Cordless Drill Recs - Burned mine up today

[kknudson]

Well about 8years ago I picked up a Coleman 18V, yes as in camping Coleman, Drill / Sawzall combo. I needed the Sawzall for a project and have used it a lot.

But the drill turned out to be the real treat. Good balance, strong battery lasted forever, rpms right, felt good in your hand etc etc.
I really liked it, fixed the battery pack once, even bought a new one.
I'm a serious weekend warrior so I really did get my monies woth out of it.

I liked it because if nothing else the battery held it's charge, I could not use it for weeks and the battery was fine, had a Craftsman that if you took the battery out of the charger within a day or two it was dead.

OK, I don't need anything fancy (read expensive), but I am beginning another major project.
Just a good cordless drill, actually probably used it as a screwdriver more, variable speed, reversible keyless chuck.

Anybody have any good or bad recommendations recently ??

Thanks

[jlomon]

Based on a Consumer Reports comparison I bought a Makita 18v lithium ion cordless (along with matching impact driver) about a year ago when my old 12v DeWalt (NiCad I think) died on me. Its a great drill, and the LiOn batteries are so much better - they charge in about 20 minutes and drill/drive with great power right up until they run out of charge - there doesn't seem to be that weak zone with the NiCad batteries when they begin to run out of power.

I'd defintely recommend this drill - its been great so far.

[kerry]

Originally Posted by jlomon

Based on a Consumer Reports comparison I bought a Makita 18v lithium ion cordless (along with matching impact driver) about a year ago when my old 12v DeWalt (NiCad I think) died on me. Its a great drill, and the LiOn batteries are so much better - they charge in about 20 minutes and drill/drive with great power right up until they run out of charge - there doesn't seem to be that weak zone with the NiCad batteries when they begin to run out of power.

I'd defintely recommend this drill - its been great so far.

X2

[cmac2012]

I'm real big on Makita. It's about the only tool I buy from them anymore, but they've got that one down.

If I didn't want to spend that kind of money, and many don't, I'd look at Ryobi and Craftsman, maybe HD's Rigid brand and see what looks best. I think Fine Homebuilding does comparison tests on the economy models now and then.

I don't like DeWalt, cannot stand them. And they aren't even all that cheap, IIRC. DeWalt chopsaws are great, however.

[Stretch]

Yep I'd go along with the best Makita you can afford.

However have a look at what Hittachi offer I've heard they are good for the (discounted) price.

[Emmerich]

For a drill I have a Festool, but that is big bucks but it is top notch. Also got a small Makita driver, which is really powerful for its size. Bought one refurbished on Amazon.com, pretty good deal.

[tbomachines]

Mikita is great, I'd also put in a good word for Ryobi. We have a few batteries and several tools that they fit and we can just rotate them since the battery will go into any of their tools.

[Jim H]

I still have, and use, my 9.6V [correction] DeWalt. Two geared speeds, easy to control from slow startup, keyless chuck and adjustable clutch. It's been all I need for some years now.

[compress ignite]

I bought the Drill/Skilsaw/Light combo pack in 1999
[they sent you a Sawsall in the mail FREE a week later]

I FINALLY had to buy new Batteries this Summer.(That's,what... 11 years?)

Lots of power,drill is "Hefty" though.
[With a 3/8 or 1/2 adapter I use it instead of Air Tools]

Bosch made a 24 volt Sliding Compound Miter Saw (Stupid me,I procrastinated)
That's out of production now.

('Sure would be nice if someone made L.I. Batteries for this application.)

[cmac2012]

Festool has some attractive tools. I'm going to buy one of their saws one day.

I forgot, the B & D cordless drills also seem good for the price.

[jgranzier]

We have two service vans - doing commercial security installations
I REALLY DISLIKE THE DEWALT TOOLS
We have held on to the dewalt as a matter of convienance - we use the hammer drill , drill , sawzall and impact driver
same batteries 18 v

as the batteries have given out , we ve bought new ones - pricey

as the drills "crap out" clutches , jacob chucks etc

we ve replaced them - based on existing chargers , batteries

Until recently - purchased the MAKITA -wow big difference
light , powerful
bvery nice

[pawoSD]

I prefer corded drills. No batteries, way more power, cheaper, and more rugged in general. And its not THAT big of a deal to have a cord, especially if you're not assembling buildings in a remote forest clearing all the time.

You can't mix cement with a cordless drill.

[MTI]

Corded phones and RJ-45 Ethernet connections have their place . . . .

Well, if you only have one drill . . . corded may be the way to go, but having one drill is false economy when you're working away from 110v.

Recently got a Porter Cable 18V Lithium, pretty happy with the range of torque settings and battery life.

[Zeus]

Kuan, I usually use/buy Dewalt tools. They've served me well. However, I bought a Ryobi cordless drill a while back on sale and it's been great. Has a clutch system that switches between power and speed. Thought it was gimmicky initially, but it was cheap and seemed robust enough. Turns out it has been solid and dependable, good battery life.

[Skid Row Joe]

I would buy whatever Harbor Freight sells. Day in, day out you cannot beat their products for the price. That's just the way it is with most of their offerings, even in the power tools products they sell.
They've saved my butt a bunch of money and still get the tasks done right.....!

BTW, I've never heard of 'Mikita' whatever that is.