Dewalt 20 volt Max all day. Only oddball one I have is a Ryobi 12 volt lithium that over nine years old and still runs the original battery packs.
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Picked up a Makita 18v subcompact 1/2” hammer drill (no battery) off Home Depot's clearance rack for $60 last night
Ryan'smilling
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I have this kit. Or at least it matches that description. It's held up pretty well for 3 years now (I think 3 years, could be more). No complaints about the batteries, though the 1.5ah ones it comes with don't last real long. The drill is pretty wimpy compared to my dad's rigid or my BIL's milwaukee.
I'd actually like to swap my lineup for Milwaukee. From the ones I've had in my hands, they feel a little more substantial. I think dewalt stuff is great, but Milwaukee has way more tools beyond carpentry stuff than dewalt does. Also, my good buddy has a lot of Milwaukee stuff and it'd be handy to swap back and forth.
I believe dewalt has always been aimed at the construction worker like myself. There are different grades of the tools. I have the 3 speed non brushless drill and with some experience it will handle a 6.5 inch hole saw. We broke a Milwaukee hole hog with that hole saw. The bs drill in the cheap drill driver kit will not hold up to hole saws. But a drill is like a chain saw.. you can put it in high lean on it hard and ruin it in 5 minutes or let the thing do its job with a sharp bit and have years of success. My 9 year old makita impact will drive those 7 inch timber lag screws way better than my 3 year old dewalt. Just a fun fact.
I ordered it today. I checked the local fleet supply and their price was “ON SALE” for $249.99. Got it from Amazon with free shipping for 150. Since I was on amazon I ordered Full Metal Jacket dvd. Classic.
Ryan'smilling
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've been using a Bosch drill and an impact driver with 4x 18 volt batteries, for DIY, for... Let's think, about 7 years. It's been good, but I can't compare to other brands directly but my perception from other tools I've had, dad had and so on, DeWalt, Bosch blue, Makita all very similar but improving in that order. Milwaukee I've never used but perceive as a significant step up, somewhere around hilti. Battery stuff is getting better all the time
NSMaple1
Addicted to ArboristSite
Milwaukee Fuel M18. Have numerous drills, drivers, an impact, a circ saw and grinder. They all kick serious ass. Recip saw is on my look out list. Oh ya also have a string trimmer. Couldn't pass it up since I already had batteries.
My second choice would be Rigid.
My second choice would be Rigid.
I have all Hilti products: Reciprocating saw, Circular saw, Drill, Small impact with spring loaded chuck for 1/4" drive and 1/2" impact (aka The Beast). My wife bought this stuff for me about 7-8 years ago. All the batteries are still good and have great lasting power. The reciprocating saw gobbles up the battery the fastest, but it may be that I use it more continuously when it gets called into action.
The Beast story ... I was trying to remove the 30mm axle nut on my VW TDI. I had a 2 foot long breaker bar with a 3 foot log pipe slid over it - effectively making it a 4 foot long bar. Jumped up and down at that thing and the nut wouldn't budge. The Beast knocked away at it for about 10 seconds and the nut spun right off. If you don't own a cordless 1/2" impact, put one on your Christmas list. It will become one of your favorite tools.
Home Depot used to carry the Hilti brand, but dropped it a few years ago. I've been super pleased with everything.
As for batteries ... There is a place a few towns over from here that rebuilds YOUR batteries. I haven't had any experience, because my batteries are still good, but a friend has and he's had good luck thus far.
The Beast story ... I was trying to remove the 30mm axle nut on my VW TDI. I had a 2 foot long breaker bar with a 3 foot log pipe slid over it - effectively making it a 4 foot long bar. Jumped up and down at that thing and the nut wouldn't budge. The Beast knocked away at it for about 10 seconds and the nut spun right off. If you don't own a cordless 1/2" impact, put one on your Christmas list. It will become one of your favorite tools.
Home Depot used to carry the Hilti brand, but dropped it a few years ago. I've been super pleased with everything.
As for batteries ... There is a place a few towns over from here that rebuilds YOUR batteries. I haven't had any experience, because my batteries are still good, but a friend has and he's had good luck thus far.
I have Dewalt. Had the 18 volt system for years: I think it started as a five piece tool kit. Batteries need replacing once in a while; I could usually buy when I found some on sale. Or buy another tool with battery and charger, or garage sales and pawn shops. Usually had about four good batteries at a time. The last time I was running short, and my drill was acting like the switch was going out, I found a 20 volt drill and impact driver set on clearance, so I have been converting to 20 volt. This past holiday sale season was pretty good for picking up batteries and the 18 to 20 volt conversion set-up so now I can run all my 18 volt tools on the 20 volt batteries without having to spend money to duplicate tools I already have. I don't feel that there is any great advantage to be had having to carry around different chargers and batteries for different tools so I stay with one battery platform.
Before the Dewalt, I had a Milwaukee 18 volt set, but the sawzall broke and Home Depot and Lowes both quit stocking the batteries and I started noticing that much of their stuff was saying made in China, so it was time for a change.
Before that, I think I had a Ryobi set; they were definitely not as strong as the Milwaukee and Dewalt of the time, but a lot of people are using a lot of Ryobi these days with good results. I think I gave that set of Ryobi to a coworker to help him get started.
I do have some Echo 56 volt yard type tools also and I like them too.
Before the Dewalt, I had a Milwaukee 18 volt set, but the sawzall broke and Home Depot and Lowes both quit stocking the batteries and I started noticing that much of their stuff was saying made in China, so it was time for a change.
Before that, I think I had a Ryobi set; they were definitely not as strong as the Milwaukee and Dewalt of the time, but a lot of people are using a lot of Ryobi these days with good results. I think I gave that set of Ryobi to a coworker to help him get started.
I do have some Echo 56 volt yard type tools also and I like them too.
DeWalt here. Had all the standard 18v stuff, spent the last couple years upgrading to the 20v. Never had any issues. I use only 5 and 6 amp hour batteries, so I get plenty of work time from them.
Never worked much with other brands so I can’t compare, but I’m happy with Dewalt.
Never worked much with other brands so I can’t compare, but I’m happy with Dewalt.
Well my Dewalt pack hasn’t even shipped yet so I’m a bit concerned that they may be sold out.
I have a bunch of Craftsman 19?V tools and a cordless Makita and I run everything off DeWalt 20V with adapters. That Makita chainsaw can get the battery HOT HOT HOT though.
I have an old 12V drill that I hard wired a 20 foot cord with a cigarette lighter adapter to the end. It'll go all day on tailgate work.
Great to know this is an option!
Now that's a solid tip right there. I typically run a pair of batteries until they piss me off enough to buy new ones though.
Broke a 3/4” drive Snap-On bar doing that on my ‘68 Microbus!
Will they do Li-ion batteries? Last time I asked ‘Batteries Plus’ they would not touch them, but it’s been a while.
Philbert
Wow. Twice the price, but nothing better!
nathan4104
ArboristSite Operative
I couldn’t believe how tight those axle nuts were.... I just did all 4 of my bearings in my VW. Wish I had a good impact!!! Then putting them back on..... 150ft/lbs PLUS 180°?! Ya right!!!! I’d have needed a 10’ pipe to get it that tight!
A friend has a 1/2” Dewalt impact from Napa, not the box store version and it seems to make him happy. (Changing grader blade edges on the road)
I don't work in the trades. Just homeowner stuff (and not as often as the wife thinks I should). I settled on Ryobi One + for the bulk of my tools. Good prices especially when on sale at HD. So far they have worked plenty good for my needs. I've got a good assortment of tools at a reasonable price. So far they meet my needs.
Dewalt cordless drill, 18v Makita cordless driver, and I just bought the Dewalt recip saw and grinder. The grinder is nice, soft start and stop, both of the new tools are brushless.
My dewalt kit finally shipped yesterday. Guess I’ll have it for the weekend anyhow.
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