Quality corded drill recommendations?

[_strickland]

I don't want battery powered drills anymore so I'm looking into purchasing a new corded drill. Are there any still made in the USA? If not, are there at least some NOT made in china?

I've been looking at the Hilti UD16 or UD30 pretty hard but I still don't know where are they're manufactured at but I've read good things so far. I do have a Hilti store in my area so I could easily take a look I suppose.

Any recommendations?

 

[honcho]

Given the massive movement to cordless tools, this may be one opportunity where you can find a very good deal on a corded drill in the used marketplace. I'd look for a Milwaukee Holeshooter or perhaps one of the USA made Makita units from the 90s. I don't know if there are any units currently made/assembled in the USA.

I use cordless but I keep my corded units around.

 

[RickyPetite]

I was recently in a pinch at my vacation home and didn't feel like spending the money on a cordless. Bought a Dewalt corded that I believe was made in Mexico. Half the price of a cordless with twice the power. Since I typically use it in locations with power available, I now favor it over my cordless Dewalt.

 

[Shiftless]

“I use cordless but I keep my corded units around”

Me too.
With the popularity of cordless these days, I have found it easy to find high quality older corded tools at garage sales and estate sales. Milwaulkee, Dewalt, etc.

 

[paulsomlo]

Milwaukee 1/2" Hole Shooter - not sure where the new ones are made, but this is a very robust drill, regardless of COO. And used ones should be cheap, plentiful, and even made in USA.

 

[Ilikeike]

We still have the old Made in USA Milwaukee Hole Shooters at work, they are durable beasts, with easy access brushes.
I see them often for sale at swap meets, probably eBay also.

If not that, I'm sure any of the quality name brands would be "okay"

for sale > eBay

 

[tarbellb]

what are you doing that your cordless isnt up to the task?


Just wondering as a new 4ah battery in any new drill will do most anything, and you can get them cheap now


But to answer your q and to reiterate most all above, buy used, LOTS of quality drills at a fraction of new
(looking for larger hammer drill, check out Ridgid 5010, relabeled Metabo? German made, Ebay $100ish)

 

[bob15]

I was in your boat and wound up buying a German-made Metabo.

 

[bonneyman]

what are you doing that your cordless isnt up to the task?


Just wondering as a new 4ah battery in any new drill will do most anything, and you can get them cheap now


But to answer your q and to reiterate most all above, buy used, LOTS of quality drills at a fraction of new
(looking for larger hammer drill, check out Ridgid 5010, relabeled Metabo? German made, Ebay $100ish)

Check Goodwill's and Restore's. Have found many a nice used corded drills at the various locations in my town.

My most recent acquisition was this "used" Craftsman that looks unused. Paid $15 for it.

 

[B_Bimmer]

The US made milwaukee drills were unbelievable. Growing up I had my dad's too hot to hold without gloves many times and they never have needed anything.

 

[RTM]

I have the following MKE drills, all bought used. All for under $40 each. The D Handle scares me, I think it will only see mixing duty. The 1/2" Hole Shooter is a beast. Buddy calls it a wrist breaker, since its so unassuming.

My used Dewalts are not nearly as beefy as the MKE

Drill 3/8"	Milwaukee	222
Drill, Right Angle 1/2"	Milwaukee	1001-1
Drill, 1/2"	Milwaukee	0234-1
Drill, 1/2"	Milwaukee	0299-20
Drill, 1/2" D Handle	Milwaukee	1650-1

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Still running a Milwaukee 1/2" Hole Shooter I bought new late 1980s, with a 2 speed transmission. Its been to hell and back. Its also had several repairs. It will be with me till Im dead. Ive got literally more cordless drills than I know about. From 9.6V to 24V. But still have 5 or 6 corded American Made Milwaukee drills including a hole hawg.

Im not really a Milwaukee fan, all of my cordless is other brands ( save for a grease gun, and 2 old caulk guns ), but love my old "real" milwaukees

Just put a new quick release foot on one of my old school sawzalls, and a new obsolete trigger switch on my old Super Sawzall.

 

[nadogail]

Corded tools with Series wound motors have very strong motors.

 

[Shiftless]

“ Buddy calls it a wrist breaker, since its so unassuming.”

“Corded tools with Series wound motors have very strong motors.”

I know a guy who was working on a casino remodel and watched a guy get thrown off of a ladder when the bit on his hole shooter jammed.

I used my hole shooter to drill maybe 40 one inch holes through 8x8 PT posts. The motor barely got warm.

 

[torqueman2002]

"I know a guy who was working on a casino remodel and watched a guy get thrown off of a ladder when the bit on his hole shooter jammed."

Those 'Hole Shooters' should have your attention and respect.

My brother lost a front tooth using one. It had a length of galv. pipe in place of the handle, when the drill bit jammed, the 'handle' spun around, slit his upper lip and took out most of his left I-tooth!

I have a number of Milwaukee's cordless tools, but also have their 1/2" corded drill, and their corded right-angle drill. Both are 25+ years old and as powerful as they were the day I bought them.

 

[slow84lx]

I keep a 1/2" Makita in the toolbox. About 20 years old and can be a wrist breaker. It gets used occasionally.

A corded tool is not as convenient as a cordless but is definitely more reliable & cheaper.

 

[Nutria]

One more vote for the USA Milwaukee hole shooters. Also the Porter Cable 666.

 

[dnschmidt]

I have quite a few (MAYBE 10) corded Milwaukee. Two right angles, a Hole Hawg, Several of the Magnum style and three of the Milwaukee branded SIOUX offset drills which were the bomb. I also have Black and Decker Industrial, and Metabo hammer drills. Don't use them much but they are all pristine and look great in my toolbox.

 

[Lasu]

Most pro brands have, 2 speed, high torque 1 speed model and high rpm model. Used daily in the metal workshop and wood here. Big gearbox, bearings, ergonomics. T handle 18v "drill" is completely different.

 

[reader2580]

I was recently in a pinch at my vacation home and didn't feel like spending the money on a cordless. Bought a Dewalt corded that I believe was made in Mexico. Half the price of a cordless with twice the power. Since I typically use it in locations with power available, I now favor it over my cordless Dewalt.

I have a Dewalt corded drill purchased at least 15 years ago. Just about any 18 volt cordless drill beats it on power. I was drilling a hole once with my corded drill and not having much luck. I switched to my Makita LXT cordless drill and no issues drilling the hole.

 

[Toomanytools?]

I have the Milwaukee, must be 20 years old great drill. I also have an older 25yr Makita also good drill. I would walk the Goodwill or pawn shop you might find a deal.

 

[Iron Beaver]

There is also Fein. Top quality tools IMO

 

[dr_clyde]

My electric corded drills are Milwaukee, I use them when we're setting up to drill a lot of repetition in a fixture, or if we're using the hole saw notcher. The low end torque on them is hard to beat.

We also use the Hole Hawg on large hole saw jobs, or things where we're driving augers or big mixers, stuff like that.

Cordless does 95%, but there's still a place for corded in my shop.

Anything where I need low RPM, high torque, but I don't want to break my wrist if something fails, I use my air drills. Same for high RPM drilling. I have a CP air drill that is something like 3 or 4k RPM, and it is the berries for drilling LOTS of small diameter holes. Like for rivets or the like.

 

[Ton ton]

I just bought a Makita 1/2" drill corded assembled in the USA. 550 rpm. I like it so far.

 

[Ton ton]

Most of the recent Milwaukee corded drills I run are made in China.

 

[svhamelly]

I bought a Bosch Mighty Midget with 1/2 inch chuck in 1991... best corded drill I've ever used. Very compact size but with big chuck and 2 speeds. Enough low-end torque to break your wrist if you're not careful!!!

 

[jives]

Grew up in my dad's construction business and the drills were all Milwaukee. My first power tool, age 18, was a Skil drill. For 40 years is was my only drill, until I switched to a Bosch cordless. It is still my backup. The point is that if you are only looking for a backup at the lake house, you should be able to find a used quality drill from most anyplace.

 

[Dave455]

There are plenty that are not made in China.

Generally speaking, all the big makers - Bosch, Makita etc etc manufacture a range of qualities. The cheapest are usually made in China, next grade up in Malaysia (Bosch) or Romania (Makita) and the best grades in Germany, Japan etc etc. Some of the Makita’s are U.S. made.

Personally, for a top end corded drill I’d go Fein - all but the very cheapest cordless units are made in Germany. I have this BOS-16 and it’s a beast, but there are many smaller models.

 

[Rkcubed]

“ Buddy calls it a wrist breaker, since its so unassuming.”

“Corded tools with Series wound motors have very strong motors.”

I know a guy who was working on a casino remodel and watched a guy get thrown off of a ladder when the bit on his hole shooter jammed.

I used my hole shooter to drill maybe 40 one inch holes through 8x8 PT posts. The motor barely got warm.

Funny my dad called them nut busters. He always said if it grabs just let go.

 

[Ton ton]

Funny my dad called them nut busters. He always said if it grabs just let go.

I agree with the last sentence.

 

[webscrounger]

Looking for durability, try Milwaukee Magnum/Heavy Duty corded drills. I've got about 15 of various flavors from the 80s & 90s and all still in great working shape with no signs of giving up. If you don't mind used, try ebay. On the cheap you might find something like a Milwaukee 3/8" Magnun 0233-20 reasonably priced. Built like tanks and speed range of 0-2800 so fairly versital in drill size and speed. If you need larger drills maybe a Milwaukee 0299- or 0234-. Negative for 1/2" drills it that top speeds are usually lower at around 850. I did buy a couple of used ones and they have worked like new. Just FYI.

​

 

[HenryAZ]

I am pretty happy with my Metabo BEV 1300-2, German made 1/2" drill. One nice feature is the ability to preset maximum speeds. Using a 6 position dial together with the two speed ranges, you can preset 12 different maximum speeds, from 180rpm up to 3100rpm.

At Amazon.

 

[bob15]

I am pretty happy with my Metabo BEV 1300-2, German made 1/2" drill. One nice feature is the ability to preset maximum speeds. Using a 6 position dial together with the two speed ranges, you can preset 12 different maximum speeds, from 180rpm up to 3100rpm.

At Amazon.

Can you add the 90° angle attachment to your drill? On my BE1100, I can take the chuck off the drill and replace it with the 90° set-up.

 

[dutchgray]

I would probably get a Fein if I had need of another corded drill, they do a whole range and the corded tools I have from Fein are very good ( multimaster OMT, nibbler, drywall screwdriver, magnetic drill)

I have various corded drills already, small Bosch 1/2" homeowner green grade but was Swiss made and is a good tool, about 20 years old now.
Dad's old Hitachi hammer drill
A 3/4" Bosch arm breaker.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think the only corded drill I have is a 1/2" hammer drill.

I would consider making that part of the purchase

 

[claymont]

I don't want battery powered drills anymore so I'm looking into purchasing a new corded drill. Are there any still made in the USA? If not, are there at least some NOT made in china?

I've been looking at the Hilti UD16 or UD30 pretty hard but I still don't know where are they're manufactured at but I've read good things so far. I do have a Hilti store in my area so I could easily take a look I suppose.

Any recommendations?]

A lot of good inexpensive heavy-duty drills on eBay. I've got a couple of Hole shooters off there, but I've also got a triple reduction Black&Decker 1/2" that I've had for forty-five years, small and compact, but you can't hold on to it if it grabs without the auxiliary handle...and then maybe not I've also got a 3/8" two-speed Black&Decker that I really like. A little younger but still industrial quality.

 

[64C10]

I’m really happy with my “Hecho en Mexico” Dewalt 1/2”.

My favorite though is a True Value Master Mechanic 3/8” that I picked up on a travel gig and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. No idea who the OEM is, no clue on COO either (paperwork and packaging are long gone). This thing is a warrior - been basically abused since day one, and has never had a hiccup.

 

[Evilunclegrimace]

Given the massive movement to cordless tools, this may be one opportunity where you can find a very good deal on a corded drill in the used marketplace. I'd look for a Milwaukee Holeshooter or perhaps one of the USA made Makita units from the 90s. I don't know if there are any units currently made/assembled in the USA.

I use cordless but I keep my corded units around.

I have a Holeshooter that I purchased in the early 80's and it is still running stong. The only thing I have done to it is replace the power cord. If I needed to buy a corded drill today I would buy a Holeshooter in a heart beat.

 

[HenryAZ]

Can you add the 90° angle attachment to your drill? On my BE1100, I can take the chuck off the drill and replace it with the 90° set-up.

I've never checked, since I have a Makita right angle drill when I need it (3/8" chuck, though). I am not sure I would want to try right angle drilling with a high torque 1/2" drill, especially since I am now older with less muscle tone. I only pull out my Metabo drill when I cannot get the workpiece into my Grizzly small mill/drill. On the mill/drill, I can drill a 5/8" hole through 1/4" wall 2"x2" square tubing in one pass, safely, and it is perfectly square/plumb.

 

[Outahere]

I have my eye on this 10A DeWalt:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TKTI9O/?tag=atomicindus08-20