Looking for best cordless drill to purchase

[kenmac]

I purchased a HF 18 volt yrs ago just for the heck of it, to play with around the house. I figured it's made in china like the rest , it must be of the same quality.. Wrong !!

 

[downsizingnow48]

"If you get a driver, be sure to look into square and star drive screws. Once you start using them, you will hate every having to use Phillips heads screws."

EddieWalker has it right and needs to be underlined. I started using square drive for just about everything about 5 years ago. The performance difference from Phillips to square is huge. For drivers and drills I have Metabo (6v) Bosch (12 and 18v) and Makita (18v). All fine. First cordless was 9.6v Makita drill that lasted 15 years of daily use and 4 sets of batteries before finally packing it in.

 

[timswi]

I have a Dewalt 20v Lithium-ion set..Best I've ever owned.

 

[deepNdirt]

Yes square slotted screws are the way to go, If using them make sure the torque setting on the driver will slip, otherwise look to be snapping of the heads of some screws,

My son bought one of them HB drill flashlight combo deals, he's been using it for over a year now, actually not too shabby for the $$$ spent, something like 19.?? the drill itself can be purchased for around 15.?? includes 18 v.battery & charger, the only complaint my son has is to buy an extra battery cost as much as buying the combo again
thats a no brainier:confused2:
this is how I've in the past wound up with having so many old Craftsman drills, batteries and chargers,
But he don't use drills like I do, one time I purchased what I thought was a bargain, actually bought 2 of them, forget what I paid but it had to be cheap for me to even had look twice at them, was from one of these traveling tool trucks that setup in parking lots,
ya see! one of the things I do in my business is whole house lock-outs, Door knobs cabinet knobs all the hardware kind of things, etc,etc,
the first time I used one of those drills I had a nut driver in it ,the darn thing had such a good bite on the nut head and had enough torque that it snap the part I had in my hand right off, leaving only the wires holding it together,
was definitely one of them idiot signs flashing over my head as I looked down at it dazed and confused, only wishing I had bought but one of them,

 

[Coyote machine]

I have old corded B&D 3/8th drills, orange and black color. Rigid 1/2 hammer drill corded, no case, Home depot floor demo; was able to get lifetime warranty upgrade. Have had old style long battery Craftsman cordless 9.6V? battery, long dead now. Bought DeWalt 12.6V kit, drill, charger and 2 batteries, lasted a long time, think 1 battery is still ok. More recent, bought Makita 14.4V kit, 2 batts, 1 chgr, and lite/case. Been great but missed out on newer 18.?V kit LXT model. Tried my electrician's and it has much more power, etc. Then tried my sheetrocker's DeWalt 20.?V driver and it was noticably much, much faster than 14.4 Makita, no surprise there. The 20 V Dewalt was amazing, but I recently went with the Ridgid kit 18.?V with lifetime on everything. It has been great, and like a lot here on TBN, I only drive star drive, ceramic coated, or bronzed colored self tapping T-25 lag screws. And the smaller size impact driver is amazing torquewise. The oscillating motion of the impact drivers leaves conventional screw driving in the dust.
Note the lifetime warranty requires the battery AND charger, or drill or driver to be sent back to the factory so they can determine which component is faulty. This may or may not be a problem for some buyers....
BTW, I do have the old yellow Ryobi nicad type batteries, and one still works, but I recently bought a LiIon powered Ryobi recip saw and use it for light pruning of yard shrubs/ornamentals, etc. It's quick, and much lighter than my Makita corded AVT recip saw, which will take down anything with ease!

I'm tending to go with the Ridgid tools since one LiIon battery can essentially last forever, and I can buy a bare tool like their cordless circular saw to add to my toolchest for reasonable $, and again lifetime warranty.

I've also been picking up lots of good quality nearly brand new tools at some pawn shops. Couple of Stihl chainsaws, a Ridgid circ saw and 1 battery and charger, a used Dremel, cordless, etc. They unfortunately ALL got stolen from my CT garage when I had the overhead doors replaced.:mur: Not the chainsaws though!:dance1:

I suggest getting what fits your use level/frequency, and what is comfortable, & what you can afford, and what is easiest for you to buy, locally if possible.

Good luck, post back results.

 

[HillStreet]

Bought three Porter Cable 18v combo sets two years ago for $69 each brand new from Lowes-- shipped right to my front porch. Good service thus far and I've used them quite a bit trimming out my new house with cabinets, railings, garage doors, sheds etc. good value but I am also partial to Bosch and Makita for my other tools. Ridgid cordless drill just did not live up to expectations so I junked it rather than try to replace batteries after warranty.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have several brands and models on the work van. I truly love the Milwaukee 28 volt drill, led light,sawzall and saw kit which i use as my primary equipment. I can pretty much use this drill all day on one charge. And the torque can rip your arm off.. Its only issue has been the weight...there very heavy.

For general lighter jobs, ive been using my Dewalt 20 volt 3.0AH drill and impact driver kit. This was a great buy i made about 18 months ago from my wholesale house. They traded me any used drill,battery and charger kit for their new driver/drill and impact drill kit for only $99. This included 2 batteries. Heck, i paid $99 just for a battery. After using this kit for the past 18 months, i would HIGHLY recommend it. the 3.0 AH batteries last a very long time, and the drill weighs about 1/2 the weight of the Milwaukee. Lowe's sells this kit pretty cheap, but they keep trying to stick you with the 1.5AH batteries, and these only give you 1/2 the usage.

 

[DFB]

Another neat tool Bosch NEW Socket Ready Impact with 1/4" Hex and 1/2" Square Drive Kit




Pro Tool Review details all the new brushless releases from Bosch for 2014

 

[QRTRHRS]

I am amazed by the variety of battery powered tools and accessories available these days. I get an email newsletter from Milwaukee with cool tools. I just wish I had the need to justify buying more and more tools not to mention the money, lol!

I agree with the square and torx drive fasteners. Time for phillips head hardware to go the way of slotted heads except for maybe drywall application.

 

[CurlyDave]

What is the environment you will use the drill in?

If it is only you, working around the house by yourself anything will do, but the best ones in the contractor class of tools are probably the Makitas like Eddie and others have said.

OTOH, I haven't bought a Makita in 20 years and don't have any that work right now. The reason is that, for most of my larger projects, I hire out of work contractors to help me at an hourly wage. Almost always, these guys have DeWalt tools, chargers and batteries, which they will bring to the job. Just to standardize, I bought DeWalts for my tools. That way we can interchange batteries, tools, etc. This is convenient and a great timesaver.

When Joe shows up and hasn't put his impact driver in the truck this morning, I just hand him mine and work goes on. When Mike's batteries are all dead, I have charged ones that fit his tool, and work continues.