Cordless Drill

[Moss Man]

Seeings as how the tool forum never got launched, here we go.

My Crapsman cordless drill is shot and it's time for a new one. A couple friends recommend Dewalt, one recommends Milwaukee. I mostly use it in the saw shop, but I need one with some balls too.

What size and what brand, within a reasonable price. :bang:

 

[teatersroad]

I thought there was a tools thread in here serving the purpose. anyhow's. my professional choice..Makita. After that, I look to the good deals on other reputable makes. Panasonic actually had a decent cordless, I've had poor luck with Bosch cordless drills. Hitachi might be a good choice. Like saws, consumer and pro lines throughout.

I think tool co's have niche tools they are known for. Hitachi makes great framing nailers, Milwaukie has great hole hogs, bosch and porter cable routers, Skil worm drives, on and on, Makita dominates my toolbox though, and their 10" sliding compound is tops for trim work. The only DeWalt I have is a table saw, a good unit.

edit> should I continue? ok jobsite tools

Jigsaws _ Bosch
Portable planers_ Bosch
Surface Planers_ Makita
Reciprocating saws_Milwaulkie
Roofing Nailer_ Bostich
Finish Nailers_ well, I think Senco went TU. so. no preference
Tile saws_ MK, Target, Felker
Hammers_ Vaughan
Hand planers_ Record
Compressors_ Rol-Aire (though I really like my Makita)


not definitive or authoritative, just a ramble.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Just bought a Mastercraft (Menards store brand, not sure who makes em) 18v Li-Ion. Haven't worked it hard yet, but feels good in the hand, lots of torque, and a built in little led light that already came in handy working in a dark corner of the closet.

Paid $170 ish for it, with 2 batts and charger. Also bought the recip saw to match it for $80 w.o batts.

I'll stop short of swearing by em yet, but they seem well built so far, and my construction buddy raves about how long the Li-Ion batts last compared to the old ones.

Edit: Added a pic

 

[stubnail67]

ridgid

ridgid lifetime warrnty on the batterys hands down best warranty out there!!!

 

[teatersroad]

ridgid lifetime warrnty on the batterys hands down best warranty out there!!!

k, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of Ridgid tools. Bought a 6" d.a. sander in a pinch and it's been great.

Who knows where anything is made. My first sliding compound (20 yrs ago) was a DeWalt, made in Italy, and not yellow. They have been around for eons, I think popular radial arm saw makers. Black and Decker or somebody bought them after turning their own name ugly, ran with the yellow tool thing.

 

[twiztedsix]

Makita even though they are pricey nothing else even comes close.

 

[BryanEx]

ridgid lifetime warrnty on the batterys hands down best warranty out there!!!

If I'm not mistaken, Rigid no longer includes the battery in the lifetime warranty.

 

[stubnail67]

ive had alot of them!

ive had alot of cordless tools i love dewalt they are durable used them for years but man the batterys would all go out with hard use after about 2 or 3 years ridgid will replace them as long as you register your tool kit or drill after you purchase it ive replaced 5 batterys and had one drill replaced the guy is like 15 minutes from my house been a cake walk every time i have 3 craftsman drills now that the batterys died and it cost 53 bucks to replace one LOL if the ridgid one goes bad knock on wood boom no problem long as you regiter that tool i love it man and im hard on tools dont get me wrong love dewalt but the battery deal is to good to pass up! huh? i will look that up not if ya buy just the battery i will be back it must be a new thing???

 

[steven1955]

I strongly recommend getting lithium ion batteries. They're a lot smaller and lighter than either Ni-Cd (Nickel Cadmium) or Ni-MH (Nickel Metal Hydride) for the energy they hold. Lithium ion also has a very low self discharge rate and is better than Ni-Cd or Ni-MH. Ni-Cd will self discharge in about 3 months, and Ni-MH can self discharge in as little as a month.

I don't know whether it's the case with their new cordless drills, but several years ago (5-10 years) Dewalt had a high failure rate in their cordless drill gearboxes. They were using a new injection molded metal process to make their gearboxes with little or no secondary machining. Hopefully Dewalt has worked out the kinks in that process, or moved away from it.

I have a friend who's leading a group of volunteers who are restoring a WW2 bunker, Battery 519, at Fort Miles in Lewes, Delaware. A bunch of them are using Makita lithium ion cordless drills for both personal use and when working in the bunker. They love them and they are holding up well.

Having said that, what I'd do is go to the store and handle the drills to see which ones fit your hand well and which ones you like the balance of. My Ni-Cd Milwaukee was chosen on the basis of high torque and a handle I liked.

Try to stick with the better brands unless you're strapped for cash. (Not Craftsman, B&D, or Ryobi) Don't buy less than 14 volts. (18 volts might be the minimum for lithium ion in the better brands.)

Finally, as soon as you get your drill home put a drill bit (drill rod is better) and check the drill for runout. Some drills have bent output shafts, and some have bad chucks. It's a pain to deal with drill bits that always seem to wobble, and most of the time you see that is when you have a defective drill.

 

[galde]

If I'm not mistaken, Rigid no longer includes the battery in the lifetime warranty.

Ridgid guarantees for life both tool, charger and batteries provided that the purchase is registered with Ridgid at the time of purchase. For this reason I wouldn't buy any other ( even if actually better) cordless tool brand.

 

[stubnail67]

at the bottom just copy pasted it a minute ago!

LIFETIME SERVICE AGREEMENT FOR RIDGID® HAND HELD POWER TOOLS, STATIONARY
POWER TOOLS AND PNEUMATIC TOOLS
In addition to the 3-Year Limited Service Warranty currently included with RIDGID® Brand Hand Held
Power Tools Stationary Power Tools, and Pneumatic Tools, purchasers of these products may elect
for a limited time to receive a free Lifetime Service Agreement. To accept this Lifetime Service
Agreement, you must register your product and submit proof of purchase as described below. The
Lifetime Service Agreement provides the original owner of qualifying RIDGID® Brand tools a lifetime
of free replacement batteries, free service and free replacement parts subject to the limitations set
forth below. YA had me worried for a minute LMAO!

 

[joe912]

The Swiss-made Bosch drills are great. In the 9 years that I've had my Bosch 18V(Ni-Cd) Brute-Tough, I haven't had a single problem with it. I also have a Li-ion Hitachi, and all I can say is.....I won't purchase another one

 

[Anthony_Va.]

I have been running the 36 volt Dewalt tools at work for awhile now. Some days they get alot of use. They are by far the most powerful tools I have used without a cord. They are a little pricey though. He has a drill/hammerdrill, a circular saw and a recip saw. The drill has enough power to run a 3/4" wood bit through a fencepost with relative ease.

 

[Zombiechopper]

Dewalt.

Always Dewalt for cordless. Corded tools I'm not very picky but I've seen some Dewalt drills get absolutely abused on jobsites and keep going for years and years

 

[nmurph]

i have a dewalt, 3-speed, 1/2" cordless. it has been great. i think it has something like 450in/pds of torque. the batteries only lasted about a yr, but i sent them off and had them rebuilt. so far the rebuilt batteries seem to last longer on a charge. the person that rebuilt them told me that factory dewalt batteries were not as good as most. he rebuilt them with panasonic batteries. after some serious reading on the battery rebuilding thing, i think he was shooting straight with me.
i would def opt for Li batteries, given the choice.

 

[justtools]

Seeings as how the tool forum never got launched, here we go.

My Crapsman cordless drill is shot and it's time for a new one. A couple friends recommend Dewalt, one recommends Milwaukee. I mostly use it in the saw shop, but I need one with some balls too.

What size and what brand, within a reasonable price. :bang:

Hi Makita and Milwaukee cordless tools are great, Do you use your drill for drilling or screw driving? If screw driving check out the cordless impacts. They have 3 times the power of the drill. Most impacts use a 1/4 slip chuck and you can buy all the accessories in the world. We now only use a drill for drilling in the automotive world. The impact does everything else

 

[sawkiller]

I give away my Dewalt and Milwaukee cordless tools because the cost of replacement batteries was just to high to keep them running. One was even a 24v dewalt drill and sawzall set. Bought the ridgid and never looked back they do everything I want them to do and they are gauranteed for life for me it is a no brainer buy them once or every 3-4 years.

 

[Anthony_Va.]

i have a dewalt, 3-speed, 1/2" cordless. it has been great. i think it has something like 450in/pds of torque. the batteries only lasted about a yr, but i sent them off and had them rebuilt. so far the rebuilt batteries seem to last longer on a charge. the person that rebuilt them told me that factory dewalt batteries were not as good as most. he rebuilt them with panasonic batteries. after some serious reading on the battery rebuilding thing, i think he was shooting straight with me.
i would def opt for Li batteries, given the choice.

I had'nt had the best luck out of the 18v batteries in my drill either. Had to replace them once before and the ones I have now seem like they're holding up well. First ones lasted me almost two years though and thats when I was doing alot of roofing to they did get used but for the price I think they should have lasted longer.
The 36v batteries are different. They are doing something new with them and I can't remember what it is now, but the ones we have at work still hold a charge for 5 or 6 hours of solid, small hole drilling before they let up any and they recharge in an hour. He's had those tools for a couple years now and the batteries seem to get better with use!
For the price they fetch, they should last for a good while. I think that the tool set was almost 800 bucks. They are very strong though.
I like Makita too, just not quite the power of the Dewalts. But they are tough.

 

[rxe]

I have a DeWalt cordless that has had the living c**P beat out of it fixing up two houses - it is still going fine after about 7 years.

Though if you want a driver rather than a hammer drill, get a Festool. Rather don't get one, borrow one, as they are crazy money. Best cordless I've used - only 12V, but leaves the 18v DeWalt for dead.

 

[dingeryote]

I flat gave up.

I have two high dollar Dewalt drills gathering dust because the damn replacement batterys cost more than buying a 60 dollar Kawasaki cheapie 18volt, that comes with 2 Batterys that last longer than the garbage Dewalt batterys.

I looked at makita and Bosch and the rest. Nice stuff.
But the cheapo Kawasaki is made in the same place, and works as well for our use, plus if I run the thing over, or it grows legs, I don't care.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote