very convenient. I'd chamfer its right-hand end so it doesn't catch on the screw when you fit it.


The drill itself weighs a little over 2,100 grams, and more than 2.5 kg fully equipped, including the cable. I wouldn't call it lightweight; at least the Milwaukee screwdriver I reviewed recently weighs less.


Without the cable, the drill weighs 2,380 grams.


But the only way to get a more accurate idea of the tool's quality is to take it apart, which is what I'm going to do now.
The drill is fairly easy to disassemble, though there are a few details I didn't account for at first. I'll lay out the correct sequence below.
First, unscrew the back of the handle — three self-tapping screws.
Then push back the springs that press against the brushes and move the brushes away from the commutator.
After that, remove the four screws holding the gearbox housing in place.
That's it; the drill can now be taken apart into its components without any trouble.


The handle contains the speed controller, an interference-suppression capacitor, and a clamp that secures the power cable.


The interference-suppression capacitor is one of the first things manufacturers cut to save money, since users won't notice whether it's there or not. But its presence suggests that the manufacturer at least tried to meet the standards during production.
You can also see a dedicated space to the right of the switch for routing the wires, separated from the switch by a partition, which is quite useful.


The switch itself is fairly large, and all connections are made with screws and terminal blocks.
I didn't remove the switch from the housing, but on the parts I could inspect, I couldn't find any legible markings or manufacturer name.


The brushes are held in place by springs, which is a pretty convenient design. These springs move aside when you replace the brushes or take the drill apart.
The high build quality is immediately apparent. The manufacturer definitely deserves credit here; there's nothing to complain about.


The gearbox housing consists of two parts, with the motor cooling fan nearby. There's also a black plastic frame, but I had to remove it for the photo.
The gearbox housing is presumably aluminum, cast and then milled in places for a tighter fit. You can see the ground surfaces around the screw holes in the photo. The build quality is quite high; everything is neat and precisely fitted.


The armature is also faultless: a 5 out of 5 for workmanship. You can see the balancing marks, as well as the varnish coating and extra protection where the wires connect to the commutator segments.


The gaps between the commutator segments are cut quite deep. It uses a sealed Z809-type bearing made by Outdo.


As soon as I pulled the armature out of the stator, I noticed a small black cylinder.
At first I thought it was some kind of magnet, since it had stuck to the bearing, but it turned out to be rubber.
I spent a while wondering where it could have come from.


But after inspecting the inside of the motor, everything became clear.
The rubber piece sits right next to the bearing, pressing against it slightly. There's even a special spot for it inside :)
I wasn't entirely happy with the stator windings, though. They're usually given extra insulation with something like insulating paper, but here there's only varnish. I don't think that's critical in this case, but I would have felt more comfortable with the extra insulation.


It uses a two-stage gearbox with a reduction ratio of about 1:8.
The spindle shaft fits into a hole in the gearbox, where there's an additional bearing. You can see it on the right side of the photo.
All the gears are metal, although I once came across a drill with plastic gears.
Plastic (or, more precisely, caprolon) has its advantages, such as lower noise. It also lasts a long time (for example, caprolon is used for the worm in the worm gearboxes of automatic doors), but I consider metal more reliable for this application.

By the way, the specifications state that the spindle speed is 3000 rpm. I was initially going to check it, but the test happened on its own.
The thing is, 3000 rpm is 50 revolutions per second. When I switched on the drill with a spade bit installed, I happened to notice a stroboscopic effect: the bit spins fast, but when you look at it, it seems to be barely turning. Its rotational frequency was almost a multiple of the light source's flicker frequency. The flicker wasn't very strong (a 40 W, 220 V halogen bulb), but it was still noticeable. So I can say the speed really is around 3000 rpm.


To show the difference between a decent gearbox and a more “economical” one, I found a video showing the gearbox of a cheaper, less powerful drill.


The impact mechanism is located under the left gear.
Of course, you could say that an impact drill is just a toy and a rotary hammer is much better, but I think every tool has its advantages and disadvantages.
A rotary hammer is great when you need to chisel hard concrete efficiently, but when drilling brick, there will be almost no difference in performance. A rotary hammer can also drill like a regular drill, but its play (axial and radial) means it won't drill as accurately as a regular drill.
So ideally, you should have both tools. But if I were choosing one «for home and family», I'd probably go with a drill.
An impact drill can handle a few holes a year, even in concrete, but if you need to drill more than that, it's better to get a rotary hammer as well.


I didn't take the mechanism apart to show how an impact drill works (its operating principle is fundamentally different from that of a rotary hammer), but I found a video that explains it.
It's shown in the second half of the video. They still call this mode a rotary hammer, though, which is a mistranslation.
Unlike an impact drill, a rotary hammer has an actual hammer mechanism, and its impacts are much stronger and sharper, but less frequent.


Here's a comparison with my old drill. I bought it over 10 years ago, and it cost about $30 at the time. You can see it's been through a lot. Before I got a rotary hammer, I used it to drill 10–12 mm holes even in a load-bearing concrete wall, not to mention brick. It still works, but the chuck has developed a lot of noticeable play. The original brushes are still going, though, even though a spare pair came in the box.


As I mentioned above, I'm used to working with a drill without the auxiliary handle. In this case, that's not very comfortable, since it's quite heavy and much harder to hold.
The handle is also a little thinner than the one on my old drill, though I may just need to get used to it.
What does feel strange after using a cordless screwdriver is that you have to press the speed control trigger with two fingers instead of one. That means holding the tool with three fingers gripping it, rather than four. And the balance is completely different, too.
All in all, it's much more comfortable to use the drill with both hands rather than one, though that's true of many drills.


I also did a quick test. I didn't drill concrete this time, since the test slab is on a shared balcony, and running an extension cord or an uninterruptible power supply out there isn't very convenient. So I stuck to drilling the much-abused board that keeps making an appearance in one review after another. I have a feeling this won't be the last time I put it through the wringer.
I chose two bits: a 25 mm spade bit and a 10 × 220 mm twist bit.


I shot a short video during the test, and one drill bit took a beating. When drilling the second hole with the spade bit, you can see it bind slightly as it exits the wood. Since I was applying quite a lot of pressure, it bent. You can see that when I drill the third hole :(

Later, I remembered I also had a 35 mm Forstner bit, but I didn't feel like reshooting the video.


While testing, I also measured the power consumption. Drilling and taking photos at the same time is extremely awkward, so I tried drilling under a fairly heavy load and then checked the maximum reading recorded by the meter. To avoid current surges, I pressed the trigger gradually.
1. No load, maximum speed.
2. Drilling with a 25 mm spade bit.
3. Drilling with a 10 mm twist bit. Since the bit is long and I drilled to its full length, the result is higher than with the spade bit. The load would have been greater with a 35 mm spade bit.
4. This is the reading I checked after filming the test video. That's why I pressed the trigger gradually during the measurements, to avoid peaks like these.


And finally, here's a photo of a little «family» of Stanley tools. The wrench and screwdriver were sent to me as a gift by the Mastersity website. I use both regularly and am very happy with them.


Now I can wrap things up.
Pros
High build quality.
Decent power.
Reverse and hammer mode.
Metal gearbox

Cons
No plastic storage case.
No spare brushes included.
Hard to use with one hand.

My take: in short, this tool lived up to my expectations. I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, since I read some forum posts before ordering and also watched a teardown of an angle grinder from the same brand — one, two. Still, the build quality is pleasing. I do have one minor concern about the lack of extra insulation on the stator winding, but that's about it.
There's one point I didn't list as a con, but it would be a deal-breaker for me personally.
The drill has a maximum spindle speed of 3000 rpm. In my opinion, it would be much better to have a maximum of 1500 rpm, but with twice the torque. I think the 1500–3000 rpm range is less useful in real life than the 0–1500 rpm range. Of course, you could say that it has a speed control and can be used for drilling at 1500 rpm, but at that speed the drill will deliver not 720 W, but around 360 W; at 750 rpm, even less—around 180 W. This isn't a pro or a con, but it's something to keep in mind when choosing a drill.

That's all for now. As usual, I'm looking forward to your questions, comments, and just chatting.

The store provided a discount coupon — STDH. With it, the price will be $67.

The product was provided by the store for review.