Best Cordless Drill

Best Cordless Drill


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DirtySCREW

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What do you believe or have experience with as the best cordless drill. I currently have a Makita 18v Li-ion Drill and Impact that I love. However, one battery has crapped out..over a year ago. The Dewalt battery thread over in the DIY section had me thinking and I thought I'd make this poll and thread.
I'm leaning towards getting a Milwaukee set whenever I get a new drill/impact.

DS
 
Don't sell the Kobalt brand that lowes has short. I have the sawzall and the full size 1/2 in impact as well as the compact 1/2 in. The compact with a 4ah battery will remove lug nut put on with a 1/2 air impact gun. I don't yet have the drill because I already have a Snapon and another brand.
 
I've had Dewalt, Ryobi, and currently Porter Cable. The Dewalt was rebuilt multiple times till the batteries died, cheaper to get new. The Ryobi was a long time ago, just threw it out when it died quickly.

The Porter is good so far, good battery life, good price.

The next one, whatever brand, will be brushless. Hopefully the price will come down by then.

-R
 
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I'm phasing out my Porter Cable stuff to Ridgid as I replace stuff. Has lifetime warranty and covers the batteries as well.


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We use almost all DeWalt stuff on our jobs. We are HARD on hand tools. We specialize in back country building. Lots of bridges for the forest service. Generators mandatory. Go through several batteries per impact, per day.

Dropping into mud and water, find it by feel. Don't touch the trigger, remove battery pack. Rinse mud out and set in the sun to dry. Good as new most of the time. Pull that trigger though and you've killed the drill:confused:. Drops fro 10-15' onto concrete Haven't killed one yet. In a precarious spot? Use the back of the drill to tap that board back inline:oops:.

Their sawzalls and circ saws are tough as nails too. We have used them ALL but DeWalt always seems to hold up best. Makita would be second and we do have circ saws from them that are also darn tough.

One brand that you left out is Porter Cable. Last impact set we tried put in a strong showing. I have Porter Cable for my personal set as they are cheaper up front and I was impressed:cool:
 
Makita..... but the above post with Ridgid covering batteries has my attention. The newer Lithium Ion batteries are awesome, except for their lifespan. I used to an old Black and Decker 12v that worked great for 10 years, but by then the batteries were obsolete. If only the newer batteries would last that long.
 
Had em all... the only one that has survived over the years is my dewalt. Bosch was absolute junk. Makita was good. Rigid was good but HD and rigid made warranty a pain in the ass. I currently have a bosch on my work truck and it is a first class piece of trash. Might work well as a boat anchor. Once again buy anything but bosch.
 
dewalt. the timex of drills. take as lickin and keep on a ticking. batteries are good as long as they haven't been lying around the store for a year or two. I rebuild mine with fresh batteries and keep a going. if you plan on rebuilding them look for the packs held by screws instead of glue.
 
Good luck with that warranty on rigid...

Its not a warranty, but a 'service agreement'
BUT - you bring it to a HD and they'll take care of you.


I have Ryobi because of
a) the price
b) the amount of use/residential only

I really enjoy what I have (circular, drill, and a weedeater), but if I had more money I'd have gone Rigid for the service agreement they have.
 
I had a Dewalt for years. Used it, abused it and then used it some more. Dropped it off a ladder countless times onto the concrete floor while building out my basement. It eventually died. Have a Milwaukee now I bought on sale. Eh, it works, but isn't as powerful and the batteries lose the charge more quickly. Plus it hasn't been abused. It is basically a screw driver. Just bought a new Dewalt for the cabin. Feels nice and works well so far.
 
Its not a warranty, but a 'service agreement'
BUT - you bring it to a HD and they'll take care of you.


I have Ryobi because of
a) the price
b) the amount of use/residential only

I really enjoy what I have (circular, drill, and a weedeater), but if I had more money I'd have gone Rigid for the service agreement they have.
"If" you have jumped through all the hoops. Good luck to ya if they lose track you your warranty paper work. Luckily I had saved copies of all my stuff. Warrantied that stuff and then sold it on craigslist. Ryobi stuff is suprisingly tough and what i feel is better quality than bosch.
 
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"If" you have jumped through all the hoops. Good luck to ya if they lose track you your warranty paper work. Luckily I had saved copies of all my stuff. Warrantied that stuff and then sold it on craigslist. Ryobi stuff is suprisingly tough and what i feel is better quality than bosch.

Ive seen it work MANY times in the store - customer has an issue, brings it in, they diagnose/send it off/repair it, and the customer is back to 'normal' in about 1.5-2 weeks (from my experiences).

Now much of your service agreement will be online, no losing your paperwork.
 
I like the Milwaukee M12 and M18 stuff. Powerful and good battery life. I can't really compare to anything else current but only to the very old Dewalt 12V tools I had before these. No comparison there - the new M12 is half the size and twice the power, but I'm sure all the tools (and batteries) have come a long way since those days.
 
Personally, I don't think there's hairs width of difference. They are ALL made for the average homeowner which by comparison babies their tools of this sort. Home use, any will do, commercial use, check the commercial warranty, may not even be one.
What's in my wallet you ask?? DeWalt.. when they die it's just as cheap to buy a new "set" as it is to rebuild. Disposable, just like a Bic lighter.....
 
Ive seen it work MANY times in the store - customer has an issue, brings it in, they diagnose/send it off/repair it, and the customer is back to 'normal' in about 1.5-2 weeks (from my experiences).

Now much of your service agreement will be online, no losing your paperwork.
Well my issues were back in 2005 or so.... maybe things have changed but they lost me as a customer.
 
The BEST is Hilti. Period, end of conversation.

But, presuming that you don't want to spend 800 bucks on a cordless drill the others are in a different cost bracket.

Personally I like my 28v Milwaukee set. Still going strong after 9 years of abuse.
 
I drill 1" holes in brick and block with with an 18v Dewalt hammer drill. Two weeks ago it got so hot after three holes back to back that it was almost impossible to continue using it without burning my hand. I bet I could have cooked breakfast on it, seriously. It's still running fine.

I dropped a Bosch one floor onto a plywood subfloor and broke the chuck clean off. Total piece of junk. We threw it away when it needed to back for warranty work the third time.

Craftsman made a 19.2. We bought a kit that had a drill and angle drill in one box. That may have been the best one we ever owned. Both batteries shorted out around the same time, maybe around 4 years. Not bad for a $99 drill set. The drills are still fine, just needs batteries.
 
I believe Dewalt is the best but considering my moderate DIY level use, I like Ridgid for their lifetime warranty which also covers the batteries. If it weren't for that, I'd have gone with Dewalt.

Once you start looking at who actually makes what, the companies behind the brands we see in the stores, things become a little more clear.

TTI owns/manufactures:
Milwaukee
Ridgid
Ryobi

Black & Decker:
Dewalt
Porter Cable
Bostich
Craftsman
Black & Decker

Bosch:
Bosch

Makita:
Makita
 
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Got my Ridgid combo from CPO, half what my HD sells new ones.
Runs great, one yr warranty on reconditioned.
I use it once a month or so.
 
I use Dewalt, basically toss the set every 3-5 years and buy whatever is new. That Rigid service agreement has my attention.
 
Used Makitas at work exclusively. Scene shop, carpenters, elec and mech techs, general maintenace techs, voice and data techs. Everyone had a Makita. Great cordless drills. Electrician talked me into getting an 18v Milwaukee. Charger crapped out under warranty and local Milwaukee service center did not want to give me a new one for free. Milwaukee corporate changed their minds. I will not deal with local Milwaukee shop ever again because of that. Bunch of thieving bastards. I have a little banana shaped B&D cordless screw gun that I have had for over 20 years and it keeps right on charging and is great for everything except drilling holes. I used it changing out lamps and ballasts on 150, 4 lamps fixtures and never had to recharge it. Great for putting up blinds and screwing in receptacles, switches and plates.
 
After Hilti as Scsmith42 mentioned, Bosch, Makita or Milwaukee are my choices..

I prefer the Bosch 18v stuff. I've got the drill and the impact package available at Lowes, if it all crapped out today I would go buy the same exact thing,
 
I love my dewalts. They take a beating in a auto shop getting dropped off of lifts and used constantly. They get oil soaked amd just keep right on going. I have a bunch of 18volt stuff but have started buying 20 volt tools as they have battery adapters to let you run 20 volt batts in 18 volt tools so I know I will get full useful life out of the tools. Their new line if batteries is awesome being able to be used in multiple voltage platform tools. 20 volt batts will work in 60 volt tools and 60 volt batts will work 3 times longer in 20 volt tools!
 
I have 2oV DeWalt hammer drill/driver. Love it. [Uses the same battery for the cordless circular saw. My wife loves the cordless circular saw. Cuts a 2x4 like a hot knife through butter and weighs a lot less than my 20 year old craftsman.]
This is one high torque drill.
For smaller jobs a I use the more compact 12V Dewalt.
 
I got a Hitachi for 80 bucks on sale. Lithium batteries set if bits. I use it at work everyday for about six months and I still love it. Some of the other less concerning guys bought $40 Wal-Mart drills and they are still going strong. The Hitachi stuff is ugly but it gets great reviews for longevity.
 
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Go to any flea market and you will see a mountain of dewalt tools. so what does this mean? Well I have my opinion, and you have yours. Go Bosch.
It means they are the most used on professional jobsites and most stolen. Most bosch cordless drill owners are either to cheap to buy a good drill or fell into bosch's marketing campaign. I have seen zero bosch cordless drills in the industrial work environments i work in.
 
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Go to any flea market and you will see a mountain of dewalt tools. so what does this mean? Well I have my opinion, and you have yours. Go Bosch.
It means that Dewalt has a large chunk of market share. It could also means that dewalt a last well beyond the expectation of the user and therefore the users replace them out of desire for the "latest & greatest" rather than necessity.
Or, as another guy said, they're the most often stolen from job sites.
 
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Zero complaints about my DeWalts.
Most of the contractors I've known have been pretty die hard DeWalt users, though to some extent their motivation is running the same as everyone else for battery/charger commonality.
Have run Makita, Rigid, Black and Decker, Snap-On, Harbor Freight, maybe others, the first two seemed pretty comparable to my DeWalts, the others weak and less battery.
Throw a cord on and Milwaukee starts stealing my affection, somehow have never even handled their cordless.
 
I have owned a bunch over the years: Bosch, Ryobi, Dewalt, Delta, Hitachi, Black & Decker. I currently have a Ryobi hammer drill and a Bosch 9.2 v. for smaller stuff (I build furniture and it is lightweight and perfect for small screws, pilot holes, etc.). I were buying a new 18v today, I'd probably get a Bosch or Hitachi, depending on the best deal I could find.
 
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