Cordless drill recommendations

[Per Swenson]

Ok

Take this with both a grain of salt, part opinion, a little

prejudice, from someone who kills drills for a living.

Get a drill and a impact driver.

I don't own it (yet) but consider that new combo from Makita.

Pricey but all in one.

Festool man I am, but I don't own one of their drills, yet.

Like I said, I kill em. 1 every 8 months, sometimes two a year.

And I have to think long and hard about a five hundred dollar tool

I know I am going to drop. A lot. And far.

Same with corded drywall guns.

I now only buy hiltis drwaller's, they last longer.

Yes, because I go through so many I have opinions on all of them.

Some justified.

Sorry keep your dewalts.

I don't like em.

Porter cable, use to be a fan. No more.

Take a memo to P/C Bob, ( I always say stuff like this on the job.)

The chucks suck.

Bosch, I have battery issues here.

My Milwaukee, walked off the job with not enough time to fail.

Today, and just for today, Makita and the Panasonics.

Maybe on Monday I will spring for a festool......


Then I will be ascairt to drop it.

Oh yeah, I have a metabo too, the only reason I still do

is I don't use it. Why? I just don't like it.

Battery issues also.

Avoid the harry the home owner tools at all cost's

If you are here and reading this you must be looking for quality

not a bargain. And they are no bargain.

Per

[Charles Wilson]

Bosch 18v Blue Core

Best drilll that I have used to date.

Chuck

[Glen Blanchard]

Just bought some 18V DeWalt stuff from these guys via "Buy It Now". Great prices!! No affiliation - just satisfied customer.

http://stores.ebay.com/Hardware-Sale...QQftidZ2QQtZkm

[Jim C Bradley]

Hi,
First of all I want to say that I am very easy on tools, automobiles, etc. I am still using pliers, handdrill, screwdrivers, etc. from my tools given to me in grade school. Since I am now 81, that has been a long time. I mention this because:
I have had three Black and Decker Firestorm drills. I have had three fail. The first two were 12v. The last one, 18v, literally caught on fire when I installed a new battery. I took it to Home Depot and it caught on fire when they tried it. HD had me contact B&D. Their reply to me was, "Go buy a new one."
I don't think the next drill will be Black and Decker.
However, the drills were powerful, well balanced (the 18v was a little too heavy for my small body), the chucks were great. Changing torque settings required major muscle involvement.

Enjoy
Jim Bradley

[Gary Keedwell]

I had my eye on the Mikita Combo, too. If I used it every day....
Gary K.

[John Piwaron]

FWIW, I have a 14.4v Milwaukee drill. It's got a 1 hour charger that stops the charge when the pack is full. Right now it's 2 years old, not very old as these things go but to date, it's done everything I've put it to including functining as a paint stirrer with one of those squirrel cage things.

I highly recommend the Milwaukee with a NiCad battery.

[Bob Aquino]

I've got the 14.4 Bosch, had it for about 2 years, got it with the small circular saw. I like it, plenty strong. Dont know if the battery life is all that great, but I have about 5 batteries all told. Also have the cordless jigsaw, thats a handy tool to have. Seems to cut as nicely as my Metabo, but dont have to jack around a cord. Only thing I would like to have would be another charger.

[Andrew Chavchich]

Hi Charles

I have had a Dewalt 18 volt for 7 or 8 years. This is a real workhorse....

I have had a Dewalt 18 volts for 10 years, unbelievable amount of abuse, fell from stepladder many times sometimes on ceramic tile floor, performed tasks that are simply too much for it and I sniffed something burning inside.
Still running fine. Undestructible!
Now I have 2 more Dewalt cordless drills.

Little bit too heavy though.

[Clint Winterhalter]

I bought this a year and a half ago. I've used it for every kind of thing that you can think of...from installing a kitchen to mixing floor leveler. I can't say enough about it.

I too have a 18volt set from Milwaukee. Great drill! I find the ability to reverse the batteries handy. I bought a kit from the orange borg.. I paid $479 for a 18volt drill, a Cordless circ, chorldless sawzall and a light. All came in a fashionable tote. (note the tote hasn't seen the light of day!) A good friend of mine found the same set reconditioned for $329 Drop me a note if you want the link..
Clint

[Eugene A. Manzo III]

My first cordless was a skill was nice the two months it lasted. Then I Purchased a 9.6 v Makita I was doing extensive home remodeling and that was the best money I ever spent. I have since purchased a 12v Makita and an 18 v DeWalt hammer/drill They both are very nice tools. I think 18v
is a little to heavy for shop use. I'm going to try out the Bosch mini driver.



But I can tell you for sure Either choice will be quality Makita or DeWalt

[skip coyne]

I've used cordless drills since "way back when " owned and killed makita (4), Milwaukee (2), dewault (2), all seemed to last me 2-3 years . tried ryobi it went 6 , I'm 3 years into my second .

dropped 'em off ladders to concrete , etc

lots of bang for the buck .

walk on any job site around here and you will see mostly ryobi in use

[Matt Miklos]

I would look at the Bosch Pocket Driver, it is super light and compact at less than 2 pounds and rough dimensions of 6 by 6.5 inches, full recharge in under 30 min, will drive 100 3 inch wood screws on a single charge, around 80 inch pounds of torque, and it comes with a 3 yr warranty!! I was skeptical about buying one and then had a chance to demo one and ended up buying two. Amazon has the best price I could find as of today @ $113.00.

[Brian Dormer]

I have an older DeWalt and a recently purchased Craftsman (it was an impulse buy). The Craftsman is lighter, better balanced, has far more torque and higher speed than the DeWalt (although the batteries don't seem to last quite as long). Drilling Kreg Pocket screw holes is like night and day. The old DeWalt has become a dust catcher and might even be fodder for my next yard sale. Go check them out at Sears before you buy.

[Dick Durbin]

I'm sure a lot of guys will disagree, but I've had a great experience with SKIL.

The first cordless drill I bought was a 9.6 volt Skil. Worked like a charm, but it was recalled and replaced with a 12 volt. It has never held a charge well and is now dead. I did a little research and found that Skil has had trouble with their chargers dying.

I e-mailed Skil about the problem and here was their response:
"Thank you for writing Skil Power Tools. All available parts and accessories for Skil Power Tools can be ordered directly through our parts office at 1.800.346.4103 (menu option 1). You will need to call them directly to verify pricing and availability of the item. You may place your order by phone and they will ship it directly to you. Please write back if you have any other questions."

I'll never buy another Skil product.

[Dan Lautner]

I bought the Makita litheon combo 6 months ago. I had an 18V Bosch before that. The Makita is a true gem. Ergonomics are near perfect. Batties last a long time and hold a charge well when not in use. Here is my ratings. So far nothing has broken and the batteries seem fine.


Impact Driver - 10 This thing is a true workhorse and very light

Drill/ Hammer - 9 Excellent tool a tiny bit chunky

Circ Saw - 9 Light ergonomic with better than average power

Recip Saw - 10 Almost perfect tool, good power, would not use for
railroad ties

Grinder - 9 Comes in super handy for light use applications




Dan