cordless drills?

[glen]

9.6 volts?
12 volts?
14.4?
DeWalt?
Makita?
PorterCable?

Makita 9.6 is what I ahve, and it have served me faithfully for years now. At the time, I think it was probably cthe ebst on the market.
but, times ahve changed and everyone makes these now.
Who is the new king?
My old drill:
http://www.makita.com/Cordless_Item_View.asp?id=53

 

[glen]

I really think the poll part may be a bit uselessa since you never knwo who is voting. But, folks out there that use these things who can come in and give some life experience about them can be super helpful.

 

[Mermaidman]

I have a Sears 16.8v cordless drill and bought my Dad a 14.4v B&D. If you're choosing for light home use, I'd suggest any major brand. Just look for the features you want and a good price. If there's a B&D outlet store near you, go check it out for good sale prices.

You'll find that today's drills have more features than your trusty Makita

 

[amdskip]

Stay away from straight up B & D. My vote is either B & D Firestorm or Dewalt both of which are made by B & D. I'm not if its still true but firestorm and dewalt batteries used to be interchangeable and chargers also for them. We use firestorms in construction of a steel house and dropped them from 3 stories up on scaffolding onto the cement basement floor. Clips would sometimes break for the batteries but nothing a little ductape wouldn't fix.

 

[JohnnyAnnalog]

I have a 14.4 & 9.6 Dewalt and they are both good, but the 9.6 get more use because it is lighter (don?t get caught up with the Tim Allen bigger is better syndrome).

All of the brand you mentioned are good.

 

[AlienCraft]

I have a RYOBI 12v Driver Drill that I have had since 1990. I just dropped it off a ladder (for the umpteenth time) and the case finally broke, but it still works! I had to buy another one, so I bought the Craftsman, which is made by RYOBI (18v). BTW, RYOBI said they will fix it, probably for free.
My RYOBI Batteries outlasted all of my partners MAKITA batteries. Of course I cycle them and discharge and charge completely, but YMMV.

RYOBI>Makita, imo.

 

[olds]

I've owned/used the Makita 9.6 for years. I've had the Dewalt 18 volt for about a year and would never go back.

 

[CubicZirconia]

I work in a hardware store, and I can tell you that you won't see contractors using a Black and Decker drill (or anything made by Black and Decker for that matter). DeWalt seems to be the brand of choice now; those things are rock solid and will last forever. Construction guys always tell me stories about how they have dropped their drill off buildings onto concrete x number of times or run it over with a truck will absolutely no ill effects. I use a DeWalt all the time around work and I couldn't ask for a better drill. They tend to be expensive, however, so if you are just using the drill around the house for minor projects, a Black and Decker will work fine since they are a lot cheaper.

Edit: Ok, so amdskip used Black and Deckers in construction, my vote is still with DeWalt as I have no experience with the Black and Decker Firestorm.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: CubicZirconia
I work in a hardware store,...

Who makes DeWalt?

 

[CubicZirconia]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: CubicZirconia
I work in a hardware store,...

Who makes DeWalt?

What I meant is, anything with the Black and Decker label on it. Sorry.

Edit: And I wasn't claiming to be anything close to an expert, I was only saying that I wasn't pulling this out of nowhere.

 

[BillGates]

Panasonic drills are great too, but you have to get them at specialty contractor stores. My dad (a builder) told me about them after he picked one up and preferred it over his DeWalt. (As did the rest of his guys). One of his building magazines had a big cordless drill shootout and the 15.6v Panasonic had more torque than the 18v DeWalt did.

 

[tm37]

I own a few makita's and I love them.

I have a 7.2 , 12V and a 12V Mforce w/ NmH Batties

 

[BillGates]

I think it's funny that DeWalt gets the most votes and also does the most marketing. I wonder how many other (quality) tool brands the DeWalt voters have tried?

Hint: Home Depot sells low to mid range stuff. If you're happy with it, fine - but the stuff they sell is not the best.

 

[Ornery]

You forgot to mention Milwaukee! 495 in./lbs. of torque and industry leading 5 year warranty! Damn!

 

[glen]

Only a few years ago, MaKita was the undisputed champion, and no one really did much marketing as far as I know.
The thing is, I am not sure the MaKita has changed in 20 years. it is certainly reasonable that some company with new technology has come out and beaten the old dawg.
it is also possible wit the popularity of DYI and marketing, folks think DeWalt is better, but for no really good reason.


This begs the quest, who are we here to be qualified to answer?
Well, for one, we are all bit of techno geeks, and
2 I bet half of us have had to use one in all sort of capacities, with unscrewing a computer case since you are the neighborhood computer expert, to drilling holes in the walls to run cat5 for major companies since many of you are the "tech" guy that has to get it done as a profession. Plus, everyone here is pretty smart, (of course some are abrasive and make silly comments) but I find the knowledge base and over all IQ level here stunning.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: Ornery
You forgot to mention Milwaukee! 495 in./lbs. of torque and industry leading 5 year warranty! Damn!

That is a sweet drill, but it is a hammer drill, for drilling into concrete.
It won't do screws.

I think the best deal is to get a 9.6 volt:

1. they are not too expensive

2. the second battery can recharge in an hour and the first one will last about that long allowing you almost continual use as long as you swap the batteries between the drill and charger every hour

3. they are fairly light - if a 9.6 can do the job, it is a heck of a lot easier to hold steady than a 14.4 porter cable for instance

4. My roommate needs this, and is not a contractor, so he will be putting in screws, and drilling holes, a little of everything

 

[Ornery]

No, no, it's a regular drill that has the impact feature. It's only a few bucks more than the same drill without 'hammer' ability. It works wonderfully. I can spin a 3/16" masonry bit down into concrete as if it were wood! I've seen my brother abuse the sh|t out of his 14.4V Milwaulkee hammer drill, with a 1/2" masonry bit into mortor joints on a block wall, one hole after another for an hour. If you buy a Milwaukee, with a serial number from before October 2003, the tool is Lifetime warranted. I'll see if I can dig up that chart if you're interested.

 

[dartworth]

I'm a DeWalt fanboy

Just something about that yellow and black

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: Ornery
No, no, it's a regular drill that has the impact feature. It's only a few bucks more than the same drill without 'hammer' ability. It works wonderfully. I can spin a 3/16" masonry bit down into concrete as if it were wood! I've seen my brother abuse the sh|t out of his 14.4V Milwaulkee hammer drill, with a 1/2" masonry bit into mortor joints on a block wall, one hole after another for an hour. If you buy a Milwaukee, with a serial number from before October 2003, the tool is Lifetime warranted. I'll see if I can dig up that chart if you're interested.

Sweet, my email is in my profile, if you could sent it, that would be awsome!

 

[Squisher]

Stolen from Comsumer Reports

12-VOLT DRILLS

DeWalt DW927K-2 $140.00
MaKita 6227DWE $130.00
Craftsman (Sears) 11332 $70.00
Black & Decker Firestorm FSD122K $70.00
Skil 2468-02 $40.00

14.4-VOLT AND 15.6-VOLT DRILLS

DeWalt DW928K-2 $180.00
Skil 2584-04 $85.00
MaKita 6228DWAE $160.00
Craftsman (Sears) 11333 $90.00
Black & Decker Firestorm FSD142K-2 $90.00

18-VOLT AND 19.2-VOLT DRILLS

DeWalt DW987K-2 $270.00
Craftsman (Sears) Professional 27124 $200.00
Craftsman (Sears) 11334 $120.00
Skil 2884-04 $105.00
Black & Decker Firestorm FSD182K-2 $110.00
Chicago Electric Power Tools 44849 $40.00

6-VOLT AND 7.2-VOLT MODELS

Black & Decker 9089KB $20.00

9.6-VOLT DRILLS

DeWalt DW926K-2 $100.00
Craftsman (Sears) 11331 $60.00
Black & Decker CD9600K $40.00

 

[Ornery]

Anyone have any experience with Ryobi hammer drills? - grrl 12/01/2003

Originally posted by: Ornery
Just found this out, and thought I'd pass it along. Milwaukee had a Lifetime warrantee on their tools up till this year, when they decided to make it a 5 year warranty, which still happens to be the best in the business. Today I found out that the cutoff is from the date of manufacture, so if you buy a set that was manufactured before October 1st, 2003, it will still have the lifetime warranty:

• Here is the information on how to read the serial number for date of manufacture: The Five [5] year MILWAUKEE Warranty is effective on all products manufactured as of October 1, 2003. Date code of a product's serial number are the 6,7,8 & 9th digits. A serial number date code of XXXAX0339XXXX (0339 = 1st week of October, 2003) or later, showing that the product was produced after October 1, 2003 [0340, 0341, 0342, et cetera] is covered by the Five [5] year TOOL LIMITED WARRANTY.

There's one HUGE reason I've always HATED Consumer Reports. When I was shopping for a riding lawn mower, they didn't have a single mention about Wheel Horse, which is what I finally settled on, and it was five times the quality of the POS they picked as top choice. Now in the category of cordless tools, they neglect to put Milwaukee up against their picks. There's something wrong with those jokers, or they're on the take, one or the other.

 

[Evadman]

Dewalt seems to last the longest with contractor abuse. I have owned justa botu every brand out there, and the best bang for the buck is DeWalt. The best period would be Milwaukee because of their warranty.

All I ever got were compaints about Ryobi. They were underpowered, and broke easily when abused. however, they were cheap.

Black & Decker, Dewalt & firestorm are all made by Black & Decker. FYI.

 

[Ornery]

No other manufacturer makes a rugged cordless 'Sawzall' (recipricating saw) of this caliber, or as innovative as the 'Hatchet'. Think ahead to what other tools you might want to work with that cordless drill battery.

 

14.4 dewalt XRP here
it's a kickass drill....although it's definately overkill for how little i use it

my brother swears by his b & D firestorm, and at 1/4 of the cost of my dewalt - tempts me to sell mine and get a cheaper one

 

[Evadman]

Ornery, I have the Milwalkee 18v Sawsall, In fact I got it before it was released to the public way back in '96 or '97 IIRC. I also have the 24v Dewalt. Sorry, but the dewalt spanks the milwalkee in all areas in this case. Speed, power, & battery life. The only thingk that sucks was the cost.

Of course, the milwalkee is no slouch either.