4 speed cordless drills

Grant Gunderson · Oct 9, 2017

Looking to buy a new drill. Been looking at 4 speed cordless ones and want to see if the garage Journal community had any first hand feed back on the various offerings.

I’m leaning towards the Festool PDC (felt great in the store) but also looking at the Fein, the Hilti and the Metabo (wasn’t as happy with the ergonomics of it). Are there others I am missing? Don’t have a Hilti or Fein dealer close so hard to get a feel for them prior to purchase. Build quality is high on my priority list and I don’t mind paying for quality as I’d rather buy it once and not once a year! I’ll be usining it for everything from wood, metal and masonary. The last two drills I had where hitachi and Makita and both died with chuck wobble.

Thanks!

kctyphoon · Oct 9, 2017

Milwaukee Fuel OneKey, and then you also enroll in one of the best and fastest growing 18v platforms that offer just about anything you might ever want or need. Not to mention it's all readily available. The Milwaukee's had some chuck issues in the past, but don't know if that's still a thing. Even if, swapping on a high grade chuck solved most people's issues that needed something that precise. Usually cordless tools aren't meant to be "machine grade" quality, but aside from that one small issue they had, the rest of the tools are amazing.

Packard V8 · Oct 10, 2017

Been looking at 4 speed cordless ones

Looks to be a very nice piece, but $350+ for a drill will take some getting used to.

jack vines.

ddawg16 · Oct 10, 2017

My $40 Ryobi is variable speed with a high a low setting.....I finally broke one of them....driving a 1/4" lab bolt into a stud without pre-drilling the hole. It's also sheared off 1/4" lag bolts.

Used the dog **** out of the drill for 16 years. It built my garage and 2-story addition.

I could sure buy a lot of Ryobi drills for $350....at least 8

American Locomotive · Oct 10, 2017

I don't know of anyone besides those listed that make 4 speed drills. Any particular reason why you want one?

PureLeaf · Oct 10, 2017

Metabo isnt 4 speed, its 3. I have the 2 speed Metabo hammer drill, and have not been happy with my warranty experiences with that company (Sent it in for warranty, they acknowledged it had a problem, wouldn't fix it or refund me, and then stopped replying to emails). Once my batteries die, I will be changing to another company's platform. Compared to the Fein, I've always felt my Metabo felt low-end.

I purchased 3 of the 4 speed FEIN quick release drills during the ToolNut sale (180 bucks per) for my father, uncle, and a friend. They are fantastic and I wish I had one of those. The only downside I've seen is there a little hard to obtain over here, and their tool offerings are kinda slim. The Fein has nice ergonomics and just a beautiful drill to use. The Fein is not a hammer drill however if that matters.

Festool seems to have a great number of offerings, I have no experience with them.

Edit: I'd also add my Metabo has always had some wobble to the quick release chuck. Of the 3 Feins I gave, I haven't seen that wobble on them even though they're also quick release chucks.

Packard V8 · Oct 10, 2017

Haven't tried the Fein, but I've quickly come to hate every other quick release chuck I've used.

jack vines

Fender1325 · Oct 10, 2017

This is where you need to buy the right tool for the right job. Not one for everything. Get a rotary hammer drill for masonry, and get a regular quality cordless for wood and metal. If you're breaking them every year you're not letting the tool do the work and are leaning on it too hard I suspect. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, I'm just saying. Keep your bits lubed and sharp for metal work. I'm a DeWalt fan myself.

James-W · Oct 10, 2017

ddawg16 said:
My $40 Ryobi is variable speed with a high a low setting.....I finally broke one of them....driving a 1/4" lab bolt into a stud without pre-drilling the hole. It's also sheared off 1/4" lag bolts.

Used the dog **** out of the drill for 16 years. It built my garage and 2-story addition.

I could sure buy a lot of Ryobi drills for $350....at least 8

I agree, it would be VERY difficult for me to justify paying that much for a cordless drill. If I were using it all day every day, then MAYBE I would get one. But for the occasional use I would be using it for, no way would I do that.

Grant Gunderson · Oct 11, 2017

PureLeaf said:
.

Thanks!

Just the kind of info I was looking for. Looks like I should rule out Metabo completely.

losvre · Oct 11, 2017

Hello all,

I have used the Festool PDC from a contractor doing some work for us and I have to say that I liked ecery bit of it.

It is compact "enough" for 18V and 4 speed, very responsive to the trigger and the chick had no play at all or some that I could feel of!

Bearing in mind that was a very well used one and you could see it had a hard life but was functioning great.

Tprque wise it has a max of 60 Nm compare to 10 Nm and 110-120 Nm of Fein and Festool, respectively, however I think you want need more that 30-40 Nm for most jobs.

Citation · Oct 11, 2017

I'm really curious why anyone would need 4 speeds. 2 is great, 3 seems like a maybe from time to time. 4 and like just bragging.

IndyGarage · Oct 11, 2017

Not sure why anyone really has a desire for a unique brand of cordless drill these days.

Cordless drills were one of the first cordless tools made, and nearly every brand makes a good one.

I rarely use a cordless drill anymore - I'd say I use a cordless impact 10:1 over a drill.

Currently I have Panasonic, Makita and Milwaukee. Panasonic is the best by a small margin - mostly because I like their batteries much better. (yeah I know, AVE took apart a Panasonic and didn't like it). They all work fine for drilling holes.

I'm also not sure what 4 speeds buys you. I rarely move my two speed ones to the low gear. Not sure I've ever moved the Panasonic or the Makita into low gear.

Grant Gunderson · Oct 11, 2017

Citation said:
I'm really curious why anyone would need 4 speeds. 2 is great, 3 seems like a maybe from time to time. 4 and like just bragging.

Better suited to the sat at hand. I.E low speed and high torque for larger hole saws and screw driving to high-speed low torque for use in steel. Better than having two drag to separate drills to the job site, etc. Some people ***** about $500 track saws, but there is a difference. Same with drills.... which is the most used tool in my shop so I don't mind spending the $$$ for the best.

bcradio · Oct 11, 2017

Grant Gunderson said:
Better suited to the sat at hand. I.E low speed and high torque for larger hole saws and screw driving to high-speed low torque for use in steel. Better than having two drag to separate drills to the job site, etc. Some people ***** about $500 track saws, but there is a difference. Same with drills.... which is the most used tool in my shop so I don't mind spending the $$$ for the best.

The key is... is it really the best just because it costs the most $$$ and has 4 speeds?

Answer: Nope!

Monte · Oct 11, 2017

I have the Fein, but i don´t really often use the 4th gear. It´s nice for drilling into wood with small diameters though, for steel i usually drill with slower rpm´s since i think it´s better for the drill bit. The removeable chuck is nice since they also now have tapping adaptors and the most recent 18 volt models have the same spindle than the 12 volt model so you can interchange the adapters. I also like the electronic clutch. I prefer how Fein did the gear box and torque dial compared to Festool. Festool might have a slightly higher subjective quality.
Festool vs. Fein: depends on if you only need one drill or more tools...
Festool = wood working; Fein = metal working (a brushless angle grinder is supposed to be avail. in 4th quarter)

tarbellb · Oct 11, 2017

High-speed low torque for metal :headscrat

I can get why more speeds is better, M18 Fuels have 3. I do lots of wood and steel work, like 8/4 Walnut and 1/2" steel plate and have yet to find my collection of M12 and M18 Fuels lacking. If I didnt do as much steel work as I do, I could probably get away with just my M12 driver and impact.

But, it is a high use tool and spending time and money makes sense. If you are stuck on 4 spds I know my older Hitachi (1st gen Lith-ion) had 4 spds, have you checked out their line up? Especially the higher end models? Might be a hidden gem?

I would not subject a Festool to anything but woodworking and light metal work. Not saying it cant do it, but masonry or metal with a limited warranty and $500 seems like a bad combo.

PureLeaf · Oct 11, 2017

For those asking why would you want a drill with 4 gears. The gears seem spaced out around 1 = 500 2=1000 3= 2000 4 = 3800.

I have found it extremely useful to have 4 gears. The high speeds I've used for putting a wire brush on it in places where an Angle Grinder might be a bit awkward. I've used the high speeds with a mixing paddle for mixing up thinset for tile. Then used the low speed high torque for regular drilling applications.

If you're happy with your 2 speed chinese made TTI built drill, no reason to change. Rest of us enjoy German made high quality drills!

IndyGarage · Oct 11, 2017

PureLeaf said:
F
If you're happy with your 2 speed chinese made TTI built drill, no reason to change. Rest of us enjoy German made high quality drills!

Or you could buy Hilti, which is rebadged Panasonic.

I was in Germany a couple weeks ago. Stopped in at the Home Center - I think it was called BIO - similar to Home Depot. I thought they might have some high quality German tools to look at and take home. Was really looking for some nice hand tools. Nope. They looked lower quality than the stuff in HD. They had a Proxxon socket set that looked OK but I didn't need one of those.

theoldwizard1 · Oct 11, 2017

Almost all 1/2" drills spin too fast for a 1/2" bit in steel. Max RPM should be <600. Milwaukee is the only company that I know that still makes a TRIPLE gear reduction corded drill. Not a 3 speed transmission (although that would be interesting) but 3 stages of gear reduction/torque increase.

DeWalt made one (DW110) at one time and it was sold as Craftsman Industrial 900.271210). Great drill !!

Git · Oct 11, 2017

I would think twice about spending $600 on a Festool Drill (and I own several Festools)

I also got in on the Fein deal - the ASCM 18 QX18 QX for $170 was a great price. With that being said, I am extremely happy with the drill/driver. On the lowest speed, it can sink 3" screws into 2x with no effort. It really beats using your typical drill/driver that uses a 'hammer' mechanism.

I looked up the Fein on Amazon and it looks like they had a major price drop during the 1st week of September - it was selling for $440 and now it's at $299

The problem with the Fein or the Festool is your really limited with that battery platform but there are really not that many 4-speed drills out there and I do use all the speeds on mine

ps - if you are really set on the Festool PDC 18, Amazon Warehouse currently has two of them for $486
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00XJS58BG/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Monte · Oct 12, 2017

IndyGarage said:
Or you could buy Hilti, which is rebadged Panasonic.

I was in Germany a couple weeks ago. Stopped in at the Home Center - I think it was called BIO - similar to Home Depot. I thought they might have some high quality German tools to look at and take home. Was really looking for some nice hand tools. Nope. They looked lower quality than the stuff in HD. They had a Proxxon socket set that looked OK but I didn't need one of those.

maybe "OBI"

They sell "Lux" tools which are (some of them) rebadged NWS pliers, Felo screwdrivers etc. and they sell Metabo, Bosch blue and Hitachi.
https://www.obi.de/zangen/lux-kombizange-180-mm-professional/p/1067719
https://www.obi.de/schraubenzieher-...ubendreher-pz1-x-80-mm-professional/p/4086146
https://www.obi.de/schraubenzieher-...eher-schlagfest-ph0-x-60-mm-comfort/p/5207428

IndyGarage · Oct 12, 2017

Monte said:
maybe "OBI"
They sell "Lux" tools which are (some of them) rebadged NWS pliers, Felo screwdrivers etc. and they sell Metabo, Bosch blue and Hitachi.
https://www.obi.de/zangen/lux-kombizange-180-mm-professional/p/1067719
https://www.obi.de/schraubenzieher-...ubendreher-pz1-x-80-mm-professional/p/4086146
https://www.obi.de/schraubenzieher-...eher-schlagfest-ph0-x-60-mm-comfort/p/5207428

Thanks. That's it - OBI store.

I did see those Lux tools - with the bright colors, I assumed they were cheap chinese - probably would have bought some if I knew they were NWS or Felo.

I did see a set of what looked like Wera nonconducting screwdrivers.

The Bosch and Hitachi looked about the same as what we have here on the shelf in the US. They did have a limited range of Metabo stuff - however none of the grinders were the "quick" model and they all seemed really high priced - even higher than I would pay here.

Grant Gunderson · Oct 12, 2017

IndyGarage said:
Or you could buy Hilti, which is rebadged Panasonic.

I was in Germany a couple weeks ago. Stopped in at the Home Center - I think it was called BIO - similar to Home Depot. I thought they might have some high quality German tools to look at and take home. Was really looking for some nice hand tools. Nope. They looked lower quality than the stuff in HD. They had a Proxxon socket set that looked OK but I didn't need one of those.

I have always had better luck in the home stores in Switzerland then I have had in Germany or France... but that could also be that I know the Swiss stores better as I spend more time there for work. HOWEVER, in my experience nothing compares to shopping for tools in Japan. They seem to stock the best tools from everywhere. Including some special made for the Japanese market only version of popular euro tools.... Plus any power tool for sale in Japan will also work here in N.A.

4 speed cordless drills

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