Recommendations on cordless drill?

[axelfox]

Looking for a cordless drill to do some household projects. I need this to last a long time, and some brands I recognize are Makita and DeWalt, which I liked using before. I don't know much about drills, but I think 14.4 volts is good enough. I looked into the B&D FireStorm MultiTool (Drill, Sander, SaberSaw), but I heard it was pretty weak from some people.

I want to keep it less than 100 bux, if possible.
What do you guys think?

 

[Thegonagle]

DeWalt is pretty good for household projects. A lot of the guys I work with (installing office furniture) use them. 14.4.volt is plenty strong for just about anything. I use a Makita 9.6 and it's great for a "weak 9.6." Leave the FireStorm alone. If you're going to use your drill a lot, I'd recommend Milwaukee for durability. Also Panasonic. They're not as widely available and are expensive, but they last a long time and are the lightest weight, therefore the least tiring to use.

 

[DaLeroy]

Go DeWalt! 14.4v is very strong (hammer of course
The 18v is VERY good, but also very expensive for a home cordless...

 

[Ulfwald]

I use a Craftsman Industrial 14.4, which is basically a DeWalt. Remember this, the more volts you get in a battery pack, the heavier this sucker weighs.

 

[Mday]

yeah, 14.4 is a hell of a drill.

of course i don't really like cordless drills. i have a battery powered screw driver, and that's good enough for me ;-)... my father has a whole lot of drills. i don't like the cordless ones, but then he does not have "new" cordless drills.

my father has an old milwaukee corded, and it's great. it's OLD, and i use it all the time (even for my case mods =))

 

[d33pt]

I have a Makita 18v and it's great. I love it. It was a bday gift from my girlfriend. I just used it yesterday to drill holes in my case for a blowhole. Nothing stops it and a feature i really like is that it stops as soon as i let go of the trigger instead of winding down like other cheaper drills.

 

[yakko]

DeWalt or Milwaukee.

 

[Thegonagle]

I wanted to add that I'd go Makita over DeWalt because they have a better quality feel. DeWalts tend to develop a little free play in the gears over time, but since you want to spend less money and go 14.4 volts, go with DeWalt. Once again, forget about the FireStorm. They need more time on the market to prove themselves worthy.

d33pt,

I've never seen a modern cordless drill over $70 or so that does not have an electric brake like you describe.

 

[Ender510]

DeWalt or Makita.. I personally have had the same Makita for over 5 yrs now.. works great!

 

[Poolman]

Tim the Toolman's fav..

 

[bigbootydaddy]

<< I use a Craftsman Industrial 14.4, which is basically a DeWalt. Remember this, the more volts you get in a battery pack, the heavier this sucker weighs. >>



NOT TRUE!!
the craftsman (ryobi made-might have switched, havent kept up) have Ni-Cad batteries, which develop a memomry, basically, if you don let the battery die all the way down, itll have a shorter per run life. Dewalts (black and decker owned)have lithium batteries.

the other thing is weight, can you imagine constructing and holding a 18v drill overhead for trying to get a dinky lil screw on the ceiling??

they also have the 24v out (heh heh heh)

look into two speeds (low/high rpm modes, help a lot whether taking out old stuff, or speed drilling) and a good number of torque settings, 5 is good, 24 (ala craftsman) is ridiculous. then again you can sucker any sears person to take a craftsman back, but techincally they only have a one year warrenty unless you buy extensions.

yes i used to work at sears. i know two things, broodwar and handtools.

edit: oh yeah, recommendation? makita or milwaukee.

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

I'm a religious supporter of Milwaukee Tools, if I had to choose something else, I would go with DeWalt. I don't like Makita, and I'm definately not a fan of B&amp;D.

For wrenches and airguns it's either Snap-On or Craftsman. No Exceptions.

BTW has anyone checked out Home Depot's toos?? RIGID is the brand name, are those any good??

JR..

 

[bigbootydaddy]

<< I would go with DeWalt. I don't like Makita, and I'm definately not a fan of B&amp;D >>



uhh....black and decker makes dewalt. *strange look*

 

[monckywrench]

Black and Decker own both DeWalt and Porter-Cable, among others. Do comparisons between specific models rather than brands when shopping. B &amp; D is &quot;consumer grade&quot; while DeWalt and Porter-Cable are more robust. Milwaukee is IMO the best. Everyone should own at least one Milwaukee tool just for spank value DeWalt products are quite tough (based or gross abuse by me) and will do fine for most users.

 

[Viperoni]

Dewalt, Craftsman, Porter Cable or Milwaukee.
I like Dewalts yellowness

 

[Harrald]

18 volt Dewalt

It's the best cordless drill I've ever owned and I've owned a bunch.

 

[JC]

I'd get the Makita 14.4v. I use one everyday at work (1/2&quot; chuck model) might not fit your budget but it's worth it. Other guys at work have had poor luck with B&amp;D drills...I haven't used Milwaukee or DeWalt cordless drills, though.
JC

 

[shiznut123]

i like the firestorm drill.
its cheap and looks like it couild handle any job

 

[gkao]

I love my 14.4 FireStorm! I didn't think it would be that good, but after doing lots of research and discovered that Black &amp; Decker makes both FireStorm and DeWalt, I went with the FireStorm because it's a heck of a lot cheaper than a similar DeWalt model. I went through a whole kitchen remodeling project with my FireStorm and it shows no signs of slowing down. Also, did you know that the batteries from the FireStorm and the DeWalts are interchangeable? Same voltage, of course.

But you definitely need at least 14.4 volts. Don't go for anything less.

 

[Toolman]

Dewalt! Dewalt for the long haul! I personally would avoid Makita. Dewalt has replaceable brushes.

 

[axelfox]

Dang, went to a liquidating HomeBase in Norwalk, CA, all the power tools were gone.

 

[Ronstang]

Make sure you get one with NiMH (Nickel Metal-Hydride)batteries since these are the only types of batteries that do not develop a memory. You can use the drill for 10 minutes and then rechartge the battery without developing a memory in the batteries.

I'm not sure which brands use these btteries these days. I'm sure that Makita does because I have one. Buy what you like. I personally like Makitas. I have some of their cordless tools that are 15 years old and they still work. I've used Dewalt and I think they are OK but not as good as Makita, they are just fancy Black &amp; Decker which is really junk.