Anybody know anything about cordless drills

[The Boston Dangler]

Cordless electricity? I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

first, and last, issue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i like milwaukee and porter cable. i guess dewalt is ok, i've never had one. makitas are crap.

make sure you get a keyed chuck, and the heavier the drill is, the better.

 

[memory]

i like milwaukee and porter cable. i guess dewalt is ok, i've never had one. makitas are crap.

make sure you get a keyed chuck, and the heavier the drill is, the better.

Why get one with a keyed chucked? Aren't most cordless drills keyless? Every drill I looked at was keyless.

 

[BigJ]

i like milwaukee and porter cable. i guess dewalt is ok, i've never had one. makitas are crap.

make sure you get a keyed chuck, and the heavier the drill is, the better.

Porter Cable and DeWalt are owned by Black and Decker. Porter Cable is a lower end version of the DeWalt stuff, and Black and Decker is a lower end version of the Porter Cable stuff.

Milwaukee is my brand of choice for a portable set right now. I don't know when the last time you used Makita was, but they are generally regarded as one of the best brands in the industry.

Why on earth would you tell him to look for a keyed chuck/heavy drill when he's searching for a sub-$200 portable drill?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Why on earth would you tell him to look for a keyed chuck/heavy drill when he's searching for a sub-$200 portable drill?

i consider the overall weight an indicator of quality, like power supplies and amps. i looked at the porter cable product site, and you're right, those aren't the P-Cs i remember.

 

[d4a2n0k]

Makita LXT 18v lithium ion is what I recommend. Light weight and compact but can still twist your arm off. Batteries charge in 15 minutes or 30 minutes depending on which one you are charging. Amazom has great deals on these.

 

[RipGlitter]

Why get one with a keyed chucked? Aren't most cordless drills keyless? Every drill I looked at was keyless.

Unless you want to also carry a large enough pair of pliers to tighten the keyless chuck down with, you probably want a keyed chuck. I have a Black and Decker with keyless chuck and you can't tighten it enough to hang on to drill bits about half the time, which is REAL annoying.

 

[memory]

Unless you want to also carry a large enough pair of pliers to tighten the keyless chuck down with, you probably want a keyed chuck. I have a Black and Decker with keyless chuck and you can't tighten it enough to hang on to drill bits about half the time, which is REAL annoying.

With my Dewalt, that was not a problem most of the time. I prefer a keyless chuck anyways because lots of times, we are constantly putting in different bits. How many cordless drills have keyed chucks? I have never seen one.

 

[bruceb]

I agree, these type of tools should not be bought at Home Depot / Lowes .. it has been said, that the quality of products sold at those stores, is not up to par with what the manufacturers send to non discounters. As to Porter Cable and DeWalt now being owned by Black & Decker, that is news to me. I have some Porter Cable products, but they are from late 1970's / early 1980's era and they are all corded tools. As to cordless, I like DeWalt myself.

 

[memory]

Where would be a good place to buy a drill? Would Fastenal be a good place? Are they going to be higher? How would someone know if that place is selling the better version?

 

[BigJ]

I agree, these type of tools should not be bought at Home Depot / Lowes .. it has been said, that the quality of products sold at those stores, is not up to par with what the manufacturers send to non discounters. As to Porter Cable and DeWalt now being owned by Black & Decker, that is news to me. I have some Porter Cable products, but they are from late 1970's / early 1980's era and they are all corded tools. As to cordless, I like DeWalt myself.

People can say whatever they want. How many people have purchased identical kits from both Home Depot/Lowes and a distributor, gutted them, and shown proof of the use of substandard parts in the Big Box versions?

 

[BigJ]

Where would be a good place to buy a drill? Would Fastenal be a good place? Are they going to be higher? How would someone know if that place is selling the better version?

How cold does it get on the farm? Something that Milwaukee recently came out with was the Red Lithium batteries that are supposed to be an improvement on their current line, along with better usage at colder temperatures.

Any distributor is usually going to be higher than the big box stores. Amazon typically has great deals on power tools.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

The longest lasting cordless drill I ever had was a Milwaukee (used 5 days a week for ~ 8 years), and the best all around drill is this Makita. The only Bosch I had was great, but expensive to repair.

I have used purchased several drills and used many more over the last 18 years, and will never own another DeWalt. Others I would avoid are Hitachi, Craftsman, Kawasaki, Black and Decker, Porter Cable, Ryobi, and other lesser known brands. One other drill that I didn't get to use very much but seemed promising was a Panasonic. Snap On has some good drills as well, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get one.

 

[boomhower]

In my brief dable in the cable guy business I used a dewault hammer and was very happy with it, no issues. Since that is out, probably try a Makita and then Milwaukee.

 

[grohl]

I am a DIYer and I have tackled some pretty big projects with my Ridgid 18v. Driving 6-8 inches through concrete slab and thousands of screws in fence projects to name a few. I just replaced clutch on their lifetime warranty and it's 8 years old.

 

[memory]

I think I am going with Milwaukee. I have been looking on ebay and there are some going for around $200 that includes the impact driver. Specifically I have been looking at the M18 version and it looks like there are 2 versions of the M18, hammer drill and compact drill. Both have metal gear box. I just wish it had more than a 2 speed transmission.

Is there something that makes the hammer drill version built tougher than the regular version?

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=mi...r+drill&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

It can get pretty cold here in Southern In. A few weeks ago we had lows down in the single digits for several nights in a row. And it can get pretty windy too. Normally it will get down to the mid teens and upper 20's for the high.

 

[mztykal]

I love my hitachi impact and drill, both lithium. My corded rigid drill has been great for almost 5 years now!

 

[Lifted]

I just recently bought a 21v(?) Black and Decker. It died after a couple of weeks of light use - drilling small holes to hang blinds. I think the clutch went as it started smoking and flaming.

Exchanged it for a 'lower power' 18v Dewalt, and it's much more powerful and sturdy than the B&D. It cost 3x as much but I'll be expensing it. If I had to spend my own money I'd still get anything besides a B&D no matter how cheap the B&D is. There's a reason the B&D I bought for $90, on sale for $50 when I returned it, costs 1/2 - 1/3 of the Dewalt's and Milwaukee's.

 

[x-alki]

I had a DeWalt cordless that I had to use to drill some holes that where under water. That was 3 years ago and the the drill is still working today. All I did was blow the drill out with an air hose 4 hours after it was used.

 

[olds]

I prefer key less on cordless and keyed on corded.

 

[LikeLinus]

The Makita Lithium Ion Drills and Impact Drivers are the best drills hands down. I've also got DeWalt 18v drills and they are good, but I've been very impressed with my Makita set.

If you do a search on the Makita, it was tested in Fine Woodworking Magazine against the Dewalt, Porter, Craftsman, Bosch, Ridgid and Milwaukee. It came out on top and was rated the best drill in the bunch. Milwaukee, surprisingly, didn't have very good battery life for Lith-Ion.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/power-tools/4292657 (Makita ranked best)

http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideArticle.aspx?id=32871 (Video showing how they ran the test). Makita had the highest marks and highest torque of any drill. It was the winner out overall and rated best buy.

Article with test results:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=32805 ( You have to be a member)

 

[memory]

It looks like Makita is cheaper than Milwaukee too.

Man, Makita has a 15 minute charger. Maybe I am wrong but I thought the longer it took to charge, the better. I realize why they make them charge that fast but doesn't it hurt the life span of the batteries?

 

[Jeff7]

Cordless electricity? I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

How's a press release instead?

 

[iGas]

The Makita Lithium Ion Drills and Impact Drivers are the best drills hands down. I've also got DeWalt 18v drills and they are good, but I've been very impressed with my Makita set.

If you do a search on the Makita, it was tested in Fine Woodworking Magazine against the Dewalt, Porter, Craftsman, Bosch, Ridgid and Milwaukee. It came out on top and was rated the best drill in the bunch. Milwaukee, surprisingly, didn't have very good battery life for Lith-Ion.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/power-tools/4292657 (Makita ranked best)

http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideArticle.aspx?id=32871 (Video showing how they ran the test). Makita had the highest marks and highest torque of any drill. It was the winner out overall and rated best buy.

Article with test results:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=32805 ( You have to be a member)

IMHO, it is not a complete comparison.

The drills that in the those tests are run of the mill drills (most are for home owner), and it may or may not have the full line of drills from each manufacture for an apple to apple comparison.

There are 6~7 different models of 18V Li-Ion Makita drills ranging from 400~560 in.lbs of torque (my hammer drill doesn't have torque rating), and Dewalt have at least three 18V Li-Ion models that I have seen. I can't speak for the rest. And, then the Amp Hours are varied from battery pack to battery pack (anywhere from 1.2~3.3 Ah).

All of my 18V batteries are 3.0 Ah, because I don't have time to play around with smaller size batteries. If I remember correctly the tool cut off somewhere at 0.9 Ah other wise the battery will be permanently damage, therefore a 1.2 - 0.9 Ah = 0.3 Ah of working power, and a 3.0 - 0.9 Ah = 2.1 Ah of working power.

 

[iGas]

It looks like Makita is cheaper than Milwaukee too.

Man, Makita has a 15 minute charger. Maybe I am wrong but I thought the longer it took to charge, the better. I realize why they make them charge that fast but doesn't it hurt the life span of the batteries?

Batteries and chargers are smarter these days. Makita batteries have a chip in it to work with the charger that sense the resistant & temperature of the battery. It apply the highest Amperage possible at the beginning of the charge then step down the power when it reaches 70~80% of power and temperature, and then it trickle charge the rest.