Cordless Operated Power Tools - Your Favorite

[4570Man]

So, what is the advantage of using the impact driver vs drill (with adjustable torque) for driving screws?

They’re a lot lighter for the driving performance offered and don’t slip the bit as bad.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

So, what is the advantage of using the impact driver vs drill (with adjustable torque) for driving screws?

Physics??? Heck if I know, but... the impact is much easier and faster. Especially noticeable on metal stud framing and when using self tapping screws.

 

[TractorGuy]

When my old 12V Craftsman drill battery went kaput I invested in their 19.2V set that came with a drill, light, reciprocal saw, and small skill saw. All of those tools were built awesome. I rarely use the skill saw but have worn the rubber off the drill. My second most used tool was the reciprocal saw followed by the light. When the second set of nicads started to weaken I bought their 19.2V 3/8" drive ratchet with the lithium battery and charger then added a second lithium battery. Those have lasted far longer than the nicads did and are still going strong. I bought a similar set for work only to learn the drill chuck had cheapened. Despite that I bought the same ratchet and extra battery to move those to lithium and the tools continued to work as needed.

I recently purchased the 20V Dewalt grease gun but have only used it once. I supposed I would move in that direction if my Craftsman tools failed but as long as those keep working I guess I have two different chargers on the shelf.

 

[Jim Shooz]

My toothbrush and my Electric Mountain Bike. :thumbsup: Retired is good.

 

[dstig1]

I run 2 setups on cordless that I have standardized on: Bosch compact 12V and Makita 18V -both Li-ion types. The small Bosch stuff is awesome for lighter work. Their 12v driver (with a hex collet) is my preferred screw driver for anything #8 and smaller and less than 2". Superb control, fits anywhere and can be brought along in your tool belt easily. For electrical work (other than boring large holes) it is da bomb. i set the clutch and can consistently torque down breaker contacts and connections on switches and outlets, etc. Finish cabinet work too. I also have a mini drill/driver with a regular chuck and a 90deg adjustable driver that can fit anywhere.

For the big stuff, the makita 18V is pretty darn solid. Impact drivers are the best thing for driving screws, lags, you name it. Grab one of those 5" long RSS screws and a torx bit, and watch it melt right into an LVL with a good impact driver. I find a lot of use for the small circ saw, an occasional use for the sawzall and grinder and flashlight. The caution is the sawzall and grinder will suck a battery dry is a minute, flat out. Since I got my set they have come out with larger AH batteries (mine are 2 AH) so those would help, but they are also bigger and heavier. A lot of this all depends on what you are doing, so YMMV.

At this point in time, you want to cut loose from niCad or NiMH battery technologies and move into Li for sure. Like several others have said.

 

[bunyip]

Milwaukee 18v Fuel with drill (hammer function too), impact driver, angle grinder, circular saw and sabre saw, wish they made a ROS but no joy there.
Hitachi 12v impact driver.
A Generic 18v multi tool which I use on the boat and a cheap and nasty Einhall 18v kit which is about the most useless assortment of rubbish I have ever used, will get rid of that when we have a garage sale and someone else can suffer.
The Milwaukee kit goes in the bucket of the Kubota when I am out doing fencing jobs, it is pretty much unstoppable and would recommend it to anyone, batteries are Li Ion and 5ah.

 

[airbiscuit]

On a related note, I have good success getting batteries on Ebay (if you are diligent). My drill drivers came with 2ah batteries. I have purchased 4ah and 5ah batteries on Ebay for about 1/2 price- one generic and the others OEM.

My wish list would be for a framing nailer. (remember, you always want one more tool than you have)

 

[newbury]

One for me, one for a crew to take to a job site. They are really handy, and amazing at what they can do. I only buy Makita, got some tools 30 plus years old. My son likes Milwaukee, they do seem to be pretty nice.

I bought 5 of the milwaukee M4 4 volt, 2 battery kits screwdrivers when they first came out (maybe 8 or 10 years ago) and to this day I kick myself for it.

Those darn things are still running (just used one today) the batteries are still good. The problem is they were about the first Li-Ion's I had seen and I kick myself for buying 5 (1 for myself, one for each offspring). I should have bought a couple of dozen. Home Depot was selling them for $20@ online. They sold out almost immediately.

 

[mopardude318]

I absolutely love my Milwaukee M18 fuel 1/2" impact gun. Use it nearly everyday at work, and at my leisure working on an old tractor. Of course I bought into the Milwaukee brand, I have a lot of their M18 fuel tools. But in this day and age, any of the big tool makers are very close, they are always releasing something that tops the other. which makes it difficult, or expensive rather to try and keep up. lol.

 

[Mace Canute]

As others have mentioned, if you use Dewalt cordless tools, look to pick up an 18v to 20v adapter.

A good friend (who lives on an acreage) cruises Kijiji looking for Dewalt cordless tools and picks them up when he comes across a bargain. Tools he seems to use the most include the 1/4" impact and the 1/2" impact; the 1/4" for driving screws absolutely shines and the 1/2" impact is his go-to impact driver for almost all of the heavier stuff. If it won't do it he gets out the air powered 3/4" impact. Other very handy ones he likes are the angle grinder for those small jobs that don't take much grinding but are a PITA to have to dig out the 120v ones and of course the cordless drill for the small jobs. A little cordless circular saw hasn't seen much use but where he did use it it was super handy not to have to use the 120v one.

A couple of years ago i happened to find a Milwaukee battery laying on the street; I suspect someone was careless and left it where it could fall off a work truck. I stopped to get it out of the driving lane but it looked to be in decent shape so I kept it and gave it to him. A little while later he found a slightly damaged charger for it in the big red bin at his work location. (Safety rules there dictate any damaged stuff like that get chucked.) It seemed to charge the battery just fine. Then last Christmas a friend of his gave him a Milwaukee 18v LED light that he had won as a door prize. The guy didn't have a charger for it and apparently didn't want to buy one for a light he didn't feel he would use enough to make the investment worthwhile. Rather serendipitously my friend now has a very nice cordless LED light!