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cordless drills : options

G-Force8

G-Force8

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Ok, so I've seen Milwaukee cordless power drills advertised as real workhorses. Anyone use one?

I want a good,durable,powerful long-lasting drill that is versatile enough for little jobs and drilling holes in frames

Any reccomendations?
 
G-Force8 said:
drilling holes in frames
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THis line is key. You MUST get something that has a 1/2" chuck. Besides that, whether you go 12v or 24v+, its how much power you want vs. how much you want to carry. The higher voltage ones are significantly more expensive, and even if you are a strong mother f'er, you will notice the weight after a short amount of time.

I won't get into a drill brand debate, but i ahve always liked Makita stuff. Dewalt is ok if you have a contractors license and can warranty them through home depot, but besides that, they aren't that hot.
 
G-Force8 said:
I want a good,durable,powerful long-lasting drill that is versatile enough for little jobs and drilling holes in frames
Click to expand...

Your requirements in bold are just about mutually exclusive.

As said already, you want a 1/2" drill for drilling holes in frames. I tried before with a 3/8" corded drill while mounting towhooks; didn't work out well.

IMO, a cordless is NOT appropriate for drilling frames. Cordless drills have their place, and they are pretty versatile... but they've got their limits too.


Milwaukee tools are top-quality. DeWalt stuff is nice, but IMO their quality is slipping, especially on the non-XRP and Compact stuff. Makita is great - I have a 15-year-old 9.6v Makita drill that still runs like a champ. One of the original batteries just crapped out within the last year or so... the other still holds a charge with good runtime.
 
I had a Home Depot gift card I wanted to use. I bought this tiny Ryobi 12V Li-Ion drill/driver thinking it'd be good for small and or light duty stuff. It's the size of a pistol and the color of Shrek.

18V version:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...342f32eda97a457f1e836048&AID=10368321&cj=true

The 12V one i have is only 3/8" chuck. That being said it's a brute that just goes forever! I built a treehouse for my daughter using all 3" contruction screws to frame it and 2" construction screws for the wood siding. The only time it wouldn't be able to drive the screw was just as the battery went dead. That in itself took forever...literally hours of driving an assload of screws. It's the only batt operated thing I own that takes longer to discharge the batt than it does to charge it. Seeing as it comes with two batts there is never any waiting. The small size really helps get in the tight spots.

FWIW I have drilled quite a few 1/2" holes in steel using shanked bits. It's variable speed and has plenty of balls for the job. It's easily the one tool I have been most (pleasantly) surprised with.

I'd say any 18V Li-Ion drill is gonna do ya fine. They are nothing like the cordless drills of even 5 years ago. Way more run time, way more torque and way less charge time...and they're lighter. My little Ryobi has enough torque to twist and shear a #8 screw...had it happen a few times if the screw went into a knot and the driver bit was new enough.

Rene
 
And i agree with what was said above. I like haveing a 1/2in chuck drill for when needed, but serious, drilling like that should be done with a corded. Hell, you can get a GREAT corded for $60, and save the abuse on the cordless. I like having a cordless tht will do it, but still use a corded for serious stuff.
 
That's a nice drill, Rene. Ryobi has really stepped it up in the past couple years.

I got the 10.8v version of one of these last year for removing and installing panel hardware on the helicopters at my civ. job. Works like a champ - I opened every access panel on a Bell 412 (civilian 4-bladed Huey), by myself, on one battery.
 
I have the Hitachi set from lowes that has the impact, driver and flashlight. I use the impact drill mostley just becuase you cant hardley strip stuff with it.
 
I just bought a new 1/2" 18v dewalt, mostly because batteries for these things are so damn expensive ( now i have 5) and my 10 year old dewalt finally gave up the ghost with white smoke. It was used heavily for its first few years while i worked as an electrician and has been almost my primary drill since then. Hopefully the new one lasts me as long as the last one!!
 
I got a smokin deal on a Dewalt 36 volt Hammerdrill/Driver and Sawzall Combo when the local home depot was phasing them out a couple years ago, I think a Paid 250.00 for the set which came with two batteries. While the batteries are freaking huge and the drill is heavy I used it almost every day for several months while I was working a second job in a local plant. The "Power of corded without the cord rings true with this thing" I have almost broke my arm several times with it. Drills through 1/2 inch steel plate without breaking a sweat. Battery run time is excellent as well. That being said I have used the Ridgid brand 18 volt line and abused the tar out of them as as well. And no matter if it is 2 lbs or 4 or 5 lbs they all get heavy after holding them up for awhile. Look for something with a 1/2 inch chuck and get name brand. I wouldnt go below 18 volt. The batteries last much longer and they usually come with metal gears were some of the others dont. Power tools are usually something I dont go cheap on. Much easier to do it right the first time.
 
More volts the better.... 18v will get the job done but more volts= more power and alot more runtime. Whatever you get try to get one with a transmission. It'll save your batteries and they come in handy.

This site has some awesome deals.... you can get a 300 dollar drill for 100 bucks with the factory warranty. They are what they consider "reconditioned" but are pretty much new tools (with warranty) that either were returned or had a minor consmetic scuff on them from the factory. I have yet to find better prices. I bought a dewalt bench grinder off them and it was 100 cheaper then new and honestly I didn't see any reason not to call it new.

Go to reconditioned power tools on the left... they have anything from makita to milwaukee.

If for some reason your not happy with it they have a 30 day no questions asked money back guarentee.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8825585/anchors_8825585/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#8825585
 
FYI, when I went to buy mine I asked about warranties. The only one that warrants their chargers and batteries along with the tool is Home Depot's RIGID line. They send you a warranty card. So far they have been true to their word and warranted a battery and an impact over the last two years.
 
1-tonmudder said:
Snap-on makes a bad-ass cordless that smokes all the others I've used,but it has a bad-ass price also.
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I have a snap on 1/2" 18 volt has the power of a cord drill. I would go with a snap on or dewalt.
 
Milwaukee V28
I use my cordless tools everyday for construction work. I almost never pickup a corded tool and I do a lot of jobs where you might think you would need a corded tool.

The new m12 and m18 tools are made in china though. The m18 tool that I tried from a coworker just didn't seem to be built as well as the V18 V28 or old 14.4 tools that I use all of the time.
 
DeWalt fan here. Been using the same 18v drill for 4 years almost every day of the week. As an electrician the drill gets used for everything. All the guys in the company use DeWalt which makes it nice when batteries forget to get charged. In the 4 years I have been here only 2 drills have had issues. One the trigger broke which was like a $30 fix and the other one fell off a 40' ledge and broke in half right at the trigger and hell it even ran just the housing was busted.

However, I will say that the life span of any tool is more based on the way it is used by the operator vs. the brand name. Spend the money on a good set of drill bits and use cutting oil on the big holes and take it slow and a drill should last a good long time.

Also I buy all my DeWalt tools refurbished. Never had a problem yet and spend a lot less.
 
bwhntr-31 said:
FYI, when I went to buy mine I asked about warranties. The only one that warrants their chargers and batteries along with the tool is Home Depot's RIGID line. They send you a warranty card. So far they have been true to their word and warranted a battery and an impact over the last two years.
Click to expand...


Those rigid tools are pretty nice and with the warranty you can't go wrong.
 
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