Cordless Drill suggestions

[thecoolnessrune]

Hey guys. I need a really powerful cordless drill/screwdriver. It's main use is to put 3 1/2" screws through pretreated boards. It would be nice if it had a torque adjustments so that I could properly use frame brackets as well. I have used an 18V Skil for the past 5 years. But as batteries continue to die plus the $50 a pop replacement cost, I'm thinking it may be time for a new one. Any suggestions?

 

[RollWave]

I had a hard time finding one I was happy with back when I was doing a lot of deck work...I ended up just getting a proper drill and an extremely long extension cord

 

[Nocturnal]

DeWalt!

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
DeWalt!

I'm very happy with my 15 Amp DeWalt miter saw. Best tool investment we ever made... Any particular models?

 

[RollWave]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
DeWalt!

I love my corded DeWalt.

 

[compuwiz1]

I love my Makita.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I'm looking around a bit and people seem to really like the Panasonic EY6432GQKW

I didn't know Panasonic even made drivers..

 

[herrjimbo]

food for thought...predrill the holes and you won't be eating up batteries.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: herrjimbo
food for thought...predrill the holes and you won't be eating up batteries.

Already do... doean't change the fact that they die eventually

 

[dartworth]

DeWalt DC728KA

or

DeWalt DC759KA

 

[Howard]

Pre-treated board?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: Howard
Pre-treated board?

yeah.. PT boards... namely 4x4s and 6x6's... also 2x4's into 4x4's and 2x4's to other 2x4s. The thing they all have in common is that they're pretreated.. What was confusing?

 

[Greenman]

An impact driver can't be beat for wood screws. I've been using one for about a year now and I'll never go back to a plain drill/driver, there is just no comparison. Half the weight of a drill driver and far more turning force.
I'm a big Dewalt fan just because I've had such good luck with Dewalt tools in general, but there are several good brands on the market.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
I'm looking around a bit and people seem to really like the Panasonic EY6432GQKW

I didn't know Panasonic even made drivers..

IIRC Costco sells a Panasonic drill/driver in their stores. No idea what model number though.

I've been happy with my Craftsman 19.2V for years. I used them when I worked for a contractor, and liked them enough to buy one for myself. If it died I'd probably check out the one at Costco, because it's pretty cheap and Costco generally only sells high quality stuff.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: herrjimbo
food for thought...predrill the holes and you won't be eating up batteries.</end quote></div>

Already do... doean't change the fact that they die eventually

I usually use a corded drill for drilling holes and a cordless drill/driver to drive screws. Can't beat a corded drill for drilling holes, can't beat a cordless drill/driver for driving screws.

 

[NoShangriLa]

Batteries will eventually die with usage or in storage. Rechargeable batteries must be charge up to full charge every 1-3 months in storage (charge holding pending chemical make up of batteries) or they will drop below the thresh hold of no return (around 0.9 volt).

I would go for a cheap Dewalt corded drill, however any corded drill will out perform the very best of cordless drills.

Lithium Ions drills or impact is the way to go because it is lighter and offer twice the Ah of NiMH/NiCad . Impact driver offer 2X-4X the torque of drills, drive screws faster, and drive more than 2X the amount of screws than drills per charge.

That said,

Bosch 10.8 Volt Litheon Impactor is the best of the screw driver breed, because it is very small & at least 1/2 of the weight of a drill and deliver 2X the torque of a 18 Volt drill. Weight in at 2.2 lbs.

The runner up are the versatility Makita 14.4 Volt and 18 Volt Hybrid Impact-Hammer-Driver-Drill weighing in at 3.8 lbs for the 14.4 & 4 lbs for the 18 Volt version, that deliver 1200 in/lbs & 1236 in/lb respectively.

IMHO, any cheap impact screw driver will do just fine for the occasional usage for home owner, and Bosch/Dewalt/Makita/Milwaukee for pro or a person that like to have quality tools.

<-- Drive several thousands of screws per week & currently own a 14.4 Volt Makita impact drier, and waiting for the 10.8V Bosch impact driver to come to Canada.

[add] forgot to mention Panasonic for pro use.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: mugs
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: herrjimbo
food for thought...predrill the holes and you won't be eating up batteries.</end quote></div>

Already do... doean't change the fact that they die eventually </end quote></div>

I usually use a corded drill for drilling holes and a cordless drill/driver to drive screws. Can't beat a corded drill for drilling holes, can't beat a cordless drill/driver for driving screws.

I agree, but I'd need over 300ft. of extension cord to get a corded drill out to where im working... and I'm not really interested in purchasing a generator

Also, what about impact drivers/hammerdrills.

I have absolutely no idea how those things work.. Will it easily strip screw heads? Can it be used in one hand? I take it that it can't be used for sensitive jobs like putting brackets onto boards correct?

 

[NoShangriLa]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: mugs
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: herrjimbo
food for thought...predrill the holes and you won't be eating up batteries.</end quote></div>

Already do... doean't change the fact that they die eventually </end quote></div>

I usually use a corded drill for drilling holes and a cordless drill/driver to drive screws. Can't beat a corded drill for drilling holes, can't beat a cordless drill/driver for driving screws.</end quote></div>

I agree, but I'd need over 300ft. of extension cord to get a corded drill out to where im working... and I'm not really interested in purchasing a generator

Also, what about impact drivers/hammerdrills.

I have absolutely no idea how those things work.. Will it easily strip screw heads? Can it be used in one hand? I take it that it can't be used for sensitive jobs like putting brackets onto boards correct?

They are lighter than corded & cordless drills. Doesn't torque the drill out of our hands like drill does, however it will break the screw/bolt if screwing into hard material if careless.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: mugs
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: herrjimbo
food for thought...predrill the holes and you won't be eating up batteries.</end quote></div>

Already do... doean't change the fact that they die eventually </end quote></div>

I usually use a corded drill for drilling holes and a cordless drill/driver to drive screws. Can't beat a corded drill for drilling holes, can't beat a cordless drill/driver for driving screws.</end quote></div>

I agree, but I'd need over 300ft. of extension cord to get a corded drill out to where im working... and I'm not really interested in purchasing a generator

Also, what about impact drivers/hammerdrills.

I have absolutely no idea how those things work.. Will it easily strip screw heads? Can it be used in one hand? I take it that it can't be used for sensitive jobs like putting brackets onto boards correct?</end quote></div>
They are lighter than corded & cordless drills. Doesn't torque the drill out of our hands like drill does, however it will break the screw/bolt if screwing into hard material if careless.

But for wood to wood screwing it would be ideal correct?

 

[Chunkee]

Milwaukee

 

[NoShangriLa]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: mugs
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: herrjimbo
food for thought...predrill the holes and you won't be eating up batteries.</end quote></div>

Already do... doean't change the fact that they die eventually </end quote></div>

I usually use a corded drill for drilling holes and a cordless drill/driver to drive screws. Can't beat a corded drill for drilling holes, can't beat a cordless drill/driver for driving screws.</end quote></div>

I agree, but I'd need over 300ft. of extension cord to get a corded drill out to where im working... and I'm not really interested in purchasing a generator

Also, what about impact drivers/hammerdrills.

I have absolutely no idea how those things work.. Will it easily strip screw heads? Can it be used in one hand? I take it that it can't be used for sensitive jobs like putting brackets onto boards correct?</end quote></div>
They are lighter than corded & cordless drills. Doesn't torque the drill out of our hands like drill does, however it will break the screw/bolt if screwing into hard material if careless.

</end quote></div>

But for wood to wood screwing it would be ideal correct?</end quote></div>
It is great for screwing decking & rough work, but isn't great for fine finish work because it is hard to control the powerful torque with the trigger.

 

[Kelemvor]

If you're going to be doing a lot of these, get a CORDED drill. Every time I've done deck word and such which was using 3-4" nails, it's just sucked the life out of my cordless drill very fast. I'd go buy or borrow a corded drill and get a long extension cord if needed. Otherwise be sure you have extra batteries charging while you're draining the first one.

 

[NoShangriLa]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Kelemvor
If you're going to be doing a lot of these, get a CORDED drill. Every time I've done deck word and such which was using 3-4" nails, it's just sucked the life out of my cordless drill very fast. I'd go buy or borrow a corded drill and get a long extension cord if needed. Otherwise be sure you have extra batteries charging while you're draining the first one.</end quote></div>
Depends on what you have and size of batteries, but newer impact drivers boast 100 3 inch deck screws per charge for the 10.8 Volt version and up to 250-300 3 inch deck screws per charge for 18 Volts impact drivers.

I haven't test out how many screws my impact driver can do per charge but it deliver at least 3 times the screws when compare to my Dewalt drill and co worker Hitachi/Panasonic/Milwaukee drills.

Ever try driving 3/8"x8" lag bolts with a drill? It is not possible, but my little 14.4 impact driver do it with ease.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Best cordless drills/drivers - For professional use (in no particular order):

Bosch
Milwaukee (still using my 7+ year old 12V to this day)
Makita
Panasonic

2nd Tier - Good for general purpose/home use:

Dewalt
Hitachi
Ridgid (very heavy)
Porter Cable
Craftsman (very heavy)

3rd Tier - Not recommended (I would recommend corded instead):

Ryobi
Firestorm
Black and Decker
Skil

 

[Cattlegod]

air powered nail gun ftw.