Your favorite CORDED drill

[ajp89]

I'm looking to get a drill to keep around the house for most jobs. I know there's many drills for different applications, and I'm just looking for a good all around tool. I won't need a huge hammer drill for concrete jobs or anything like that. I already have a Milwaukee m18 impact that I love, but I want a drill that I never have to worry about being charged or not having enough juice to get the job done all day. The cord does not bother me, and I will definitely buy a 1/2".

I'm sure the top 2 picks are milwaukee and dewalt. But I want to know if that's what I should be looking for? Are the newer (not so stout if you will) cheaper made drills something I should invest in, or should I be on the lookout for those old drills that seemed like they weighed a hundred pounds with a key for the chuck I remember my dad using many years ago?

Any thoughts/experience with what I should be looking for to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!

 

[n8n]

Milwaukee Magnum 1/2" (the one with the removable cord, detachable handle and keyed chuck.) Bought mine sometime around 1995 and still use it regularly.

 

[PBCampbell]

Older, but not necessarily antique Milwaukee's are where it's at. 1/2 inch keyed chuck and gear reduction to below 1,000 rpms. Ideal was the kit with a right angle attachment and I think 550 rpms. Possibly the best general purpose drill.

 

[txvwnut]

Milwaukee magnum hole shooter 1/2" capacity, mine also has the removable cord but has the keyless chuck. Before the Milwaukee there was a Ryobi 1/2" that was pure junk, but I believe that Ryobi has come around as I have a 1/2" hammer drill that has put up with some good abuse.

 

[Stuey]

Bosch hammer drill. Yes, I know you said Milwaukee or Dewalt, but I like Bosch's the best. I don't have anything to say about non-hammer corded drills though.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

I have a 1/2" DeWalt I use on occasion. It's good for thick metals, concrete/block, and of course wood. I don't use it that much, but it's nice to have the few times a year it's needed.

 

[xela456]

Milwaukee Magnum 1/2" (the one with the removable cord, detachable handle and keyed chuck.) Bought mine sometime around 1995 and still use it regularly.

Same Drill with the anti-wrist-breaker removable cord. if you place it just right, it will rip the cord right out of the handle if it catches. It's a little hard on the cord but it saves some of those gruesome drill accidents i think we've all been involved in with these corded no-clutch drills.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

My Makita rotary hammer has a cord. I haven't tried a cordless version yet. If the cordless is comparable I will get one.

 

[Davefr]

Milwaukee Magnum 1/2" (the one with the removable cord, detachable handle and keyed chuck.) Bought mine sometime around 1995 and still use it regularly.

^^^ What he said.

They're well over $100 new but older USA Milwaukee's are pretty easy to find at garage and estate sales very cheap. They're built so well that they almost never wear out so buying used is a great way to get them.

 

[rsieracki]

i have a bosch corded (10 years old), several milwaukee corded and older (80-90's) craftsman drills (black plastic with silver metal 'noses' on them). some makita stuff too all great.

 

[Cope]

I have a Milwaukee 3/8" Hole Shooter I got in 1979, and the same drill in 1/4". They are great drills, but most parts are no longer available for them. I recommend this one.

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

or this one that I have.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00007FPIN/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[RedRabbit]

Either my Makita 3/8 or Dewalt 3/8.

 

[ajp89]

Awesome, thanks for the fast responses guys. Sounds like I should keep an eye out for something a little older. I figured they were built to last but you guys just confirmed that pretty quick to me!

 

[Ign]

0300-20 would be my choice all day long

edit: just remembered I have one to sell, been meaning to list it for awhile. Now my reco above looks self-serving, sorry. I used to keep one at home, one at work. Now that I work for myself I've got a spare. If anyone's interested PM me. Price negotiable.

 

[ADSR]

milwaukee

 

[454ragtop]

I like the close quarter style, have them in both 3/8" and 1/2".
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QV3CM6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Flat-rate]

Milwaukee hole shooter with the twist off cord. Bought mine in '88 and still shooting holes with it. It even has spare brushes stored in the handle.

 

[kctyphoon]

ok - basically ANYTHING you will find on the shelf at home depot under ANY name brand will work absultely FINE.. i mean jesus christ, i have a $17 harbor freight drill that 5yrs old that some idoit i work with dropped when he was 20' in the air.. cracked case and all, it still works... ( and thats exactly why i bought that, cause otherwise it woulda been a $100 drill he dropped , or lost, or ran over - so i make sure i have cheap stuff to lend out )

not sure if you realize this, but you seriously might as well have asked "whats the best color" or "whats your favorite number" i think i have close to a dozen different drills laying around the house, another 4 or 5 at work, and there isnt ONE i can tell you that i ever had a problem with or wasnt worth buying. my advice, goto home depot, decide how much you wanna spend, what feels nice in your hand, what color you like better, which comes with a case - WHATEVER.. price will normally dictate which is better than the next, but if your not looking to do anything extraordinary and just want something reliable, then any basic drill will work fine.

dont know about you, but a brand new drill with a 3 or 5 yr warranty, and a store to return it to in the next 90 days, sounds alot better to me than a 25 yr old one some guy on ebay sold - because he finally got a new one.. i really wouldnt turn this into a major decesion in your life.

 

[goodysgotacuda]

I have the low rpm porter cable from Lowes. That thing will take my arm off if I am not holding it well. Great for large bits, slow for smaller...but a cordless handles those just fine.

 

[ajp89]

ok - basically ANYTHING you will find on the shelf at home depot under ANY name brand will work absultely FINE.. i mean jesus christ, i have a $17 harbor freight drill that 5yrs old that some idoit i work with dropped when he was 20' in the air.. cracked case and all, it still works... ( and thats exactly why i bought that, cause otherwise it woulda been a $100 drill he dropped , or lost, or ran over - so i make sure i have cheap stuff to lend out )

not sure if you realize this, but you seriously might as well have asked "whats the best color" or "whats your favorite number" i think i have close to a dozen different drills laying around the house, another 4 or 5 at work, and there isnt ONE i can tell you that i ever had a problem with or wasnt worth buying. my advice, goto home depot, decide how much you wanna spend, what feels nice in your hand, what color you like better, which comes with a case - WHATEVER.. price will normally dictate which is better than the next, but if your not looking to do anything extraordinary and just want something reliable, then any basic drill will work fine.

dont know about you, but a brand new drill with a 3 or 5 yr warranty, and a store to return it to in the next 90 days, sounds alot better to me than a 25 yr old one some guy on ebay sold - because he finally got a new one.. i really wouldnt turn this into a major decesion in your life.

It wasn't a major life decision, I was just hoping for some friendly advice since I know there's a lot of knowledgeable people on here. I know it's just a drill but that's like saying I might as well just go out and own a new gm vehicle compared to an older one. Just because it's new and cheaply made doesn't mean I want to have it in the garage every couple of months and then replace it with more new junk when the warranty is up.

Maybe I'm the only one that likes doing a little research before I invest my money in stuff. Thank you everyone for the responses though, I have found a couple older milwaukees that look to be in really good shape I am going to look at

 

[ajp89]

Have you ever had to change the brushes? Is it a pretty simple process?

Milwaukee hole shooter with the twist off cord. Bought mine in '88 and still shooting holes with it. It even has spare brushes stored in the handle.

 

[ajp89]

Older, but not necessarily antique Milwaukee's are where it's at. 1/2 inch keyed chuck and gear reduction to below 1,000 rpms. Ideal was the kit with a right angle attachment and I think 550 rpms. Possibly the best general purpose drill.

Any advice on the amps? I noticed some of the older ones are around 5.5 & newer are around 8?

 

[mossyboy6]

Powerful 1/2 drills are absolute wrist breakers.
I would definitely recommend something with a clutch.

I have had good luck with Dewalt corded drills.

 

[Engine]

A few months ago my 3/8" Makita drill had worn out after several years of use, so I began the search for a replacement.

First I bought another similar model Makita but the keyless chuck would slip on the bit during use. There was no way to tighten it enough. Also the chuck had a lot of runout or wobble. At first, I thought I was using a bent drill bit but after trying several new bits and even checking them with a straightedge there was no doubt that the chuck was bad. I returned it to Home Depot and decided to try a Porter Cable 1/2" with a keyed chuck that I found at Lowes. The runout on it was even worse. The chuck wobbled at least .050" on that one. I returned it and on the third try I finally found the 1/2" Dewalt 10 amp that had a decent keyed chuck and enough power to run a 1/2" bit with plenty of power to spare.

Since going through all that, I have read a lot of complaints about newer drills having excessive runout. Seems to be rather common.

 

[ajp89]

A few months ago my 3/8" Makita drill had worn out after several years of use, so I began the search for a replacement.

First I bought another similar model Makita but the keyless chuck would slip on the bit during use. There was no way to tighten it enough. Also the chuck had a lot of runout or wobble. At first, I thought I was using a bent drill bit but after trying several new bits and even checking them with a straightedge there was no doubt that the chuck was bad. I returned it to Home Depot and decided to try a Porter Cable 1/2" with a keyed chuck that I found at Lowes. The runout on it was even worse. The chuck wobbled at least .050" on that one. I returned it and on the third try I finally found the 1/2" Dewalt 10 amp that had a decent keyed chuck and enough power to run a 1/2" bit with plenty of power to spare.

Since going through all that, I have read a lot of complaints about newer drills having excessive runout. Seems to be rather common.

Thank you for sharing, if I happen to not find something a little older I will definitely watch for this!

 

[Dberglind]

A few months ago my 3/8" Makita drill had worn out after several years of use, so I began the search for a replacement.

First I bought another similar model Makita but the keyless chuck would slip on the bit during use. There was no way to tighten it enough. Also the chuck had a lot of runout or wobble. At first, I thought I was using a bent drill bit but after trying several new bits and even checking them with a straightedge there was no doubt that the chuck was bad. I returned it to Home Depot and decided to try a Porter Cable 1/2" with a keyed chuck that I found at Lowes. The runout on it was even worse. The chuck wobbled at least .050" on that one. I returned it and on the third try I finally found the 1/2" Dewalt 10 amp that had a decent keyed chuck and enough power to run a 1/2" bit with plenty of power to spare.

Since going through all that, I have read a lot of complaints about newer drills having excessive runout. Seems to be rather common.

If that is the DWD210G, I have the same drill. There is a 7 amp version that looks the same at a lot of the box stores. I got this one because it was 10 amp for a comparable price. I use it for going through thick metal, and running a 6" hole saw. So far, works great. Got it off Amazon for $100

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TKTI9O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Fender1325]

I have a 3/8 corded dewalt. It was like 60-70 bucks. Works great no complaints.

 

[sam.coll]

Makita 6302H is industructable!

 

[DennisH2014]

I have one of the VSR 3/8" DeWalt's (7.5amp I believe) and it's awesome! Great keyless Chuck, and TONS of torque!

 

[TomB19]

Garage sale. $10. Done.

If you don't feel like going to a garage sale, Harbor Freight.

An HF drill will sit on your shelf just as well as a fancy top brand drill and it will rotate a drill bit just fine. Save your money to have good stuff that you use regularly.

Any 1/2" drill will rotate a pretty good sized bit. The difference is in the bits. Get a decent set if you intend to drill through steel. That's where to spend the money.

 

[Thumper68]

Milwaukee hole shooter with the twist off cord.

Still running the one I bought in 91 I can't even count the number of holes I have drilled with this both for personal use and on the job, it has also run 1000's of self drilling self tapping screws putting decking on steel and alum docks.

It has fallen off ladders and still just keeps coming back for more.

I also like that you can get the 25' cord for it, i'm on my 3rd one of those so nice not having to use a extension cord.

 

[kctyphoon]

It wasn't a major life decision, I was just hoping for some friendly advice since I know there's a lot of knowledgeable people on here. I know it's just a drill but that's like saying I might as well just go out and own a new gm vehicle compared to an older one. Just because it's new and cheaply made doesn't mean I want to have it in the garage every couple of months and then replace it with more new junk when the warranty is up.

Maybe I'm the only one that likes doing a little research before I invest my money in stuff. Thank you everyone for the responses though, I have found a couple older milwaukees that look to be in really good shape I am going to look at

my post wasnt meant to sound offensive, im sorry if it read that way. my point was, there really is NO bad choice for you, so long as you go with a quality name brand. another point i was trying to make is to be aware of exactly where you are asking for advice, and not everything written is gonna be good advice FOR YOU. example - some peole will tell you that its a waste of your money to buying anything BUT snap on tools - even when a $100 tool set will serve you fine at home.. last month some guy asked about what kinda saw he should buy for a framing project, and among "circular saw" he also got - table saw, miter saw, panel saw (if you can even believe that), sawzall, and im sure i missed one or two others. the fact is, even though tools today are not as big, or as heavy as older ones - that doesnt make them inferior.. new materials, allow for smaller lighter tools to perform just as well, and many times BETTER.. a nice new milwaukee drill will serve you just as well as a 20 yr old comparable model, it just wont have 20 years of use on it.. my milwaukee is probably about 20 years old. i used it professionally when i use to be a stone mason / helper.. the new ones are just as good..

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Another vote for the Milwaukee.........

 

[Plombob]

I have two I like. One is a 1/2" Makita that has a ton of torque. The other is an ancient tiny Chicago Pneumatic 1/4" that spins at 3600 RPM. That old drill spews plumes of ozone, so I mostly use it outside.

 

[ajp89]

Great replies everyone, this is why I love this forum. I can never stop learning

 

[Davefr]

dont know about you, but a brand new drill with a 3 or 5 yr warranty, and a store to return it to in the next 90 days, sounds alot better to me than a 25 yr old one some guy on ebay sold - because he finally got a new one.

A new Chinese made Milwaukee for $150 or an older US made Milwaukee at a G-sale for $10??

It's the OP time and money.

I generally don't agree with guys that assume you can "waltz" onto CL or a couple g-sales and instantly find anything under the sun at cheap prices, but quality corded drills are among the easiest tools to find. There's a flood of them out there as users went to cordless.

I also wouldn't discount other used brands like the B&D Industrial series. (not to be confused with B&D consumer models)

 

[McFarmer]

Cleaning out my dad's stuff I ran across a 3/8 Skil I gave him when I was a teenager. I use it in the shop now, still a good drill.

 

[DonPowers]

Half inch Milwaukee hole shooter with the twist off cord, bought in the early 80's. Still works fine and just used it the other day to drill holes in studs for running wire.

Bosch Rotary Hammer. Bought it to drill holes in rocks so I can split them with feathers & wedges, to build a wall.

 

[ajp89]

Half inch Milwaukee hole shooter with the twist off cord, bought in the early 80's. Still works fine and just used it the other day to drill holes in studs for running wire.

Bosch Rotary Hammer. Bought it to drill holes in rocks so I can split them with feathers & wedges, to build a wall.

Sounds to me like the 1/2" milwaukee hole shooters with removable cords are pretty popular around here!

 

[DonPowers]

Sounds to me like the 1/2" milwaukee hole shooters with removable cords are pretty popular around here!

Can't speak for the quality of their products today, but the older ones are bullet proof.