cordless power tools

bsman

bsman

b00b
I'm finally getting set to replace my old (1970s-era) Craftsman 3/8" reversable drill with one of them new-fangled cordless drills. I have a couple of questions -- in fact, my eyes are spinning from the choices out there:
  1. 12 volt or 18/20 volt (I'm not a heavy user)?
  2. Should I get both a drill and impact driver, or just the former (I probably drive screws more than I drill holes)?
  3. Can I get a cheap Harbor Freight "Chicago Electric" drill (12-volt lithium ion for < $50) or is it really best spend more?
  4. Brand recommendations (I see Ryobi, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Rigid, Bosch, Kolbalt, etc.)
 
Get this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Compact-Combo-Kit-2-Tool-LCT200W/100596872


Totally worth the money. I got one a few months ago (n reccomendation from my father-in-law, who actually has three of these sets (one at home and two in his shop)), and sometimes you find them on sale..I got my set of $169. Cheap is not a good option with this stuff. I've had battery problems with DeWalt and Rigid and Ryobi is usually just a step up from Harbor Freight. I have Porter Cable tools with cords that are really good tools. I've never tried the cordless stuff.

Craftsman is usually OK but the batteries (at least in the 18v hammer drill I own) are big and really heavy. The nice thing is that if you kill it you can bring it back to any sears and they'll replace it for free. Some of the guys in my father-in-laws shop use Craftsman just for that reason.
 
I've not tried the Harbor Freight stuff, but I got a cheap kit for Christmas many years ago that had a drill, a sander, and maybe a jig saw.

I used the drill quite a bit for a couple of years until the battery quit taking a charge.

It was handy, and I'd probably spend $50 or more on another one, even though I've gotten by fine with my corded drill since that one died.

I don't trust impact drivers unless they are air powered, but that's probably just me being a luddite.
 
I've not tried the Harbor Freight stuff, but I got a cheap kit for Christmas many years ago that had a drill, a sander, and maybe a jig saw.

I used the drill quite a bit for a couple of years until the battery quit taking a charge.

It was handy, and I'd probably spend $50 or more on another one, even though I've gotten by fine with my corded drill since that one died.

I don't trust impact drivers unless they are air powered, but that's probably just me being a luddite.
 
Higher Voltage = More better.

You probably don't need an impact driver. A regular drill will do in almost every situation......just get a good one.

I like DeWalt and Milwaukee, myself, though I think different manufacturers specialize in different things. I would stay away from Harbor Freight unless you want to use it as a "throw away" kind of thing. Bosch's thing, as well as Makita has always been their drills, so keep that in mind.
 
Punchy said:
HIGH VOLTAGE.

We've been using DeWalt for the past 8 years or so, haven't had a reason to change. :shrug:
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I got mine in 2004 when we built the studio and both the 12v driver and the 18v drill lasted about a year on the original batteries. My fatehr-in-law gave me a second hand Hitachi that lasted several years. It was long ago that they probably have improved the battery technology but he won't spend anymore money with them on the cordless stuff.
 
Mark Wein said:
I got mine in 2004 when we built the studio and both the 12v driver and the 18v drill lasted about a year on the original batteries. My fatehr-in-law gave me a second hand Hitachi that lasted several years. It was long ago that they probably have improved the battery technology but he won't spend anymore money with them on the cordless stuff.
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Yeah, we're starting to hit end-of-life on the 18V batteries. They price them so you might as well upgrade to the newer tech rather than buy new old-tech batteries anyway.
 
I've got the Milwaukee set with both the drill and impact driver, two batteries and a charger.
Best $200 I've ever spent.

I picked another impact driver on sale just to get the extra battery and charger. It was 10 bucks more than just a new battery.
 
Before buying cordless consider how often you’ll use it. I so rarely used mine that the battery was always dead, so I went back to cords.
 
I got sick of batteries not taking a charge about 1o years ago, and just bought a bunch of extension cords to use with my corded drill. Nowadays, I'm using an eggbeater drill or bit-and-brace as much as anything. Have batteries gotten better in the last decade?
 
Dewalt 18v

It is up to you if you get an impact driver. You have to ask yourself if you really need one. Most people don't. An impact driver isn't for driving screws, it's for removing rusted lug nuts and such...a typical cordless drill with a torque control is all you need for drilling, shooting screws, etc
 
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Chicken Man said:
I got sick of batteries not taking a charge about 1o years ago, and just bought a bunch of extension cords to use with my corded drill. Nowadays, I'm using an eggbeater drill or bit-and-brace as much as anything. Have batteries gotten better in the last decade?
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Yes.

You also have to know how to 'season' a battery. Fully charge>DEAD>Fully charge..repeat at least 5 full cycles. If you toss a marginally low battery back on the charger you are setting it up for failure. Run them until it will not turn at all, then fully charge and they will last until Dewalt comes out with a 24v system.
 
My cordless is a 10.8 volt Bosch. It has a quick connect chuck. It's really more a screwdriver but I have bits up to 1/4" and it drills holes just fine. I use my bigger corded drill for heavier projects.

I like the smaller size for 95% of the things I need it for.

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My old one was a larger Dewalt, which had replacement batteries that cost more than the drill. Quite the little scam.
But the Bosch batteries have already outlasted the Dewalt batteries by four times and they show no sign of giving up yet.
 
Apparently, the lithium ion batteries are orders of magnitude better than the old NiCads. I may just buy the drill first and add an impact driver if I feel I need one.
 
Got a standard HF Chicago electric 1/2 chuck drill that was 29 bucks minus the usual HF coupon. I only use it to drive my grain mill so it gets used like once a month for 2 minutes. For that purpose, it's been fine & has plenty of torque. However it's not something I'd want to be handling all day long; it's rough around the edges. No experience with their cordless drills. If I just was looking for one for occasional round the house tasks, I would definitely consider the HF/Chicago Electric cordless. My standard 3/8 is a Milwaukee that's been chugging along for over 20 years of abuse with out skipping a beat. I've had or used Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Hitachi & Porter Cable cordless over the years....they've all been OK but I've been partial to Mikata, which I still have.
 
bsman said:
Apparently, the lithium ion batteries are orders of magnitude better than the old NiCads. I may just buy the drill first and add an impact driver if I feel I need one.
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Yeah. An impact driver isn't something most people need very often.
 
My opinion: I hate cordless drills and drivers. I'll take a corded tool with some oomph behind it over a cordless one that always seems to lose its charge when I need it the most. That, and I got more stuff with chargers and whatnot than I can deal with.
 
I've got an 18v Dewalt Cordless. Things a beast and has drilled through everything I've thrown at it but is way too powerful for most screwdriving jobs I do.

For general screwdriving and smaller/low power drilling I've got an old Bosch 9.6V cordless that is ideal. Replaced the original 1.4 ah battery with an imported 3.6 ah when it died a couple of years ago. lasts longer and was about £15 at the time so was worth it compared to buying a new electric drill/screwdriver.
 
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