What drill to get?

[Gregster]

I'm looking at buying a nice 1/2 drill over the holidays. I was looking at these 3

8amp Milwaukee-149$
8amp Rigid-129$
7.8amp Dewalt-149$
The Rigid and Mil seem to be the exact same...

yeah yeah they are all Made in China. I checked them out at Home Depot. Only the Makita seemed to be Made In Canada. I am trying to avoid buying things from China these days but I have never liked Makita.

The Rigid seems like the best choice.

Any suggestions?

 

[nissan_crawler]

bosch

http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductCategory.aspx?catid=574

Dewalt has been headed downhill, I'm leery of milwaukee now that they're proprietary, ridgid seems to be ok, although I'm not a fan.

Edit: Or check pawn/electrical motor repair shops for older stuff. Dad got a 3/4" milwaukee hand drill that was fully rebuilt for $75, the cost of the repair bill of the guy that left the tool at the shop for a year. It came with 1' long pipe handles. That thing will rip your freaking arms out of your sockets.

 

[Gregster]

Silly me I forgot about Bosch.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

I'm looking at buying a nice 1/2 drill over the holidays. I was looking at these 3

8amp Milwaukee-149$
8amp Rigid-129$
7.8amp Dewalt-149$
The Rigid and Mil seem to be the exact same...

yeah yeah they are all Made in China. I checked them out at Home Depot. Only the Makita seemed to be Made In Canada. I am trying to avoid buying things from China these days but I have never liked Makita.

The Rigid seems like the best choice.

Any suggestions?

You can't go wrong with the Milwaukee hole shooter. I had one at my last job and it was the best drill I've ever used...

 

[Merkava_4]

For 1/2" electric drills, I like the Milwaukee 600 RPM. Most places only stock the 800 RPM model, so you'd have to order the 600.

 

[Stuey]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000223HF/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The above Milwaukee is made in the USA unless I am mistaken or they started manufacturing them elsewhere.

Besides that, I'd go with either Bosch or Ridgid. Bosch b/c their tools have never (knock on wood) let me down, and Ridgid for the same reason.

 

[Vinko]

Stuey: I got this exact model from Amazon a few months ago. Still made in USA at the time. I think it was cheaper though. Maybe 70 or 80 at most. Great drill. People in our shop have been using it for everything. Wood, metal, concrete. I posted on the Ridgid forum about it and several had good things to say about it. I got the red metal case too. From amazon at about 70% off at the time. Apparently the 02346 was also made in an anniversary edition which can still be found on ebay, from time to time.

I also just picked up a Hilti from HD. The model was being discontinued or upgraded. I got it for about $270 or so. Good cordless drill, so far. -- nice balance and power.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Yes, Hilti and Fein are good brands also, although not cheap.

 

[eschoendorff]

Aside from warranty issues (with batteries), I really like Ridgid power tools. I like the balance, feel and performance. You might wait until after Xmas and see if HD discounts the Ridgid drills....

 

[dxdexter]

I personally would go with the Dewalt, but I would buy a reconditioned unit t at a "Dewalt Factory Outlet" for half the price. I have at least 8 reconditioned Dewalt tools, that I can think of, that have been well used and had no problems what so ever.

 

[Jay H 237]

You can't go wrong with the Milwaukee hole shooter. I had one at my last job and it was the best drill I've ever used...

Yep, great drills. I have 2 of the 1/2" Milwaukee Magnum Hole Shooters (1 is a hammer drill).

 

[rodm1]

I recommend the Milwaukee model#0302-20

 

[dps]

How about made in the U.S.A.? I find this Porter Cable extremely handy doing home restoration/renovation work. Great for mixing small batch concrete, stirring/mixing drywall mud, and getting between studs/joists with big hole saws. It's heavy, but massive torque.

The right angle attachment is easy to remove/replace.

 

[NSXSOON]

My tool distributor friend told me this week that all new Milwaukee grinders, drills and band saws will be made in China and next year so will there Sawzall!!! Same model numbers plus some new ones. He buys close to half a million in Milwaukee tools per year. So sad but they are now owned by TTI (China company) that also builds Rigid and Ryobi junk in the same factories. Hence the "strong similarities" between many of there tools. He also says that the out of the box failure rate on the Milwaukee tools he has sold over the last year has increased to over 7%, more than double the prior year. Interesting though is that he says there US made tools have the same or worse failure rate. May be the factory workers know there fate and don't have there heart in it any more,

 

[Stephenw]

Both my 3/8 and 1/2 drills are DeWalt. When I bought them, I thought the box said "Assembled in U.S.A. from U.S.A. and foreign made components". I didn't keep the boxes. At work, I recently got an 18 volt DeWalt drill. I couldn't find the country of origin anywhere on the box or in the paperwork. I noticed the label on the drill said "made in Mexico". When I got home, I checked my two drills, and they also said "made in Mexico" on the label.

With that said, I like the performance of all of them.

 

[Gregster]

I rather had Hecho en Mexico rather then Made In China

i was going to head out for the drill today but everything is snowed in.

 

[Stuey]

The milwaukee that I linked to has been sold for $90 in the past, maybe between $80 and $90 for one or two days or so, but has been $110 on Amazon for a few months now.

 

[Jokeman]

I have become a big fan of the Ridgid line. I used to buy the Dewalt 18v stuff. I needed a corded drill on the cheap and picked up a ridgid to try. I was VERY happy with it so I replaced my Dewalt with the new Ridgid Li-Ion auto shift drill. So far so good.

 

[CAT_serviceman927]

I got a Porter Cable 7.8 amp 1/2"drill about 5 years ago. I like it alot, but I can't find it anywhere anymore. Don't think they make it anymore. I can't even find an electric drill on Porter Cable's website. All I see now are these cheap looking cordless tools.

If I had to buy a new one, I would probably get a Milwaukee or a Bosch.

 

[nissan_crawler]

My tool distributor friend told me this week that all new Milwaukee grinders, drills and band saws will be made in China and next year so will there Sawzall!!! Same model numbers plus some new ones. He buys close to half a million in Milwaukee tools per year. So sad but they are now owned by TTI (China company) that also builds Rigid and Ryobi junk in the same factories. Hence the "strong similarities" between many of there tools. He also says that the out of the box failure rate on the Milwaukee tools he has sold over the last year has increased to over 7%, more than double the prior year. Interesting though is that he says there US made tools have the same or worse failure rate. May be the factory workers know there fate and don't have there heart in it any more,

Hence why I would be leery.

 

[mickeyone]

Our shop has older Milwaukees that are going on 20 yrs of use.The hole shooter series are reliable.We have 3/8,1/2 inch hammer drill and 1/2 inch angle drill. These were at the time the only drill electrical shops would use.Real industry standard.

 

[Bolster]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000223HF/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The above Milwaukee is made in the USA unless I am mistaken or they started manufacturing them elsewhere..

I own that drill (the "magnum"), purchased it maybe 10 years ago or more. Good tool, zero complaints, except I can't understand why the switch should extend down the grip like it does. Makes it devilishly hard to stop the drill without letting go of the handle!! Not fun when you're using it for mixing mud.

 

[vssjim]

Milwaukee Milwaukee Milwaukee

 

[Bull]

I have been surprised by the quality of Rigid stuff. Most recently, I purchased their worm-drive circular saw. That thing is a BEAST. Heavy, solid, good power, and a LONG cord.

I'm sort of coming to believe that brands don't always matter as much as I thought they did. I'm not fully there yet, but heading in that direction. I just sold an 18v DeWalt drill. It's been a great drill, but has not been any better than my 18v Black and Decker Firestorm.

Might depend on how heavily you use the thing, i.e. homeowner vs pro builder.

I would think that any of the ones you listed will work just fine!

 

[Bolster]

I'm sort of coming to believe that brands don't always matter as much as I thought they did. I'm not fully there yet, but heading in that direction.

I'm moving in that direction with you, bro. Seems like you got to know WHICH tool and WHAT year, as well as WHO made it and WHERE. I've also seen some surprisingly good Ridgid stuff. My shop vac for example, you just can't kill it. It keeps on sucking. Literally.

 

[Bull]

Thanks for the backup...after I posted, I figured I might get flamed. I always prefer US made stuff if I can afford it, and do invest credibility in certain brands. Experience is just starting to open my eyes to certain realities, though, like what you said about having to know the details about a particluar mufacturer's product in order to make the call.

Now that you mention it, my shop vac is a Ridgid, too, and it has worked like a champ for a few years now.

I'm moving in that direction with you, bro. Seems like you got to know WHICH tool and WHAT year, as well as WHO made it and WHERE. I've also seen some surprisingly good Ridgid stuff. My shop vac for example, you just can't kill it. It keeps on sucking. Literally.

 

[ossaguy]

I really like my Magnum Holeshooter.A nice feature is the snap-in cord.If you wreck the cord,you can just snap-in a new replacment cord.

 

[Vinko]

I'm moving in that direction with you, bro. Seems like you got to know WHICH tool and WHAT year, as well as WHO made it and WHERE. I've also seen some surprisingly good Ridgid stuff. My shop vac for example, you just can't kill it. It keeps on sucking. Literally.

Sage advise. I'm pretty happy with the new Ridgid 16 gal. vac we have in the shop. Pics up metal shavings and dust really well.

I'm looking for a Craftsman 9 or 12 gal for home when they go on sale.

 

[Major Ramifications]

Gregster,
Could you post links of the drills you are considering so we could see what you need?

BTW, my name is Greg and I drive a Neon, too.

 

[48548]

I have a magnum holeshooter and a 1/2 v28 set, including the 1/2 hammer drill, I love that drill and all of the millwaukee stuff I own, would buy them all again. Love the cordless v28 wet/dry shop vac works great on cars to clean the inside without cords.

 

[toolfreak450]

are these hammer drills or low rpm drills for boring holes in wood i ask because for boring holes i like the millwauke 800rpm model but for hard hitting fast hammer drills its hard to beet bosch they smoke all others espesialy for 1/2" masonary or smaller

 

[eschoendorff]

I have been surprised by the quality of Rigid stuff. Most recently, I purchased their worm-drive circular saw. That thing is a BEAST. Heavy, solid, good power, and a LONG cord.

I'm sort of coming to believe that brands don't always matter as much as I thought they did. I'm not fully there yet, but heading in that direction. I just sold an 18v DeWalt drill. It's been a great drill, but has not been any better than my 18v Black and Decker Firestorm.

Might depend on how heavily you use the thing, i.e. homeowner vs pro builder.

I would think that any of the ones you listed will work just fine!

Same here. I have complained before about Ridgid's warranty, but not the tools. Tools are great!

Finally found a decent warranty service center and they hooked me up. In the future, just call the Ridgid rep in the area.....

 

[plinker]

I have the Ridgid, Very nice drill. My only problem is the side handle the bolt rounded out so it wouldnt tighten. But I fixed it w/ a 5/16 threaded rod.

It would be nicer if it just threaded into the metal housing.

 

[buening]

Gonna go against the grain here. I purchased a Hitachi D10VH (3/8", I know!) and have been impressed with it. I have experience with Dewalt, Bosch, and Craftsman drills and the Hitachi is smooth as butter and amazingly quiet. It also has a 5yr warranty, if that is a factor at all. Definitely made overseas though

Bosch is an excellent drill as well, but my brother in law burnt up a new Bosch 1/2" mixing up some ceiling texture in a 5gal bucket. May have been a fluke