Needing a new drill.....

[sxk122]

My drill has about had it, and I don't know what I want exactly. Most of my tools are corded as I generally am near a plug, but I was thinking perhaps cordless as I have a corded impact driver. (although a corded drill that is inexpensive would be considered.... ) I love the impact driver for many things, but would like something a bit lighter/ more precise for drilling and general use. I would rather not spend an arm and a leg. (sub $100) I don't use a drill often (once or twice a month) so if it is cordless I want the battery to last.... I had a Ryobi in 2002ish, and the battery was f'ed in 2-3 years.

Suggestions (links appreciated)?

 

[Ign]

At $85 I'd consider this:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=219558

 

[sxk122]

Thanks!

That looks like a reall good option, and $85 price seems attractive.... I always like spending less rather than more. Reviews seem good....

I had a brainstorm-- I may ask for a drill as a Christmas gift from my wife...just tell her which one... am I brilliant or what, lol

Any other suggestions? Not that I don't like this one, just want to hear from a few people

 

[yuk]

I have craftsman 19.2 volt drill, radio, spiral saw and half inch impact.
first off, THE BATTERIES ****!
the drill doesnt have near the power or speed of my old snap-on 14.4 volt drill.
the craftsman (non-lith-ion) batteries go almost totally dead after a week or so of non use so they need recharged most of the time.

 

[JMartel]

I have this one from Dewalt:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-3...h-Keyless-Chuck-DWD112/202511803#.Um383PnrzQc

$57, quite powerful.

Only complaint I have is that there isn't any clutch, so you gotta be careful not to strip things out.

 

[sxk122]

THE BATTERIES ****!
(non-lith-ion) batteries go almost totally dead after a week or so of non use so they need recharged most of the time.

That's my biggest fear with cordless. That was my problem with the Ryobi I had, and eventually I only had a few minutes of use out of the battery

 

[KellyfromVA]

If you can wait until closer to the holidays, Home Depot and Lowes always have some pretty deep discounts on cordless power tools. Last year I picked up a nice Porter Cable kit with drill, circular saw, sawzall, two batteries and charger in a carrying bag for $110 ay Lowes. I've beat the **** out of those tools and they've lasted much longer than my expensive Dewalt ones at third of the price. Dewalt batteries never seem to last very long and are really expensive, but I can't seem to kill these Porter Cable batteries, even leaving on on the charger for weeks. Originally I'd intended to leave this kit at my vacation cabin, but they work so well, I'm leaving the Dewalt's at the cabin.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you are considering a cordless, make sure to buy one that has a battery that can be swapped to other tools for future portable tool growth.

In other words, I wouldn't buy something odd ball.

 

[pattenp]

You should get a cordless that has a lithium ion battery. The thing is you won't get a decent drill with battery and charger for under $100. You are looking at around $150 and more. A good drill will last you a long long time. I like the Dewalt.

Here's a Kobalt @ Lowes for $130
Search Item #: 239069

I can't seem to get the link to work.


*

 

[sxk122]

I like the Dewalt too. I'm torn by whether or not I need cordless.

What do y'all think of the newer lithium ion Ryobi one+ stuff?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-18-Volt-One-Lithium-Ion-Drill-Kit-P817/203406858#specifications

I was looking at that one that comes with the drill, charger and 2 batteries.


It may just be my luck but other than the **** ni-cad Ryobi cordless I had years ago I generally seem to have better luck with tools from Home Depot rather than Lowes......

 

[rc77]

I have the Ryobi one+ drill. I had the nicad kit with the saw, drill, flashlight and sawmill. Got about 4.5 years out of batteries. Bought the new drill wth the impact driver kit and the lithium batteries are much better. I stayed with the ryobi because I had already bought several of the other pieces.

 

[Always_Thinkin]

I have a Milwaukee 8-Amp 1/2 in. Magnum Drill and I really like it. The 8 amp variable speef motor has a lot of torque and has enough RPMs to drill with the smallest drill bits. Home Depot has it right now for $120. It is a well made drill and comes with a Jacobs keyed chuck. Very durable and well made corded drill.

 

[Neverfly]

I realize it is a Black and Decker...
But I used to have one (It was stolen...) that had the battery OR cord option. YOu had the battery like normal, then a cord attached to a battery frame- so you could operate it is either. That little sucker was COOL.
Sadly, they stopped making them. The fools.

 

[pepi]

Here is my vote, have had this product for 5 years, to save the battery life, never store on the charger remove after charged. I learned the that quickly after I bought the drill. Fortunately it was a new product design, from nicad too lithium and got a replacement.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WER5SE/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Hell, pick up a HF 1/2" hammer drill...It's the best hammer drill I've ever had.....

 

[Makoto]

I used this one for a lot of work in the garage and will be buying one of my own.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-variable-speed-reversible-hammer-drill-60495-9902.html

its an absolute beast and only 30 bucks.

 

[nolimits76]

That's my biggest fear with cordless. That was my problem with the Ryobi I had, and eventually I only had a few minutes of use out of the battery

I had an older Ryobi cordless drill myself. The blue colored one. Haven't tried the green (lithium?) drills yet. The blue one sucked as well. Hated the battery situation. It came with 2 and a charger and I was always juggling things to get projects done. Truthfully I was glad when it finally died and I could move on.

Because of that, I'm not willing to spend money to try another one.

If you are considering a cordless, make sure to buy one that has a battery that can be swapped to other tools for future portable tool growth.

In other words, I wouldn't buy something odd ball.

Winner...winner, chicken dinner!

Excellent words of wisdom here. I have a friend who is an electrician contractor that I help on various jobs. I think he has every power tool Dewalt has made and has multiple of them. The ability to swap batteries, always have a freshly charged battery, etc is a convenience factor that is way understated. How do you monetize it? Not sure, but it made a huge difference in just getting stuff done vs wasting time fighting with tools and batteries.

I have yet to buy my own Dewalt tools, but absolutely love using them.

I'm almost embarrassed to say this, but last time I bought power tools was a B&D tool combo kit. It was shortly after the Ryobi died. I didn't have much money to spend. And a friend (not the electrician, lol) needed help with a flooring project. I found the B&D 18v set on sale for $75 and it included a drill, 4" circular saw and flashlight + 2 batteries, charger and tool bag.

The batteries hold a good charge. I've only used them for a few serious projects and they did fine. Mostly they have been used for general home repair stuff and they have done really well in that category.

As money allows and these wear out, I will be replacing with Dewalt which is what I really want.

 

[petee_c]

If you care enough to ask about drills on here, then I wouldn't recommend the ryobi one.

If budgets tight and you can't borrow a drill, consider a cordless.

I used cheap drills (b&d) until 2008. Now have a makita one. Difference is night and day, even as a home owner, and Pretend woodworker.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2

 

[JRock10]

I bought the makita 18v combo drill/impact and I love them. Mine are white, and makita has introduced a bluish colored 18v line that has several tools in the line up that look amazing. Before the 18v set, I had a 9.6v drill that would plow through firewalls with a unibit and not think about struggling.

 

[JRock10]

Got mine on sale at hd for $180 with a bag, 2 batteries, and charger.

 

[Thorold]

If you are considering a cordless, make sure to buy one that has a battery that can be swapped to other tools for future portable tool growth.

In other words, I wouldn't buy something odd ball.

This ^^^^

I caught a deal at HD not long ago on a Ryobi 18v LiOn set - drill and impact driver. They seem to be working very well for me after a lot of construction work.

They are part of the Ryobi One system which meant i could buy my daughter the weed-wacker that uses the same batteries.

 

[Alexbn921]

Ryobi with the lithium batteries makes for a cheep good set. I have 6 of there tools and they have served me well. They are not the same quality as top brands,but you will get years of life out of them and replacements are super cheap. I have 4 batteries that I rotate and never run out of juice.

 

[JeffSC]

I've got a couple 19.2v Craftsman's I've been happy with. One's a few years old, the other's pretty new yet. Other than a few extra scratches, I can't tell them apart performance-wise.

Probably around $80ish. They can often be found as part of a kit with a LED flashlight or other tools if you want to go that route.

 

[classicharleyj]

20v Lithium Ion Dewalt... nuff said
Jim

 

[mtnwkr]

to save the battery life, never store on the charger remove after charged.

I've heard this a few times in this thread and it's incorrect for some manufactures. Dewalt recomends batteries be stored on the charger. I run my 18v nicads till they start to loose power then on the charger till needed again. Just replaced my original two batteries from 2003, and they were used a LOT.

 

[matty d]

I have craftsman 19.2 volt drill, radio, spiral saw and half inch impact.
first off, THE BATTERIES ****!
the drill doesnt have near the power or speed of my old snap-on 14.4 volt drill.
the craftsman (non-lith-ion) batteries go almost totally dead after a week or so of non use so they need recharged most of the time.

Try the Li or Li XCP. I had the Nicads and they dont last. The XCP system is great.

 

[shooting4life]

I am really happy with my Makita 18v stuff. My impact and drill just seem to go one forever without needing a charge.
I had to help the facilities guy at work build 3 pre fabbed offices. He had a cman 19v set up, he was switching out and recharging batteries at least a few times a day. I used one battery in my Makita impact/drill over the 3 day project. I was really impressed with my kit that day.

 

[OctoMan]

Pick up an old 3/8" or 1/4" corded drill w steel case and rebuild it. You can add a ground if it dosen't have one and you have a tool that will last a life time. I bought a 3/8" one at a car show for $5 and a 1/2" Millers-Falls for $5 that is a torque monster at 550rpms but I couldn't beat the price. Awesome drills. Good Luck.

 

[May Pop]

Another vote for the corded Milwaukee 1/2 Magnum. I call these drills the wrist breakers. 35 years in the trades and have never found a stronger drill. These are the kind of tool that will be willed to your children.

 

[fivespdcat]

The real question here is: what are you drilling? If it's fairly light stuff I would go 12v. They work good for drilling holes, but using large bits over 1/2" or augers may get difficult. I've got the bosch version and really like it. I also have the bosch 12v impact that I really like, but if I need the power the 18v comes out but that is fairly rare. I also have a set of the green 18v impact/drill li-ion combo set that I bought for the batteries. It's a "decent" set for a homeowner but nowhere near the quality of my Bosch stuff.

With all that being said, I would never go back to nickel based batteries unless I needed cold weather performance. They hold a charge, even if not used everyday, are much more powerful and charge way quicker. Make sure to get more than one battery for the time you're drilling a lot of holes, that way one can charge while you're still working.

 

[diggerrick]

I used this one for a lot of work in the garage and will be buying one of my own.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-variable-speed-reversible-hammer-drill-60495-9902.html

its an absolute beast and only 30 bucks.

I bought that for my wife a couple years ago, and I'm pretty impressed with it.

I'm still not comfortable with HF cordless stuff, though.

 

[sophijo]

I've had everything over the past 40 years. The batteries wear out and cost $75- $100. Home Depot's Ridgid warranty (lifetime) is real. They replaced two sets of batteries and a charger in the last ten years. Couple months ago the drill motor died (10 years old). They couldn't repair it so replaced it with a new 18V, two batteries and a soft case. No Charge. Gotta have the original receipt or you are out of luck.

 

[leadfootloon]

Home depo has the 18 volt Makita drill with a 15 min charge for 99.00 only has one battery but if you don't use it for work its a great drill. I do a lot of steel framing at work and love the combo pack I got a few years back. I beat on those drills every day.

 

[Rust]

I have about 10 drills.
And not one of them needed a 2 page post on the internet.

 

[ShaneMSnyder]

I have the Dewalt corded linked on the first page and the Rigid lithium ion drill/impact combo. All have been perfect so far.

 

[AndrewDouglasBird]

I LOVE my Makita 18v. I got the LXT set in turquoise (LXT211), not white. The white models come with a smaller battery and are more of a consumer model. The others are more for pro use. Very light weight, batteries last a LONG time, even after sitting for weeks to months, they charge in 30 minutes from dead, comfortable to use. I use them all the time.

 

[eastbaysubaru]

Another vote for the corded Milwaukee 1/2 Magnum. I call these drills the wrist breakers. 35 years in the trades and have never found a stronger drill. These are the kind of tool that will be willed to your children.

QFT! Mine came from my grandpa's tool set after he passed. That thing has almost broken my wrist countless times. It will go through anything though. My only gripe is that I lost the handle for two-handed operation. I think someone thought it was trash when they were cleaning out his garage

-Brian

 

[eastbaysubaru]

I have about 10 drills.
And not one of them needed a 2 page post on the internet.

And maybe if you'd had a 2 page post on the internet you'd have only had to buy one or two

-Brian

 

[Ed Litsch]

No batteries for me. I'd rather drag out an extension cord than have a battery or two go dead in the middle of the job.

 

[Thorold]

No batteries for me. I'd rather drag out an extension cord than have a battery or two go dead in the middle of the job.

Different drills for different purposes. i have 2 Makitas with aging batteries, a Ryobi drill, Ryobi impact driver and a Dewalt impact driver and all work well for their purpose.

In the shop for light drilling i prefer the pneumatic, for heavy stuff i have several old Craftsmen corded and a Makita hammer drill but the go-to for most things is the cordless'.