Cordless Drills Recommendations

[Ben Rivel]

Always been a DeWalt users, for many many years now. Also a big Festool fan. However if I were starting again replacing the few cordless tools I kept over the years, my money would be going towards Milwaukee these days. They seem to be doing a lot of things right. That said however Im all about as few proprietary battery operated things as possible. Since I only work in my shop/garage I have little need for tools to be cordless and really only like cordless drills. Since all my other woodworking tools have dust collection ports setup to them there is no reason to have them be battery opterated.

[Jim Becker]

Bottom line is "pick a system" that you'll be happy with...like Ben, if I wasn't already heavy into Festool, I'd seriously consider Milwaukee. But I'd still want a lightweight drill/driver in my arsenal in addition to any heavier unit for heavy work. I use my little Festool CSX as my primary 90% of the time and don't feel like I'm lifting weights as I do when I pull out the heftier, higher voltage units. Milwaukee covers that pretty well. So does Bosch, AFAIK.

[Carroll Courtney]

Guys I hear ya'll loud and clear,what ya'll think about this?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-Compact-Drill-Impact-Combo-Kit

[Keith Outten]

Carroll I purchased that same kit a few years ago and I have been totally satisfied. I have also added a couple other Milwaukee battery tools and agree with what Andy said above that your first tool impacts future selection.

[Jeff Heil]

I bought that same set last year as my older impact driver and cordless drill had aging batteries with limited life and needed to be charged frequently. Old set were okay in the shop when the battery chargers were close by, but they have been used hard in the last 8 years building a house and cabinets and the batteries were shot. My old impact and drill were Rigid brand, no complaints. Those new Milwaukee tools are a great set. Used them this summer for a fencing and deck project and they performed well. Watch for deals, I scored an extra battery with the set on a Fathers Day Sale. This set goes on sale frequently. I also have a 20v Dewalt 1/2 drill that I bought as a part of a set this summer to get a cordless 6 1/2 circular saw. The Milwaukee and Dewalt drills are comparable in my use in the shop and for projects outside. I don't think you can go wrong either way, it comes down to what you prefer as others have said.

[Jim Becker]

Guys I hear ya'll loud and clear,what ya'll think about this?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-Compact-Drill-Impact-Combo-Kit

Check out Toolnut's offerings...they sell a lot of Milwaukee product and often have nice deals. RIght now, they have that with a free extra battery, too...

https://www.toolnut.com/milwaukee-28...combo-kit.html

[Brian Ross]

Brushless is the way to go. I have the older brush motors and the brushless. The batteries last a lot longer with brushless. Also a big Milwaukee fan. When comparing prices take a look at the amp hours of the batteries. The ones in the link are 2 Ah which is the smaller batteries. Nothing wrong with them just a shorter run time, still a good battery. The 3 ,5 ,8 and now 12 ah batteries are more expensive
Brian

[Carroll Courtney]

Pulled the trigger,and got an extra battery thanks for the heads up Jim and thanks guys for the suggestions. I did look at that Brian,if these don't get me through the day I may have to buy one as backup,but with 3 batteries I may not need to. We will see once get started on place,fingers cross.

[Jim Dwight]

That Milwaukee M18 set is a nice set and seems like a good price. I have a M12 drill and impact driver and I like them. I also have a Bosch click 12V and it is noticably lighter and still pretty powerful. I prefer driving most screws with the Bosch drill versus the Milwaukee impact. But even the M12 drills will not do everything my 18V Ryobi drills do. I can bore 2 1/8 holes for locksets with the Ryobi, for instance, but not the 12V Milwaukee. I suspect the M18 would do it, however. I have an angle grinder and cordless framing nailer in the M18 line and both are very capable tools. I find Ryobi drills to be fine but the little 5 inch circular saw is not very useful and the reciprocating saw has a lot of wobble in the blade mechanism, but it has done a lot of work for me.

The only thing I see questionable in the M18 drill driver set you are considering is the size of the batteries. 2 amp hour is a bit small. My M12 set also has kind of small batteries but they work. They just seem to need recharged fairly often. My M18 grinder and cordless nailer have 5 amp hour batteries. But that would also make the drill and driver significantly heavier. 2 amp hour is probably a reasonable compromise between long lasting and weight for a drill. I use 3 and 4 amp hour in my Ryobis, however.

[Ralph Okonieski]

Look at Toolnut for same system. They have free shipping now and if I read it correctly a second battery on that setup. I have no affiliation with them , just bought several different items from them and have been satisfied.check it out to make sure, I just looked quickly.

[Carroll Courtney]

That's who I purchase it from Toolnut and also got a free battery and free shipping thanks Jims link. I believe that I am going to really need that 1/2 drill cause I will need to drill 1/2 hole through 6x6 treated poles for those bolts with square washers. So it will come in handy when up on 12' ladder.

[Dave Sabo]

Here are some of my thoughts, musings, and rants.

+1 on the “feel” of the drill being key. I’d also suggest a big 18v drill plus a 12v for finesse stuff. Milwaukee’s lineup is nice in that a single charger will charge both platforms. Nice, but not a must have, especially if you’re not mobile.

+2 on checking out the platform. It’s nice to have an xtra battery or five on hand when you eventually buy a weedeater , blower , or work light. Be sure not to underestimate your future needs. I never really thought I’d ever get a battery powered saw, grinder or chainsaw. But I now have them on two platforms. The battery sawzall was a real game changer when I broke down and bought one.

Toolnut’s package on that drill is smokin good. I would tell you to seriously consider the bigger brother of the lineup though. It adds speed, torque, and a hammer function. Would probably come in handy when building a shop from scratch. Also 2.0Ah batteries are kinda small. Great for honey do chores, but they’re gonna drain fast when you start driving construction screws in PT decking or drilling 3” holes in siding. For me, 4.0 - 5.0Ah is the sweet spot for balance, runtime and cost. YMMV.

I have the Makita platform too , at 2nd location. It’s quality kit too. Their battery track saw is hard to beat at the price. I think overall it’s just a half step below Milwaukee in ruggedness. Not in a deal breaker sort of way though. Their double air cooled battery charger is sweet.

Festool hasn’t had a class leading drill in almost 15 -20 years. Back in the Ni-Cad and NiMh days they rivaled Panasonic for king of the hill. But they were late to the party on lithium and totally stuck their heads in the sand on 12v subcompact tools. The CXS already mentioned is a gem, but it’s looooooong in the tooth, not brushless and has middling runtime in comparison. It’s battery will power no other tools either. All Festool drills constantly lose out in head to head testing for speed, power and runtime against pretty much all name brand makers. Which really makes it a collectible.

DeWalt as a whole doesn’t do it for me, especially battery power. There are lots of satisfied guys out there though. The lineup just isn’t as consistently good in terms of features or offerings as the two M brands in my eyes. I still use some. of their corded gear daily FWIW.


I am also heavily invested in Bosch’s 12v lineup as they rivaled Milwaukee at the dawn of the 12v subcompact age. Now they just don’t have the breadth of offerings Milwaukee does, but their batteries have been some of the best I’ve ever used. I preferred the feel their small drill to Milwaukee, and that trumped the larger lineup for me. They have a 12v baTTery planer that I think is a marvel tool engineering. I’ve got a pair of their 5 in 1 that were mentioned that get used everyday. Mine are very rare brushless models with 6.0 Ah batteries. I get at least a week of work out of a charge. They can keep their 18v lineup.

[Ira Matheny]

Be cautious. Many manufactures have two or three levels of quality within their battery powered tools line up. The ones for sale at the Big Box Store, seem always to be the occasional use home-owner light weights.

Some manufacturers speak of universal battery use. They have several different 18v or 20v batteries and they are not necessarily interchangeable. Such as DeWalt's lineup are not totally interchangeable with the top line tools and the 'disposable' tool line-up. [20 v, 20v lithium, 20v XR] And the DeWalt batteries don't necessarily all use the same charger!

It gets very confusing as many manufacturers refer to 'inter-changable ' batteries. Yes, some batteries and some tools can be cross used. However they don't mean ALL batteries, and All tools in their [18v or 20v] line up using the same voltage are interchangeable.

I have recently switched exclusively to DeWalt brushless tools and their XR20 batteries. DeWalt does have several different levels of tool quality and they vary significantly.

I will not have multiple brands of tools, different chargers and different batteries. Enough of that. One Brand, DeWalt; One charger [type] DCC115; and One battery[type]XR20.

[Dave Sabo]

Be cautious. Many manufactures have two or three levels of quality within their battery powered tools line up. The ones for sale at the Big Box Store, seem always to be the occasional use home-owner light weights.

I cannot really agree with this. Especially with regard to Milwaukee and Makita. They have drills at different price points and to be sure the features and capabilities are lower on the cheaper tools , but they cannot afford the hit to their reputation that would come with substandard quality. A 2606 drill at the depoT is the same as one bought a Grainger or ToolCrib.

Some manufacturers speak of universal battery use. They have several different 18v or 20v batteries and they are not necessarily interchangeable.

Again, I can only speak about the M brands. Their 18v batteries fit all their 18v tools from the low priced to high. Brushed or brushless. No confusion, no disappointment. This would just be another reason for me to frown on DeWalt. Their 20v marketing wank is another.

[Charlie Jones]

If I have a job that requires really heavy torque, I drag out my old Milwaukee 14.4. For everything else it’s the Bosch 12V Max. I have a drill and impact driver and a one handed saws all. They are easy on the hands and have plenty of juice.