RollTideRam
Veteran Member
As of yesterday, I'm in the market for a new 1/2" cordless drill. After 9 years my Porter Cable gave it up. What are the better brands now days? Any opinion on Rigid brand? JC
Cordless Drill
- Thread starter RollTideRam
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aczlan
Good Morning
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one vote for Rigid, dad has their 12v 1/2" drill and loves it, the lifetime warranty covers everything INCLUDING the battery against breaking/wearing out.
Aaron Z
Aaron Z
bigshovel
Gold Member
Here at my production shop we have had every brand in the 18 v category. Hammer and standard. This is what we have found due to high useage. Any of them Dewalt, Porter cable, Panasonic, Milwaukee, Hitachi and Bosch only have a life span of 60 days in our environment. Dewalts turnaround time for warranty repair is the fastest. We typically have 3 to 4 out for repair and a constant three in use at the same time. This is a manufacturing atrmosphere though. At home I use Hitachi and Dewalt. I prefer the Hitachi for weight and balance, The Dewalt is prefered for power and torque. Milwaukee has held up the worst in anything we have had. Any of the big four brands should serve the homeowner well.
Brad
Brad
jdbower
Platinum Member
I'm been wanting to upgrade to Dewalt's 36V system for a while now, no real need for it but I'm happy with my black and yellow tools.
AlanB
Elite Member
I have the Craftsman 19.2 (older version) and the Dewalt 18V.
While the Dewalt is 5 times the tool of the craftsman, the craftsman does an awful lot of work for not a lot of money.
Just around the house use, I would get the Craftsman, Several times a week, heavy duty use, it would be the Dewalt.
While the Dewalt is 5 times the tool of the craftsman, the craftsman does an awful lot of work for not a lot of money.
Just around the house use, I would get the Craftsman, Several times a week, heavy duty use, it would be the Dewalt.
Birdhunter1
Veteran Member
Panasonic, a buddy of mine owns a concrete business and that is what they have gone too, impressive amount of torque, metal gears inside rather than plastic and he also has a 12V impact driver that will run circles around my 18V Makita putting in tapcons or 3" deck screws.
reb
Platinum Member
jdbower said:
I thought I heard somewhere that replacement Li Ion batteries for the new 36v DeWalts cost about $130+. Is that correct? For that price I will stick with the NiCads despite their shortcomings.
JerryG
Super Member
I have had several brands in the past. DeWalt has held up the best. I almost have everything changed over to DeWalt and what I don't now, I should have by the end of the year. I really like the higher torque of the DeWalt hammer drills. It doesn't seem to effect the battery life either. When I went in to buy my last 18v drill they had a kit on sale with the drill and a smaller size circular saw that was also 18v. The kit was only $27 dollars more than the drill by itself. I didn't think that I would like the saw but for only $27 more I went ahead and got the kit. I am glad I did because I have used the saw a lot. So, when you look at the drills check out the kit prices also.
Robert_in_NY
Super Member
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I have a Rigid cordless impact wrench (14.4 volts if I recall) and it is a great little tool. I have 6 DeWalt cordless drills (hammer and standard), 3 are 18v, 2 14.4 and one is 12v. They have held up great. I also have the 18v DeWalt finish nailer, cut saw, circular saw and light and they have held up great to general construction use. The circular saw is great to take up on roofs to cut in a vent or trim a sheet of plywood that wasn't cut properly on the ground. The cut saw gets used almost daily and is a great tool for any contractor or home owner.
However, I dispise the Craftsman cordless drills. The new ones are terribly gutless and the old ones were better but still very weak compared to the DeWalt competition.
I do second the recommendation to buy the kits. You get a lot of tools for not very much more. DeWalt had the 6 tool 18v kit last year that had the hammer drill, cut saw, circular saw, angle grinder, light and impact wrench. It was around $600 but I almost bought another set just to keep in the barn as they are so handy.
However, I dispise the Craftsman cordless drills. The new ones are terribly gutless and the old ones were better but still very weak compared to the DeWalt competition.
I do second the recommendation to buy the kits. You get a lot of tools for not very much more. DeWalt had the 6 tool 18v kit last year that had the hammer drill, cut saw, circular saw, angle grinder, light and impact wrench. It was around $600 but I almost bought another set just to keep in the barn as they are so handy.
