Buying power tools soon enough... Want one brand

[TridenT]

Thoughts on what to do? I might get a cordless impact wrench along with a drill/driver. I would like to stick with one brand for the sake of batteries and brand consistency. Thoughts? I was wanting to get an IR because they have good impacts but... Milwuakee seems to be where it's at for drill/drivers.


Thoughts? I will probably expand my cordless tool needs later and I'd like the brand to supply well. For now, I want a lethally strong (automotive applications) impact wrench and a good drill/driver for construction/carpentry jobs.

 

[garndawg]

Having just gone through this, my advice is: DeWalt or Bosch

Most of the contractors here in the South use DeWalt. And if you decide to expand your set to more than what you've listed, DeWalt is easy to find for a decent price. I also have several Bosch tools as well and remain highly impressed.

I sold a 18v (old style) compact drill and jobsite radio on Craigslist for $160 in the past week, after four years of use. Good return, IMHO, and I live in a pretty small craigslist market.

I bought a new 20v Max hammer drill and impact driver (DCK286D2) using Amazon's $20 off deal for Father's Day. I also placed a 2nd order for drill and impact bits, as my stash was getting a little thin.

 

[996GT2]

What's the over/under on TridenT ignoring everyone's advice here and buying Black & Decker after 5 pages of responses?

 

[Wuzup101]

I have all Makita 18v 3Ah stuff and I like it (never had any issues with it). Haven't used all the brands so really can't comment.

 

[Drako]

Milwaukee M18 for cordless.

 

[MongGrel]

Milwaukee is always solid, for hand tools.

DeWalt is good for the price, but I'd put the about on almost equal rating personally, depends on what is cheaper.

I still like Milwaukee.

I can't say anything bad about Bosch to be honest, I just prefer the other two.

I'd say look for the best deal on you want out of those three IMHO.

 

[michal1980]

rigid lifetime warranty.

but with this op. harbor freight

 

[PottedMeat]

DeWalt or Bosch, i want the second owner to be happy :awe:

 

[TridenT]

What's the over/under on TridenT ignoring everyone's advice here and buying Black & Decker after 5 pages of responses?

:hmm: I'd never buy Black & Decker. If anything, I'll ignore everyone's advice and get all 20v Ingersoll-Rand. 700ft/lb torque on that 20v impact wrench is really convincing.
http://www.ingersollrandproducts.co...ols/iqv20/w7150-1-2-20v-high-torque-impactool

 

[natto fire]

I have been in the electrical trade for over 4 years, and Milwaukee is what I use. The only problem I have had is dropping my impact from a scissor lift 19 feet in the air, which screwed up the permanent magnets. It was a $14 part and ~1 hour of time fixing it. I have 4 year old M18 Li-ion batteries that still hold a respectable charge, although not as good as new.

DeWalt has been coasting on their name lately, and while they still make solid tools, they don't seem to be champing the bit like Bosch or Makita to counter the whirlwind of products Milwaukee has come out with lately for their M18 and M12 line.

Milwaukee's Fuel line is particularly tough to beat, although other top tier manufacturers have thrown brushless into the mix, Milwaukee was planning for it back when they were developing red lithium battery packs. As some may know, a brushless motor is simply a DC stepping motor. They have the advantage of not wasting energy exciting a rotor or stator. Milwaukee was planning to go this route and designed their next gen M18 battery around communicating this load between tool and battery to handle stepper (brushless) motor duty.

I have tools in the Milwaukee Fuel line and have been called a lunatic when old-timers thought I could not put a self-tapper in structural steel. My Fuel impact does it with finesse.

I was told I should wait for the corded Hilti to blast away concrete to get to our stub out. I threw a 5.0Ah battery into my Fuel roto-hammer and cracked concrete that no battery powered ANYTHING should have done.

Greenlee, Wera, and Knipex make the best hand tools, by the way. Klein took a big hit selling to HD, especially in wire stripper department,

 

[natto fire]

nm

 

[SSSnail]

Wait, so if I want one that I can use as a buffer as well, which one?

 

[michal1980]

:hmm: I'd never buy Black & Decker. If anything, I'll ignore everyone's advice and get all 20v Ingersoll-Rand. 700ft/lb torque on that 20v impact wrench is really convincing.
http://www.ingersollrandproducts.co...ols/iqv20/w7150-1-2-20v-high-torque-impactool

With that much torque your POS car will fall apart.

 

[996GT2]

Greenlee, Wera, and Knipex make the best hand tools, by the way.

Not for adjustable wrenches. Irega rules there. Though the Knipex pliers wrench is a nice tool if you're looking for a non-traditional type of wrench.

 

[foghorn67]

Milwaukee M18 and M12 systems are solid. It depends on your needs. But the M12 is very strong for 12v. Me and old roommate renovated a house with the M12 system, it was more than we needed. And holding up a power tool for hours on end, I was glad he picked the M12.
My take is the same, cordless tools, go with a GOOD 12v system. If you need power, nothing will beat the supplemental corded drills and saws.

Rigid is solid too. They came a long ways. Good warranty, and a selection of tools, batteries and chargers.

For odds and ends, I picked up a cheesy Craftsman NEXTEC 12v right angle impact driver. Cars come with a zillion fasteners that are small. This thing comes in handy. Look for it on slickdeals, because it's cheap a few times a year. I also picked up a NEXTEC non-impact drill because it was cheap. I needed a second battery and charger...so why not?

I do wish Milwaukee or DeWalt made a right angle 12v impact. That would be nice.

 

[MongGrel]

Greenlee makes nice manual hydraulic units, I don't use them a lot for what I do.

Used to have some for various things in a few shops, they are good for being portable.

I don't usual do manual even that much these days at work at any rate, mostly program/setup/operate Hass and Ganesh VMC's in 4 and 5 axis.

 

[tracerbullet]

I was considering Ryobi my next time around, they felt good int he store and you get a decent sized kit for the money. Almost too little money though, makes me nervous. I've long had good luck w/ DeWalt and would easily do that again. but I know they can / probably are a different company than when I bought my last round of tools ~ 10+ years ago.

FWIW, you may already know, 18 and 20V batteries are the same for power, if you see a single brand doing both it may just be a way to distinguish the shape of the battery connection itself. This is my understanding after a lot of reading on it lately (and videos showing 20V batteries making 18V).

Also as an option consider Craftsman, the newer C3 stuff felt good in the store. I find the option for cordless leaf blowers, string trimmers and the like to be appealing too, using the same batteries. I'll continue to own gas or electric versions of each but for that quick job now and then a battery option sounds nice.

 

[TridenT]

I think I'm going to go with Milwaukee. I didn't know they made a comparable (as in nearly identical in performance) 1/2" impact wrench. Which is great and that narrows things down for me. I don't think I'll need as many cordless battery powered automotive power tools as I will need construction tools. Therefore, Milwuakee makes more sense.

Although I do kind of wish that their 1/2" impact gun was shaped in the same way that the W7150 from IR is. (The W7150 has a slight tilt which I think makes it better for many automotive applications)

 

[RLGL]

18V Milwaukee or 20V Dewalt
Automotive work use Air powered, just remember, you get what you pay for.

 

[herm0016]

i am very very happy with my rigid stuff. the feugo series ( not sure if it is still made?). I use an air impact for automotive work.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I was considering Ryobi my next time around, they felt good int he store and you get a decent sized kit for the money. Almost too little money though, makes me nervous. I've long had good luck w/ DeWalt and would easily do that again. but I know they can / probably are a different company than when I bought my last round of tools ~ 10+ years ago.

FWIW, you may already know, 18 and 20V batteries are the same for power, if you see a single brand doing both it may just be a way to distinguish the shape of the battery connection itself. This is my understanding after a lot of reading on it lately (and videos showing 20V batteries making 18V).

Also as an option consider Craftsman, the newer C3 stuff felt good in the store. I find the option for cordless leaf blowers, string trimmers and the like to be appealing too, using the same batteries. I'll continue to own gas or electric versions of each but for that quick job now and then a battery option sounds nice.

I bought a Ryobi cordless drill once. It sucked. The chucks they used then were absolute shit, I could not get it tight enough to hold a drill bit while drilling into pine, the bits would slip and then the charger blew up making the entire drill useless. A new charger would have cost me as much as a new drill so I threw it in the trash and bought a DeWalt. Haven't had a single issue with that drill.

I will never buy another Ryobi product.

 

[cbrsurfr]

:hmm: I'd never buy Black & Decker. If anything, I'll ignore everyone's advice and get all 20v Ingersoll-Rand. 700ft/lb torque on that 20v impact wrench is really convincing.
http://www.ingersollrandproducts.co...ols/iqv20/w7150-1-2-20v-high-torque-impactool

I have the 7150, there's no way to really limit the torque so you have to be careful. Other than that I love it.

 

[Zenmervolt]

just remember, you get what you pay for.

When you're using it day-in, day-out I'll agree with you. But for the average home garage for someone who's handy with a wrench? It's a balancing act. Craftsman hand tools are more than fine for home use and my $40 Harbor Freight corded electric impact wrench has loosened every bolt I've ever needed to use it on (including suspension components that had been on the car 17 years).

Sure, there are better tools out there, but I only need the hand tools on weekends and the impact wrench maybe once a year. Spending 10X the cost of the Harbor Freight tool on something I rarely need isn't a wise financial move.

Then again, wise financial moves and this OP go together like toothpaste and orange juice...

I have the 7150, there's no way to really limit the torque so you have to be careful. Other than that I love it.

Why would you ever need to limit the torque on an impact wrench? Unless you're putting on lug nuts at the Daytona 500, you should never be using it to tighten anything. Impact wrenches are to get things loose. When you're putting it back together, use a torque wrench.

ZV

 

[QueBert]

nm

 

[cbrsurfr]

Why would you ever need to limit the torque on an impact wrench? Unless you're putting on lug nuts at the Daytona 500, you should never be using it to tighten anything. Impact wrenches are to get things loose. When you're putting it back together, use a torque wrench.

ZV

I was just making him aware of the torque rating of this thing. With 650ft-lbs forward and 1100ft-lbs reverse (I think they call it "nut" busting) this thing is a beast. Its waaaay more than the average Joe needs. That's more torque than most air impacts in a cordless. It's also pretty frickin heavy.

It would be nice if it had a "low" or more mundane setting. I don't want to break a wrist if this thing gets away from me nor do I need all that torque for every job.

The W5150 is in the 190ft-lbs range reverse which is probably better suited for most needs.