I am fed up with my old Black and Decker 14.4V drill...

[BradT]

This thing blows. I know that hole saw drain your drill, but I was drilling a 2 inch hole and on a fully charged battery, it pooped out about 3/4 of the way through (the board was a 2x4). This has happened since the beginning.

Cordless drills are more expensive I believe. Is the only drawback to a corded drill the fact that you need an outlet? All of my drilling would be by an outlet, so the convenience is not an issue. With this said, is a corded my best bet?

I need power. What is the point of a side handle? Just for extra stability? What are different drills for, and is there a type that is best for all around basic drilling?

I was looking at Home Depot, and I saw plenty that were under $100. Can you get a decent one for this price range? I would like the keep it under $100, and if not, at least under $150. What brand should I look for, and what should I stay clear of? The Milwaukee's get good ratings on Amazon, but I always heard that DeWalt was great too.

THANKS!

 

[Vette73]

Sounds like your battery is bad.

I have 2 corded drills and 1 18v drill. The first corded is a small 4.5V Skil. Good for tight spaces and when I need a lighter tool. The 2nd is a drill hammer. It is more heavy and larger but can drill through cement and has good power, I got it from harbor freight. My 18v is a Coleman. Very basic but has power. The only problem was the batter is a cheap POS. I have been told to buy another 18v battery and take it apart and put the cells in the case of the factory one.


Best bet IMO is to get a small cheap corded one (I like Skil) and a 18v cordless one. Check out amazon as they have some for under $100 that would probable do the job.

 

[amdskip]

Dewalt 18v
This is my cordless drill. It may be overkill but its one of the best cordless drills I've used.

1/2" corded
I'm also very happy with this.

It sounds like you just need a good 3/8" corded drill. I would check out this: drill.

Milwaukee and Dewalt are pretty much top notch. Some Bosch tools are great too. I would buy from Amazon, they seem to have the best prices and free shipping.

 

[BradT]

Originally posted by: amdskip
Dewalt 18v
This is my cordless drill. It may be overkill but its one of the best cordless drills I've used.

1/2" corded
I'm also very happy with this.

It sounds like you just need a good 3/8" corded drill. I would check out this: drill.

Milwaukee and Dewalt are pretty much top notch. Some Bosch tools are great too. I would buy from Amazon, they seem to have the best prices and free shipping.

That second one you linked was what I was looking at before. That might be the one I get.

Also, what do the different sizes mean? (3/8" and 1/2")

 

[Greenman]

I own at least nine different drills, there is no single best one. With that said, a 1/2" cordless hammer drill is probably the most all around useful. Also note that a hole saw is a very poor way to drill through a 2x4, the deeper the cutter goes the more friction you get on the sides, if the lumber is wet it's even worse.
To punch a 2" hole through 2x material you should use a 1/2" angle drive with a self feed bit like this http://www.acehardwareoutlet.c...U=26755&Source=froogle

 

[amdskip]

3/8 and 1/2 are the size of the chucks.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: amdskip
Dewalt 18v
This is my cordless drill. It may be overkill but its one of the best cordless drills I've used.

This is a very good drill. I've used it to drill 1/2" holes through 3/8" steel without draining the battery. But on the other hand my 18v Craftsman works just fine. Whatever you get, don't bother with anything less than 18v or anything but a 1/2" chuck for general purpose use. Corded is fine, usually have more torque, but cordless really is nice and the battery weight actually gives the drill some balance in your hand.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Dewalts of course are number one in the field but i've been pretty happy with the Rigid's from Home Depot. May be a little out of your price range, however, it's a solid drill and the batteries last forever.

Text

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

If you want a decent drill go with Dewalt but get 18v. If you want a great drill go with Hitachi. I used a 14.4v Hitachi the other day and it absolutely destroyed my 18v Dewalt which is only 6 months old.

 

[daveymark]

go Dewalt, or if you don't want to spend the money, ryobi. ryobi is 1/3 as much but will last 1/2 as long as a dewalt, so the value of a ryobi is actually better. go with Ryobi especially if you just are occasionally doing odd jobs around the house.

 

[Dubb]

I think dewalt's been going downhill lately. cheaper plastic on the casings, and the last one I bought (18v), I returned two in a row because the shaft wasn't straight. the third one I got was still a tad off, but I was just sick of driving back to home depot.

I think hitachi and porter cable are the brands to look at these days.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I have one of these:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_1...wer+Tools&sName=Drills

After 3 years the battery still runs strong after a charge (it recharges quickly) and I use it regularly. It's rugged, powerful, and cheap for what you get. Put a concrete bit in that drill and it'll chew right through it. It's operating specs are close the Dewalt at nearly half the price too. Can't beat it.

 

[TitanDiddly]

Don't waste money on something that is more drill than you need. Get a black and decker from Walmart and refrain from abusing it.

 

[0roo0roo]

i use corded, you get much more power/speed per buck. for occasional portability i use a cordless screwdriver. plugging in for drilling isn't a big chore unless you are a contractor or something. and batteries... a pain to keep charged, and rip off to replace. 35-50 bucks at hardware store or even target gets you decent power. i found that target was cheaper for lower end drills. http://www.target.com/Black-De...-Orange/dp/B000HI102M/
http://www.amazon.com/Black-De...-Storage/dp/B000HI102M
was 28 in store. not the best, but ok. bit more and you get the handle and more power and all that.

 

[cornbread]

out of every cordless drill i've tried i prefer the dewalt 18v best

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: Dubb
I think dewalt's been going downhill lately. cheaper plastic on the casings, and the last one I bought (18v), I returned two in a row because the shaft wasn't straight. the third one I got was still a tad off, but I was just sick of driving back to home depot.

I think hitachi and porter cable are the brands to look at these days.

I'm inclined to believe you on shoddy Dewalt quality. Our contractors at work had an 18v model (the one linked earlier) and the chuck broke within 6 months of their purchase. We needed one ourselves so we went out and bought the heavy duty model for $80 more and within two months, the chuck was broken on that one too.

We're not hard on tools at all (our contractors are, but they never used our drill), I was really surprised at how quickly it broke under light use.

 

[AMCRambler]

I've got a Craftsmen somebody gave me for a gift, 18 or 19 volt I think. I haven't done much drilling with it but the one time I tried drilling some sheet metal, it just didn't have the torque to do it. I was kind of disappointed. Have you guys found the same issue with other brands? Are the cordless more for drilling wood? Or is mine just a limp wristed model?

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: AMCRambler
I've got a Craftsmen somebody gave me for a gift, 18 or 19 volt I think. I haven't done much drilling with it but the one time I tried drilling some sheet metal, it just didn't have the torque to do it. I was kind of disappointed. Have you guys found the same issue with other brands? Are the cordless more for drilling wood? Or is mine just a limp wristed model?

You nêed to charge the battery and drain a couple times to get full power. Also make sure the torque setting was on max etc...

If that does not work then I would have returned it as it sounds like a bad battery.

 

[BradT]

I got the corded 8.0 amp Milwaukee drill. I used it today and I couldn't be happier.

 

[ultimatebob]

I have a Kawasaki 19.2V cordless drill and a Makita 6408 corded drill. Amazingly, the Kawasaki can do basically everything that the Makita can as long as the battery is fully charged, including drilling through masonry. Quite impressive!