Cordless drills - need new one so ATOT must help

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Jeeebus

Jeeebus

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
9,181
901
126
Old drill is ready to be retired and has served me well (not really, it was a PoS Black & Decker 6v).

Need an upgrade - was looking at Milwaukee and DeWalt kits, and clearly my first inclination was to ask a forum of computer geeks for opinions.

Any advice, my pasty skinned, bulk beef buying brethren?
 
M

MotF Bane

No Lifer
Dec 22, 2006
60,801
10
0
I'm partial to De walt. Have a 12 and 14.4 drill, so much use I bought new batteries for the 14. Get an 18, yes, its huge, but those batteries will run their whole lineup of cordless stuff.

t
 
T

trmiv

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
14,670
18
81
If you're already willing to spend the money for a Dewalt you're already on the right track. I'd just go for that, and get the 18v.
 
Texashiker

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
Jeeebus said:
Need an upgrade - was looking at Milwaukee and DeWalt kits,
Click to expand...

That is like asking whether you should buy a chevy or a ford.

Milwaukee and DeWalt are both industrial grade tools that should give you years of service. I dont think you can go wrong with either brand.

One last word though, when I was working in welding shops, we used Milwaukee more then DeWalt. If anything, I would say that Milwaukee might be a little better quality then DeWalt, but I am sure their are people that will argue that point. But then again, how much are you really going to use the tool?

If your going to earn a living with it, I would say go with Milwaukee.

If your going to be using it from time to time, then buy whatever you can afford.
 
waffleironhead

waffleironhead

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2005
7,044
546
136
What are you going to be doing with it?
Do you need a 1/2 chuck?
I'd suggest you head to a store like home depot and actually try the drill in your hand to see if it is comfortable to you.
I have a 14.4 makita mostly because the grip and balance was perfect to me. Plus for the decking work and the pole barn I was building, I didnt want to carry around the extra weight of the 18v model.
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,112
775
126
My first instinct is to say DeWalt 18v. Never used a Milwaukee cordless.
I do have a Milwaukee, corded sawzall and a Milwaukee hammer drill that that I like.
 
edro

edro

Lifer
Apr 5, 2002
24,326
68
91
Go with lithium. It is 1000 times better than NiMH and NiCD.
Charge time is much less, lasting power is much higher and the overall output power and punch is much much better.
Also, if you have never used an impact driver, try one. They are amazing.

I have an 18v lithium Ryobi drill and impact driver set. It was like $150 during a Christmas sale. I have severely punished them over the last 3 years doing 2 home remodels and countless other tasks. They still work great.

Related thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2155036&highlight=impact
 
Z

Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
12,218
2
76
home depot marked their 18v lion makita kit down to 220 last week. great deal, has a driver and an impact
 
Triumph

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
We use Dewalt extensively/exclusively at work in our machine shop and they work great. This is not homeowner usage, they've drilled tens of thousands of holes in all types/thicknesses of materials and endured hundreds of charges/discharges and certainly hundreds of thousands of on/offs and they still work great.

Whatever you get, don't waste your time with a 3/8" chuck. Too many times I've gotten hung up on what I could do with my Craftsman 3/8" at home. So I have to end up waiting until the next day to borrow a drill from work!

I'm partial to this Dewalt drill for medium duty
http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Tool-DEWALT-DC720-18-Volt-Cordless/dp/B0017634YU

I used it and transported it around Afghanistan, putting it through some pretty serious paces, and it never let me down. One of the best things about it is that it's relatively short making it easier to get into tighter spaces. Very comfortable in the hand, too. Definitely a step up from Craftsman without spending too much cash.
 
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Texashiker

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
SphinxnihpS said:
Win!

Milwaukee is overpriced
Click to expand...

I would not say that Milwaukee is overpriced, I have used everything from their portabands to their magnetic drill presses. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

For the average homeowner that uses a drill a few times a year, Milwaukee might be overkill, but its not overpriced.

When I was working in a welding shop, we used a Milwaukee magnetic drill press to drill through 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick plate steel. That thing was a work horse. Over the years, I dont know how many times I used a Milwaukee portaband to cut 2 and 3 inch steel pipe.

Milwaukee - industrial grade, something your going to use in a welding shop or oil / chemical refinery.
Dewalt - construction grade, something you going to use for building homes
everything else - home grade, for everyday home use
 
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L

LikeLinus

Lifer
Jul 25, 2001
11,518
670
126
Texashiker said:
I would not say that Milwaukee is overpriced, I have used everything from their portabands to their magnetic drill presses. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

For the average homeowner that uses a drill a few times a year, Milwaukee might be overkill, but its not overpriced.

When I was working in a welding shop, we used a Milwaukee magnetic drill press to drill through 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick plate steel. That thing was a work horse. Over the years, I dont know how many times I used a Milwaukee portaband to cut 2 and 3 inch steel pipe.

Milwaukee - industrial grade, something your going to use in a welding shop or oil / chemical refinery.
Dewalt - construction grade, something you going to use for building homes
everything else - home grade, for everyday home use
Click to expand...

You do know that Milwaukee=Ryobi...right? They sold to the parent company (Chinese) of Ryobi in 2004.

Milwaukee is no longer American.

Personally I own DeWalt and Makita Lith. The Makita is by far the best impact/drill set you can get. In a test by Fine Woodworking it was rated the best as well. Awesome set.
 
brblx

brblx

Diamond Member
Mar 23, 2009
5,499
2
0
in the way of battery-operated tools, every mechanic i know has a makita impact and drill. usually the older green ones with a batt ranging from 9.6 nicad to 14.4 nimh. never seen one fail. dropped my stuff a LOT.

also have their newer, smaller, li-ion stuff (impact & screw gun set) and it is also excellent.

the newer 18v makita stuff is still good and has hit pretty good prices if you buy unauthed. good bit higher to ensure a warranty, but i doubt you'll have to use it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Makita-LCT200W-...ltDomain_0&hash=item2eb5dee97a#ht_2844wt_1140

that should be a great set. i gave more than than for my old 14.4 combo kit (still going strong after a good few years of abuse).
 
SphinxnihpS

SphinxnihpS

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2005
8,368
25
91
Texashiker said:
I would not say that Milwaukee is overpriced, I have used everything from their portabands to their magnetic drill presses. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

For the average homeowner that uses a drill a few times a year, Milwaukee might be overkill, but its not overpriced.

When I was working in a welding shop, we used a Milwaukee magnetic drill press to drill through 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick plate steel. That thing was a work horse. Over the years, I dont know how many times I used a Milwaukee portaband to cut 2 and 3 inch steel pipe.

Milwaukee - industrial grade, something your going to use in a welding shop or oil / chemical refinery.
Dewalt - construction grade, something you going to use for building homes
everything else - home grade, for everyday home use
Click to expand...

Milwaukee makes (brands) tons of tools. Their cordless drills are massively overpriced, and do not perform as well as some others. This says nothing about their industrial drill presses, and their industrial drill presses say nothing about their cordless drills. I have one, and I have a Makita, and I leave the Milwaukee in the box. Get it?

If I wanted a Jigsaw I would say get Bosch.

Circular saw, Porter Cable

Sawsall, Milwaukee

Router, Porter Cable or Hitachi

Belt sander, Porter Cable

Nailer, Paslode

Biscuit joiner, Lamello

All of the above companies make all or most all of the above tools. No one manufacturer makes the best everything. Milwaukee does not in any way shape or form make the best, or even the third best cordless drill. Performance-wise Makita is the best, and price/performance-wise, blow everything else away.
 
C

chipy

Golden Member
Feb 17, 2003
1,469
2
81
i have a Bosch 18v 1/2 in chuck and i like it. bought it last year sometime before the Christmas holidays on sale and no problems so far. not as heavy as the DeWalt i was looking at and was cheaper.

i was also considering the DeWalt and Hitachi. i was told that Hitachi has lifetime warranty on the drill (not the batteries), which was very tempting.
 
H

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Can't go wrong with a Makita but consider also a Ridgid Li-ion - you've probably got a Home Depot near you and I believe they have lifetime warranty on the batteries, so you're going to be able to keep it around for a long time.
 
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