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Thread: Recommendations on a new Drill

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Beautiful Lexington, SC
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    Recommendations on a new Drill

    I have a Makita 18 Volt cordless drill which has served me well for 12 years, it's still doing fine. It's big, heavy and powerful.

    I'd like some recommendations on the smallest cordless drills available, I will use it almost exclusively for the tiny hardware on 3"X 5" boxes I enjoy making.

    Thanks,
    Tim

    Happy New Year !!

  2. #2
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    Jul 2007
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    I have the Bosch PS22 and PS32 combo and I love them. I have a bigger drill driver I use for construction stuff and big holes, but for almost all woodworking jobs I use the little guys.

    If I were buying today, I'd take a good look at the Bosch GSR12V. It has interchangeable heads that could be really handy, especially the offset head for getting close to an interfering surface and the right angle head for close quarters. I may buy one even though I have the other two.

  3. #3
    You should take a look at the new Makita 18V brushless "Subcompact" drill. It's got enough power for 80% of what a carpenter would do, much less what you're describing, but it's pretty light and well rounded if you're looking for a single cordless drill to do it all.

    If you really just want something specifically for small scale woodworking, consider checking out some 12V brushless drills. I like Makita and Milwaukee drills, but Dewalt's cordless stuff has really stepped up over the last couple of years.

  4. #4
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    Dec 2016
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    Mesa, AZ
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    Lovin’ my DeWalt DCD791D2 20V brushless.

  5. #5
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    Hey Paul ... sounds like a great option, going to have a look at it right now.
    Thanks,
    Tim

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul F Franklin View Post
    I have the Bosch PS22 and PS32 combo and I love them. I have a bigger drill driver I use for construction stuff and big holes, but for almost all woodworking jobs I use the little guys.

    If I were buying today, I'd take a good look at the Bosch GSR12V. It has interchangeable heads that could be really handy, especially the offset head for getting close to an interfering surface and the right angle head for close quarters. I may buy one even though I have the other two.

  6. #6
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    Feb 2007
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    Beautiful Lexington, SC
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    Hi Phillip,

    Thank you for the very specific recommendations, I appreciate it.
    Tim

    Quote Originally Posted by Phillip Mitchell View Post
    You should take a look at the new Makita 18V brushless "Subcompact" drill. It's got enough power for 80% of what a carpenter would do, much less what you're describing, but it's pretty light and well rounded if you're looking for a single cordless drill to do it all.

    If you really just want something specifically for small scale woodworking, consider checking out some 12V brushless drills. I like Makita and Milwaukee drills, but Dewalt's cordless stuff has really stepped up over the last couple of years.

  7. #7
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    Feb 2007
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    Beautiful Lexington, SC
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    Thanks Josh, I'll take a look at it.
    Tim


    Quote Originally Posted by Josh Lucus View Post
    Lovin’ my DeWalt DCD791D2 20V brushless.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    Mid Michigan
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    12v Bosch or Milwaukee......the brushless models will be the smallest ones out there.

    Milwaukee has a broad scope of tools in the 12v line, might be something else there you didn't know you needed......

    Ed

  9. #9
    I have the DeWalt 12V drill and driver (two units). I bought them because my 18V DeWalts were getting too heavy for me (I'm getting older). But then I upgraded the 18V units to the 20V units and they are lighter, but the 12V is lighter still. The 12V units work great for me.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  10. #10
    IMHO in your situation I would go with Milwaukee that gives you the option of using either the small battery or the large one. Use the smaller one for light duty work such as your boxes and have the large battery on hand should you nee more run time.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    NW Indiana
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    3,078
    I have a Ryobi Tek4 drill that has a clutch on it. I use it for small stuff like box hinges with little screws. Might be worth a look.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
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    Florida
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    I recently switched from a makita 18v set to the Milwaukee 12v. I love it. Plenty of power for 90% of general construction and wood shop uses. I’ve not found a task yet that it wasn’t up to but I suppose if you were boring 4” holes through cinder blocks it would not be adequate. Loved my makita but dead batteries prompted the change. The reduction in weight has been huge for me though. The brushless tools are much lighter than the 18v counterparts but are capable of most of the same work. Check them out if you are still looking. Home Depot may still have sales going that include free tools or batteries.

  13. #13
    I like my Ryobi 18V drills but for driving screws I normally use my impact which is lighter. I've used my son's Milwaukee and is very small but will still do real work.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,688
    I recently decided to to a second drill/driver to support assembly work. Driving screws isn't a "heavy" task, especially with pre-drilling, so I wanted small and lightweight. Since I'm "married" to the Festool system, I chose the small CXS drill/driver. But most of the major brands have small 10-12v D/Ds that are well suited to the same tasks. When I was installing the large, kitchen "continent" top commission recently, the cabinet guys were using a few of the very small Milwaukee for driving screws. It looked like a very nice, compact D/D. It's kind of a "pick your brand" of preference situation here.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
    I've been eyeballing the 12v Makita to complement my 18v Rigids.
    My brother has the 12v Milwaukee, and my brother-in-law the 12v Bosch, both of which use the cylinder style batteries that are part of the handles. They are both nice drills, but they are ergonomically inferior to the Makita, for me personally.

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