Cordless Drills

[rozett]

I have one or two DeWalt tools and I'm very pleased with how well they hold up. But I am partial to Porter Cable . I have a Porter Cable cordless drill that must be 8 years old and iI've not had a bit of trouble with it. The batteries do occaisionally wear out and have to be replaced. PC has redesigned their drills since I got mine, but I can still order new battery packs. I recommend them highly.

 

[BigDave]

I have 24 Volt Bosch tools - drill, circular saw, mitre saw, recipricating saw, flashlight & 4 batteries. I think Bosch is phasing them out since I don't see them much anymore, but they have been plenty tough enough for a weekend warrior like me. I've use the drill and a 2" auger to plant bulbs. The drill wasn't the weak point, my wrist was whenever it hit a rock and tried to rip out of my hands. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I don't own any DeWalt products, but they seem to have a pretty good reputation, so I don't think you would go wrong there either.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

I have a ton of DeWalt stuff, But my new favorite cordless drill is a Tanaka.

 

[fishman]

I have a 19.2 volt Porter Cable drill/saw combo that I've used a lot, at least for a homeowner. Had it for over 4 years and still on the original batteries. No complaints at all, and it has done everything I've asked of it.

At the time of purchase, the advertisement was that they had superior torque and longer duration batteries as compared to the Dewalt 18 volt. I can't verify this, but can attest to the fact that twisted off drywall screws happen with annoying regularity if you don't pay attention. That, and I can't remember the last time I charged the battery currently on my drill and I used it again today to pop a few screws in a project.

 

[Dozernut]

I had a 9.6V Panasonic a few years back. It was a good drill, but the clutch went out on it. Panasonic gave me a new replacement which was trouble free. The batteries finally died and I thought I would replace them. The batteries were $80 a piece, I only gave $149 for the drill with charger and two batteries. I bought a Dewalt 12V to replace it and I am very pleased with it. I can buy replacement batteries locally for around $45 and if I watch for sales and promotions I can sometimes do much better on the price of the batteries. As I said the Panasonic is a very good drill, but battery replacement is so expensive it makes it a throw away drill.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I have a fifteen volt something or another Panasonic. It's my first grab for a drill nine times out of ten. I gave away a fourteen volt Dewalt combo pack because I was so disgusted with the performance. I replaced that with the eighteen volt Makita. That's been given away and replaced by another Dewalt eighteen volt combo pack. That one hasn't been used in a year or so. The opportunity will come and some bud will get what he thinks is a gift. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The Panasonic has trucked right along through all this without a hickup one. It has the power of a eighteen, the weight and balance of twelve, and the battery durability like nothing I've ever seen.

I paid twice as much for the Panasonic and it has proven worth three times that.

The problem I've had with the Dewalts is their batteries don't last for me. Four or five months and they last a couple of minutes max. The Dewalt store claims their eighteen volts should last three years under hard use. The only explanation for my poor luck with them that I can come up with is buying them at the box stores and getting aged inventory.

The Tanaka would be first choice for heavy drilling day in and day out. Stil makes one too but it's heavier if I recall.

I've looked at the twenty four volts but gawd they are heavy and awkward. My solution to such a problem is the Honda EU2000i inverter generator. It weighs less than a five gallon can of diesel, is quieter than your mother's washing machine, and delivers one ten to my saws and drills. I use it instead of cranking up the Trailblazer, quieter, more economical fuel wise, and there isn't any battery powered equipment out there with the power and torgue of hundred and ten stuff.

 

[dieselsmoke1]

We've used some of about all brands over the years, now have about 35 pieces of DeWalt in the shop, all 14.4 and 18v. With about 100 employees, we go through tools pretty regularly. I'm convinced in a tough commercial environment, DeWalt gives the most bang for the buck in cordless drills.

Trial and Error has brought us to this combination over the years:

Cordless - DeWalt
3/8 corded drills - Makita
Routers and trimmers - Porter Cable
Belt and Pad Sanders - Makita
Jig Saws - Bosch
Circular Saws - Makita

 

[bebster]

My 18V DeWalt drill has worked just fine. The power is pretty good, and there are plenty of other tools that work with the same battery pack, so that's a plus.

 

[_RaT_]

I'd agree with your list.

I have found working with tools or borrowing other fellas tools a few preferences.
I find that Panasonic 15.3 volt is by far the most powerful even over the competions 18 volt. It has been rated number one in power by Tools of the Trade again. Milwaukee's 18 V was rated longest lasting battery however. I like almost all the cordless drills including my 12 volt Makita. I've had 2, 12 volt Dewalts prior to my Makitas before I wore them out. Panasonic and Makita both offer NiMh batteries. Makita and Dewalt are the only ones made in the US. Milwaukee and Porter Cable cordless drill are made in Asia. I don't know what that has to do with anything.

"Circular Saws - Makita"

Well, lets just say circular saws are an East Coast thing as out here we use Worm Drives almost exclusively. Skil is by far the saw of choice. I had one for 25 years until it was stolen. I'm trying out the new lighter Dewalt worm drive. Circular saws are fine and what I started off with, for super control, a worm drive is difficult to beat.

Bosch jigsaws are great even though Fein makes a little nicer one, Bosch is far more affordable and came out with the bayonnet mount and orital action. I have the barrel type

In Tools of the Trade Makita rarely ranks high in the belt sander arena. Porter Cable always seems to beat them. I like both brands. Have a Porter Cable 3X24 and a Makita 4X24.

Routers, no question, Porter Cable although my switches keep going out.

Drills, I like anything, I'm hard on them and go through them. My Milwaukee, Sioux, B&D hole shooters, Dewalt (a B&D product), Hilti are all nice. Makita has some of the strongest and a casing that can't always handle the torque on their 1/2" drill causing the trigger to stay stuck on at a point where it's really not desireable. It's almost to strong!

In the end, the competition in tools has produced a lot of wonderful tools and many at reasonable prices. Almost any 12 to 24 volt cordless tool has been far superior to the flat blade and phillips screwdrivers. I use my flat blade to install plastic outlet covers and as a pry bar and the phillips to poke hole for mollys in sheetrock and occasionally to put a screw in/out but its sooooo much nicer with a cordless.

Should my 2 12 volt Makitas stop, I will certainly try the Panasonic 15.3V again. The one I used was fantastic. Imagine that from a company that use to make some pretty crummy radios and stuff. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Rat,

I have three Dewalt worm drives. One of them is a spare, another is for wood, and the third has a diamond blade for granite. I find them more balanced and less threatening than the old seventy sevens. There's just something about a seventy seven that makes me as nervous as wearing pink socks to a construction site would.

It is funny about the jig saws. I have two Bosch and one Porter Cable. One of the Bosch is set up with a special shoe for doing crown molding. The biggest reason I like the Bosch is they work real well doing fancy cuts on full four by cedar like in arbors etc.

I have one Makita circular saw. It's the sixteen incher. There is nothing like it anywhere that I know of. You can cut a forty five on full four inch rough cut. But it is a handfull.

When it comes to the drills I have a half inch Dewalt that's served me well and will be replaced by the same if it ever comes to that. I drill a lot of concrete for anchors etc. There is nothing on gawd's green earth that will cut concrete like a Hilti. I have the T15C for doing anchors and the TE75 for core drilling and light hammering. The T15C was expensive, eight hundred dollars list at the time. But it drills holes faster and easier than anything that weighs twice what it does and it does it with half the effort. It's just an amazing piece of equipment.

How about angle grinders? Most of mind now are Dewalts for one reason. Their paddle handle is one of the easiest to use. That and the fact that they're available just about everywhere. The best in my book for all the right reasons is the Metabo. I have a Hilti but it turned out to be a lot like the Milwaukee, awkard to use.

For large grinders I've not found anything to touch Bosch. I've had Miller Falls, Milwaukee, Craftsman, etc. But for smooth power that can't be stopped and longevity day in and day out the Bosch just does it.