New drill/driver combo

[Shark Pilot]

This thread just cost me a lot of money...bought the m18 fuel refurb set recommended above...my first Milwaukee....

Well, if you're going Milwaukee that's a good deal considering you get $260 worth of batteries and for an additional $40 you get two heavy duty tools and a charger. Just don't break your wrists with that drill!

I am curious whether you get new batteries with these refurb deals?

 

[sk farmer]

i will be a dissenter. i have always had dewalt and been satisfied. within the last year i have been switching from 18 to 20volt max. the dewalt just feels more comfortable to me. and yes i have some milwaukee stuff.
i would be more concerned with the ergonomics that feel best to you and whether the brand you like has the tools you want. any of the big names have good and bad points but are overall good performers. i would be leary of anyone who tries to tell you otherewise

 

[Den69rs96]

i will be a dissenter. i have always had dewalt and been satisfied. within the last year i have been switching from 18 to 20volt max. the dewalt just feels more comfortable to me. and yes i have some milwaukee stuff.
i would be more concerned with the ergonomics that feel best to you and whether the brand you like has the tools you want. any of the big names have good and bad points but are overall good performers. i would be leary of anyone who tries to tell you otherewise

X2

Get the tool your most comfortable with within your price range.

 

[gungatim]

went through the same thing, my 3 porter cable drills and 6 batts are down to one that takes a full charge so time to upgrade. the choices were bewildering.

I went with Dewalt LiOn drill and impact set, large 4.0 ah batt and a medium 2.0 ah batt in the black case that is part of their stackable tough case setup. $259 at HD.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-...tteries-and-Tough-Case-DCKTS291D1M1/301321742

The case is large and has separate compartments that seal and flip down for bits and drills. I was so impressed with he case, I went back and bought the rolling tool box that matches which it locks onto for $59 to use as a truck/junk yard box.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-...in-17-Gal-Mobile-Tool-Box-DWST08250/207204993

then I added a $99 dewalt dril with 2 1.5ah lion batts and charger from Sears ($45 after points) so I am back to 3 drivers and 6 batts, 2 chargers (one goes in the house) for about what I paid for my porter cables...

So far I am very impressed with the upgrade.

 

[sk farmer]

gungatim, i have that same kit. it is the premium 3 speed brushless drill and 3 speed brushless impact. for those that are curious. it is a very nice set.

i also added the compact 4 piece that is a lower priced brushed two speed drill, impact, recip saw and flashlight with 2 compact batteries. over time i added a bare tool circular saw, compact brushless 3/8 impact, right angle grinder and a grease gun kit.

i already had an 18-20 volt max converter with 2 compact batteries so i have 5 compact batteries, 2 4ah and 1 5ah batteries. the converter worked just as i hoped, a gateway to the newer lineup while still being able to use my older tools, a right angle drill, angle grinder, large impact, compact impact vacuum etc.

my son who just bought a house has claimed my most common 18 volt tools for his place but we can all use them under the same system when we get together on large projects. a way better option than throwing perfectly good tools in a box to rot in the back of the shop until thrown away. if you are already invested in 18 volt items it is a no brainer to move to 20 volt max imop.

 

[kctyphoon]

Yes, any reputable brand will work fine. People have their preference. My issue with Dewalt though is Everytime they wanna make something "better" they come out with a new battery platform.. want the new 60v table saw or 120v cordless miter saw? Have fun buying new batteries and charges after you spent 2 or 3 years building your 20v max tool set.. want their best sawzall and drill they came out with to be competitive again? Same deal.. Milwaukee is still competing with higher voltage tools at the 18v level. The batteries I have from 2 years ago still work in all their new tools that are still raising the bar.

 

[Fender1325]

Yes, any reputable brand will work fine. People have their preference. My issue with Dewalt though is Everytime they wanna make something "better" they come out with a new battery platform.. want the new 60v table saw or 120v cordless miter saw? Have fun buying new batteries and charges after you spent 2 or 3 years building your 20v max tool set.. want their best sawzall and drill they came out with to be competitive again? Same deal.. Milwaukee is still competing with higher voltage tools at the 18v level. The batteries I have from 2 years ago still work in all their new tools that are still raising the bar.

I have the 20v and haven't had an issue. Bought the 1/2" impact and the battery plugs right up. Not too heavy and plenty of power. I'd expect to need more battery on a miter saw that's worth a ****.

That being said, it seems like they're falling behind in accessories. Like, a freakin ratchet!!!

 

[GarageGuy89]

May be a bit late to this one.

Dewalt is my choice. All their batteries are reverse compatible from 1.5 amp/h up to 9amp/h flex volts. Those yellow tools really hold their value too. I just bought a few more tools, used and new. Hard to find used stuff for $20-$30 under new prices. Even their 18v stuff is selling for booko bucks for how old it is.

Every brand has the brushed line and brushless line. There are a million sites that describe this in detail. Spend the extra $30 for the brushless upfront and you'll thank yourself later.

Every brand has their up and downs in accessories. IMHO all brands are equal for the top tier tools. You need buy what gives you piece of mind.

 

[engineer2]

It's funny how different trades prefer different brands.
In my neck of the woods:
Electricans use DeWalt and of course a Milw. Hole Hawg
Carpenters use Bosch and Porter Cable.
Commercial contractors and plumbers use Makita
Landscape crews use Stihl.
Corded tools are almost all Milwaukee, or Bosch for hammer drills.
Cordless brands I've never seen contractors use: Milwaukee, Blackened Pecker, Ridgid.
I've seen some use HF where theft is a risk or a disposablee tool is needed.
These are just my local observations, it might be different in your part of the country.

 

[BB70Chevelle]

Have a question to go along with this, today I received my new milwaukee m12 fuel 1/4 impact and I need a set of impact drive bits, is there any particular brand anyone suggest or are they all pretty equal and just look for a deal?

 

[sk farmer]

Yes, any reputable brand will work fine. People have their preference. My issue with Dewalt though is Everytime they wanna make something "better" they come out with a new battery platform.. want the new 60v table saw or 120v cordless miter saw? Have fun buying new batteries and charges after you spent 2 or 3 years building your 20v max tool set.. want their best sawzall and drill they came out with to be competitive again? Same deal.. Milwaukee is still competing with higher voltage tools at the 18v level. The batteries I have from 2 years ago still work in all their new tools that are still raising the bar.

are you serious? this is utter bs. 18 volt dewalt has been around for decades and still supported. no wait, how about this? they have an adapter that to the best of my knowledge will accept the 60 volt battery on an 18 volt tool as well as power the standard 20 volt max, yup it will slide right into them. they may not be doing it the same way as everyone else but don't bs everyone by saying that unless you buy into the 60 volt platform you are not going to get good if not great tools.

your hatred of yellow is bleeding through your praise of red like usual.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Bosch. I have 4 similar 18v nicad drills and we work them pretty hard. 2 are about 9 years old and the other 2 were Bosch refurbed 5 years old all are holding up very well. The refurbed ones were purchased on eBay, the first 2 were a HD purchase.

 

[kctyphoon]

are you serious? this is utter bs. 18 volt dewalt has been around for decades and still supported. no wait, how about this? they have an adapter that to the best of my knowledge will accept the 60 volt battery on an 18 volt tool as well as power the standard 20 volt max, yup it will slide right into them. they may not be doing it the same way as everyone else but don't bs everyone by saying that unless you buy into the 60 volt platform you are not going to get good if not great tools.

your hatred of yellow is bleeding through your praise of red like usual.

18v nicad dewalt is 20 year old technology and they are the ONLY company still selling that stuff in stores to consumers unaware of the major differences between nicad and Lithium/ brushed vs brushless. Yes, there is an adapter to use 20 year old drills with newer batteries - that was released about 2 or 3 years too late, and makes the tools big,cumbersome, and honestly is not even worth buying when you break down the dollars and cents to keep old outdated tools going by buying new chargers and batteries alone. If you enjoy battery packs self discharging in 3 months by all means - buy Dewalts nicad stuff. Dewalt is still selling nicad in what, 7.2, 14.4, 18v, and then in Lithium 12v, 20v, 40v, and now 60v.. Their 60v stuff is backwards compatible, but their 20v packs are not FOWARD compatible. you still NEED TO FIRST BUY ALL THAT **** FIRST to use with your standard 20v tools BECAUSE not every platform offers the same tools. hell the mitersaw requires TWO 60v packs just to be able to be used cordless.. how much of an added expense is that? Milwaukee's 18v platform has almost every tool in Dewalts 60v lineup, and is competitive at 1/3 the voltage. (Cordless table saw coming) If Milwaukee makes ANY new cordless tools - I already know all my batteries will work on them. And like makita, Milwaukee had the sense to make some tools (just lighting for now) take 2 standard batteries to extended power and runtime - INSTEAD of saying - eh, u want it- now you HAVE TO buy new batteries and chargers, even though you might already own 10 20v packs..

 

[Fender1325]

I have a feeling a cordless miter saw will be as useful as a cordless weed eater. Those who have experience with that will know what I mean.

 

[engineer2]

I have a Makita cordless weed eater and I can trim 5 times before recharging the batteries. I should have gotten the 18 V instead of the 36 V.

A cordless miter saw isn't that useful, IMHO.

 

[GarageGuy89]

18v nicad dewalt is 20 year old technology and they are the ONLY company still selling that stuff in stores to consumers unaware of the major differences between nicad and Lithium/ brushed vs brushless. Yes, there is an adapter to use 20 year old drills with newer batteries - that was released about 2 or 3 years too late, and makes the tools big,cumbersome, and honestly is not even worth buying when you break down the dollars and cents to keep old outdated tools going by buying new chargers and batteries alone. If you enjoy battery packs self discharging in 3 months by all means - buy Dewalts nicad stuff. Dewalt is still selling nicad in what, 7.2, 14.4, 18v, and then in Lithium 12v, 20v, 40v, and now 60v.. Their 60v stuff is backwards compatible, but their 20v packs are not FOWARD compatible. you still NEED TO FIRST BUY ALL THAT **** FIRST to use with your standard 20v tools BECAUSE not every platform offers the same tools. hell the mitersaw requires TWO 60v packs just to be able to be used cordless.. how much of an added expense is that? Milwaukee's 18v platform has almost every tool in Dewalts 60v lineup, and is competitive at 1/3 the voltage. (Cordless table saw coming) If Milwaukee makes ANY new cordless tools - I already know all my batteries will work on them. And like makita, Milwaukee had the sense to make some tools (just lighting for now) take 2 standard batteries to extended power and runtime - INSTEAD of saying - eh, u want it- now you HAVE TO buy new batteries and chargers, even though you might already own 10 20v packs..

No offense, but it seems you have a biased opinion on the yellow belly Dewalt tools, and for people asking opinions I don't think your giving good advice by slamming Dewalt like you are with incorrect information and assumptions. Dewalt produces tools that are on par and 'arguably' better then any other brand out there (one reason they still sell the 18v lineup).

If a guy has a small fortune into the 18v lineup from back in the day (when it was the best tech. available), dewalt has made it possible to use the latest batteries. So he has to spend what...$100...$200 to save his previous investment from when it was the cream of the crop tools back in the day that still function just fine? Instead of making him spend another small fortune to update to the latest. Hats off to dewalt for this, you'd be hard pressed to find today's marketing scheme to be on board with that with anything else. This is actually one reason dewalt is so great, they are on board with providing backwards compatibility with all their tools while still keeping with current tech. so you can rest assured that you don't have to reinvest a small fortune for new tools.

Let's be honest, new higher tech batteries WILL come out. So don't slam a brand because they offer backwards compatibility, and still support 20 year old technology.

 

[kctyphoon]

No offense, but it seems you have a biased opinion on the yellow belly Dewalt tools, and for people asking opinions I don't think your giving good advice by slamming Dewalt like you are with incorrect information and assumptions. Dewalt produces tools that are on par and 'arguably' better then any other brand out there (one reason they still sell the 18v lineup).

If a guy has a small fortune into the 18v lineup from back in the day (when it was the best tech. available), dewalt has made it possible to use the latest batteries. So he has to spend what...$100...$200 to save his previous investment from when it was the cream of the crop tools back in the day that still function just fine? Instead of making him spend another small fortune to update to the latest. Hats off to dewalt for this, you'd be hard pressed to find today's marketing scheme to be on board with that with anything else. This is actually one reason dewalt is so great, they are on board with providing backwards compatibility with all their tools while still keeping with current tech. so you can rest assured that you don't have to reinvest a small fortune for new tools.

Let's be honest, new higher tech batteries WILL come out. So don't slam a brand because they offer backwards compatibility, and still support 20 year old technology.

Yes for people that already are heavily invested into an 18v set up that might be worth it. Most people aren't in that situation though. And I'm not BIASED against Dewalt, I had alot of their 20v stuff too at my last job. 1 truck filled with Dewalt, one truck with Milwaukee. I've used both side by side, and formulate my opinion from that. I don't comment too much about Ridgid and Ryobi cause I don't personally own those, but they are both manufactured by TTI and are designed with the intent of Milwaukee always being the top dog.

As far as Milwaukee vs Dewalt in the BRUSHED 12v platform they are pretty even in the few tools they share, and I own both brands in those 4 or so core tools. Dewalt loses by default for basically ignoring that platform and not offering any brushless upgrades, or offering anywhere near the amount of 12v tools Milwaukee offers. Dewalts only perk is they have better lighting on some of those tools, and the handles are more comfortable IMO. other than that, there is no contest in the 12v department if you want to run those as your go-to platform and want real tool options.

And for the record, I have put dewalts compact 20v brushless impact driver side by side against Milwaukee's compact m18 brushed version, and used them to drive small lags into poles. The brushed Milwaukee is noticably stronger. I also have the brushless high torque impacts in the 7/16 hex drive versions for both brands.. the power is even despite Dewalt rating it stronger, the bits ALWAYS get stuck in the Dewalt and need to be banged out, and the Milwaukee just feels like a more solid tool when you use it. So if actually buying, owning, and using the same tools side by side from both brands and then forming an opinion is considered biased, then yes, that's me...

Between the last company I was working for, the one I work for now (who hired me and outright said "we want you to pick out all our equipment and teach our guys to do things your way), and the giant pile of stuff I have at home cause I sometimes buy stuff just cause I'm bored - I can comfortably say I've bought and tried ALOT of different cordless tools.

 

[lbhsbz]

There are a whole lot more cordless tools available today than there were back when nicads still ruled the world...10 years ago, I never really gave any thought to cordless anything except a drill and maybe a flashlight that shared the same batteries.

Before making your choice of brands, think about what else you might want in cordless and who offers everything you need.

I looked at Ryobi, Dewalt, Milwaukee and Makita...Dewalt fit the bill the best.

Ryobi and Makita didn't have a 1/2" impact wrench on the same playing field as Dewalt and Milwaukee, and that was something I wanted. Now I was down to 2. I think that red and yellow are realistically comparable in performance and durability, and I'd rather give my business to SBD than TTI, so I picked yellow. For home/hobby use, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the decent brands out there.

 

[GarageGuy89]

Yes for people that already are heavily invested into an 18v set up that might be worth it. Most people aren't in that situation though. And I'm not BIASED against Dewalt, I had alot of their 20v stuff too at my last job. 1 truck filled with Dewalt, one truck with Milwaukee. I've used both side by side, and formulate my opinion from that. I don't comment too much about Ridgid and Ryobi cause I don't personally own those, but they are both manufactured by TTI and are designed with the intent of Milwaukee always being the top dog.

As far as Milwaukee vs Dewalt in the BRUSHED 12v platform they are pretty even in the few tools they share, and I own both brands in those 4 or so core tools. Dewalt loses by default for basically ignoring that platform and not offering any brushless upgrades, or offering anywhere near the amount of 12v tools Milwaukee offers. Dewalts only perk is they have better lighting on some of those tools, and the handles are more comfortable IMO. other than that, there is no contest in the 12v department if you want to run those as your go-to platform and want real tool options.

And for the record, I have put dewalts compact 20v brushless impact driver side by side against Milwaukee's compact m18 brushed version, and used them to drive small lags into poles. The brushed Milwaukee is noticably stronger. I also have the brushless high torque impacts in the 7/16 hex drive versions for both brands.. the power is even despite Dewalt rating it stronger, the bits ALWAYS get stuck in the Dewalt and need to be banged out, and the Milwaukee just feels like a more solid tool when you use it. So if actually buying, owning, and using the same tools side by side from both brands and then forming an opinion is considered biased, then yes, that's me...

Between the last company I was working for, the one I work for now (who hired me and outright said "we want you to pick out all our equipment and teach our guys to do things your way), and the giant pile of stuff I have at home cause I sometimes buy stuff just cause I'm bored - I can comfortably say I've bought and tried ALOT of different cordless tools.

Great, and I really did not mean to be rude no matter how badly I want to disagree with you. You seem like someone who really would be qualified to answer this type of question. Your last post was much more informative and helpful for new users out there seeking advice.

Don't you think it's more productive providing your experiences and comparisons with tools, rather than just slamming certain aspects of a brand. It really gives off the wrong impression, and the internet already has too much of that sort of thing.

 

[kctyphoon]

I'm not slamming any brand.. I merely posted why I like the Milwaukee stuff over Dewalt.. Makita is another good option, but I don't think I've ever owned anything of theirs. You wanna see a BEAUTIFUL cordless miter saw, look up makitas new 18x2 cordless miter.. I'm staring at in HD right now in awe of how nice it is.

Milwaukee's popularity is due to how many people are impressed with their tools. Not all, but many exceed what people expect, and every year a landslide of new stuff comes out. They have also been ahead of the trend with many items.. brushless tools, powerful impacts, cordless lighting.. there's a reason the Milwaukee thread never passes page 3 on the forum, and it's not just cause people like red tools.

 

[Voi]

You wanna see a BEAUTIFUL cordless miter saw, look up makitas new 18x2 cordless miter.. I'm staring at in HD right now in awe of how nice it is.

This was the 10" saw? Was there a price for a bare tool? I'm not finding it on their site.

I'm not in the market for a cordless miter but I am in the market for a wall hugger slider with good dust collection. Looks like the new Makita has both and I already have more 5.0 batteries than I can keep track of.

Sorry for the thread jack.

 

[rnscustom]

Nice thing about having at least 1- 2.0ah battery is they charge in 15 min . Can keep you going when the bigger ones die out . I'm in the woodworking trade and makita and hitachi are most seen , cordless and corded . Dewalt was big with carpenters and Milwaukee with plumbers and electricians . I think the prices for bare tools is cheaper with Milwaukee . Makita stuff seems to be a bit more and there isn't as much offered in the box stores compared to dewalt and makita . That's one of the reasons I almost switched to Milwaukee , needed a right angle drill and HD didn't carry the makita . A consideration , sometimes you just need it now . Still with the makita stuff though

 

[stevengarage]

I just bought a Dewalt kit, 20 volt ion batteries. Everyone I work with uses Dewalt and loves them