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In The Market: Cordless Drill

Posted by 141drew Posted onJan 16, 2009 at 11:41 AM and filed under Reviews & Features
Updated onUpdated on May 28, 2021 at 11:37 AM


So a few nights ago, my trusty cordless drill gave up its life. My little 20-volt cordless was a work horse for almost ten years, but my latest chandelier install was just too much for it to handle. And now I find myself in the market for a new cordless drill… What do you guys suggest? Let’s assume a budget of under $200.


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Mike83

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Milwaukee 18V 1/2" compact. Lightweight, powerful, 5yr waranty, about $200. There you go!

ps I got the drill and impact driver set for $250 from Home Depot. Impact driver is powerful!
 
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Bo Heck

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I love my DeWalt but Milwaukee is also good and Hitachi is very good bang for the buck.
 
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a3tripod

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Mike83 said:
Milwaukee 18V 1/2" compact. Lightweight, powerful, 5yr waranty, about $200. There you go!

ps I got the drill and impact driver set for $250 from Home Depot. Impact driver is powerful!
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I second this suggestion. I have this drill and love it. Has great torque, very well made, and comes with a 5yr warranty. If you don't pickup the Li-ion one, don't fret. you can use Li-ion batteries in your "standard" Milwaukee drill (per Milwaukee) w/o voiding your warranty. Moreover, you get a little more oomph outta of the same drill using the new battery.
 
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Bulldog13

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Dewalt...got 2 batterys ,powerful,charges quick....the Craftsman stuff seems to have gotten cheaper over the years...Milwaukee makes a good drill also,got 2 of those
 
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Todd.Brock

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I have Ryobi 18v, and Delwalt 14.4 I just picked up the 10.8v Makita impact and driver. I am very impressed with the Lithium Ion. I would say Makita should be worth a look. Never used Milwaukee on a regular basis but the few times I have, they are very solid feeling.
 
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NSXSOON

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I'd buy the new Makita Li-Ion drill. You can get a smoking deal on a kit from Amazon. Drill, Impact Driver, Flashlight, Charger, 2 batteries and a carry bag with free shipping and no sales tax for $253.25

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V2BRM2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

That's about a buck less than the same kit with no flashlight, go figure.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V2BRM2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I also have two Milwaukee 18 Li-Ion drills that are good but much bulkier and not near as well balanced as the Makita tools and the Makita batteries take a full charge in just 15 minutes.

Check them out.
 
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dougcoug

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I've had the Dewalt 14.4, 1/2" Drill for 4 years now and have had no problems with it at all. The batteries last a good length of time and since there are two of them, I just keep the other on the charger for the longer jobs.
 
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jmack

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NSXSOON said:
I'd buy the new Makita Li-Ion drill. You can get a smoking deal on a kit from Amazon. Drill, Impact Driver, Flashlight, Charger, 2 batteries and a carry bag with free shipping and no sales tax for $253.25

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V2BRM2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

That's about a buck less than the same kit with no flashlight, go figure.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V2BRM2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I also have two Milwaukee 18 Li-Ion drills that are good but much bulkier and not near as well balanced as the Makita tools and the Makita batteries take a full charge in just 15 minutes.

Check them out.
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I second the vote for the Makita. I have both the white (BDF452HW) and green (BHP452) versions of the makita Li-Ion drills. I also have the green impact driver (BTD141). These are by far the best cordless tools I have owned.

I keep the smaller 1.5a battery on the white one and is what I use for most tasks. Very lightweight, extremely powerful and the light is great. I use the green one for heavier jobs since it is a hammer-drill.
 
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B.K.M

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I just bought a new cordless drill. It is by far the best one I have ever owned. The power is far better than the typical Lithium Ion batteries on the DeWalt and Milwaukee. Those more expensive batteries won't hold a charge after so many cycles and are always dead within a couple years. This drill has a *lifetime* guarantee to never run out of power. It has *far* more torque than any 18V model available -- which typically have adaquate torque when the batteries are new, fresh, and fully charged but die quickly on high-torque applications like driving Phillips #3 screws, hex head bolts, or drilling holes over 3/4" in diameter. If you've ever run out of juice and found yourself twisting the pistol grip with your hand to get more torque then you know what I'm talking about. Aside from impact drivers, a cordless drill cannot deliver any more torque than what you can hold with the handle. I looked at models from Bosch, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, even Festool. Their best cordless drills cost hundreds of dollars, but a somewhat obscure French company is making a cordless unit that can beat the pants off those drills. It's available here, here and here:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32300&cat=1,180,42337&ap=1

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JRFJQO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KWKNOQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Because this kind of cordless drill is unique in that 2, 3, and 4 jaw chucks are available, make sure you get the one with a chuck appropriate for your use. I am using the 3 jaw chuck that is most familiar to cordless drill users and their bit collections.

Having spent hundreds to buy cordless drills and batteries over the years from all the "best" brand names, I now realize that I was a complete sucker for a ripoff. I can hardly think of a better example of a sucker's tool buy. They're expensive, high-margin, and designed to fail within a few years. We're asked to pay long-term investment level prices for a disposable tool. No more. I will never go back.
 
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fotoflojoe

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jmack said:
I second the vote for the Makita. I have both the white (BDF452HW) and green (BHP452) versions of the makita Li-Ion drills. I also have the green impact driver (BTD141). These are by far the best cordless tools I have owned.

I keep the smaller 1.5a battery on the white one and is what I use for most tasks. Very lightweight, extremely powerful and the light is great. I use the green one for heavier jobs since it is a hammer-drill.
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I'll third that vote. Just picked up this combo kit from Home Cheapo that included 1/2" hammer drill, impact driver, recip saw, work light, two batteries, charger, and bag for $379 (price rollback in the store). I needed it right then and there for a construction project, but it can be found online for much cheaper.

I am extremely happy with these tools, build quality is great and performance is excellent. Li-on batteries don't appear to suffer from quick depletion in the cold.

Only downside is, the hammer drill included in the kit doesn't come with an auxiliary handle.
 
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Joe Reed

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I like my Black & Decker 18v. I've used and abused it for a few years now, and don't see how one of the more expensive units would have performed any better. It's plenty powerful and has good battery life. Good value for the price.

One thing I really like is that the same battery is used for a line of their yard tools as well. I have the weedeater and blower, so I have a total of 4 batteries and 3 chargers....so I never run out of power.
 
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B.K.M

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Did you ever notice that no one serious makes a plug-in cordless drill? (kind of like the absence of plug in hybrids). Corded drills can do real work. If you've ever worked with a Bosch hammer drill, any Hilti, or a Milwaukee 1/2" corded drill you know that there's nothing like having a grid with a few hundred megawatts capacity to feed your appetite for holes. They have 120V motors and they never stop for recharging. Depending on the motor and the gearing they can run 20,000 rpms or with enough torque to twist your arms off at low speeds (although this gearing is usually fixed at one or two ratios). The only shortcoming is of course the tether.

That tether, however, is hardly an inconveinance in many situations considering the benefits available. Besides a practically endless supply of far greater power, corded drills cost perhaps half the equivalent battery powered ones, sometimes substantially less than that, and with care they can easily last more than 30 years compared to the typical 3 years cordless models live.

Now I realize the AC/DC difference between grid power and battery. I realize also that the batteries prefer a low current recharge while the motors in the drills need more current to run -- and so rewiring the transformer on the charger to the battery contacts on the drill won't work. But is the conversion at higher current really so difficult or costly to overcome? Why do you think it is we cannot plug cordless drills in when we need to, but must swap batteries with a second whilst the first one recharges?
 
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buening

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I do find that weird. My cordless fluorescent light allows it to be used when it is hooked up to the wall charger cord. Regardless, if I'm doing any serious work that requires torque or long use I reach for my corded Hitachi. If I'm putting a screw in the wall or drilling a single hole, I grab the cordless. In my case the tool is relative to it's intended use :)
 
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FNFS2000

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Metabo makes the best power tools, period. If you can find a tool in a box store its junk. Some of the biggest difference is in the batteries, all the mainline makes for box stores use junk cells that rarely make it to 100 charge cycles. Metabo is rated for over 2000
 
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Ryan

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Yeah, tethered drills are great... so are air drills... I have to all three in my life. And my cordless drill just broke, so... Welcome to the thread. :)
 
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boiler7904

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Do you have the need to get any other cordless tools that work on the same battery platform like a recip saw, circular saw, grinder, etc.?

If so, Makita 18V Li Ion would be my first choice. They've been bringing a few new tools since they originally introduced the line. If you go this route, make sure you buy the 3.0 Ah battery packs for longer run time.

DeWalt offers the most tools on a battery platform at about 30 that are compatible with the 18V NiCad system. For basic work on the house, they should last forever. Take a tour of commercial job sites and you'll see mostly 18V DeWalt tools - at least in my area.

Milwaukee and Bosch are a step up from DeWalt in terms of long term durability of the tools since they tend to have metal gears and chucks. The nice thing about Bosch is that if you register the tool with their ProVantage Warranty program, you are upgraded to a 3 year warranty that I believe covers the batteries. In any event, you can order new batteries factory direct during that 3 year period at a discount.

A lot of people like Panasonic, Metabo, and Hilti cordless tools. They're top level tools but that quality comes at a price - almost definitely more than your $200 cap.

Whether you're looking for extra tools or not, definitely consider an impact driver. Driving screws becomes a walk in the park. I use my impact drivers more than my drills. The one thing to keep in mind is that an impact driver doesn't have a clutch so it's real easy to overdrive screws until you get the hang of it.
 
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FNFS2000

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Agree 100% with impact drivers, after using one it seems stupid to use a drill for anything other than.... well.... drilling holes. Impact drivers are for driving screws, they do especially well in the construction industry driving tek screws (self drillers) into metal beams, studs, and sheet.
 
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FNFS2000

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And again, I've used several impacts, and the metabo is the top. Other have more torque, but its too much for normal screw driving applications, you lose the feel of it and strip them out all the time. The metabo is calibrated perfectly for normal construction use. Step up to a bigger one if your main use is going to be lag bolts...
 
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Tarheelgarage

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I'm still using a Craftsman 14.4 volt drill that I bought in 2000 when rewiring my house. It has had to suffer from much use drilling through headers/boards when rewiring my house. Several times it got so hot it stopped working until it cooled off, but started again.
I want an excuse to buy a newer drill when this one quits but it refuses to die.

I'm on my second set of batteries.
 
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GDA

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Another vote for Makita and you can probably save some money by getting a reconditioned one if that one in the package set above is not exactly the one you want.
 
1

1961MGA

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Anyone have any idea what the Snapon cordless stuff is like?

I am a DeWalt guy myself, but Ridig has that lifetime warranty so I might go with them if mine ever dies.
 
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shovel

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I gotta weigh in on this one. I have (2) 18-V DeWalts that are over 10 years old. One is a hammer drill and the other isn't. The hammer drill was bought used at a swap meet. Both of these puppies have seen some work! When I built my house over 10 years ago, one drill bored every 3/4" and 1" hole in the top plates and wall studs for running wires. This drill I am still using today. In fact, I threw away one of the original batteries last year! I've owned over a dozen cordless drills and never had batttery life like that. Most of the batteries fail after 3-4 years, but I have found 2-packs of the 18 volt batteries at Lowes at Christmas for under $100. I think there are several good drills out there, but I couldn't be more pleased with the DeWalts.

shovel
 
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Bolster

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Interesting thread, I'm in the market too, but I have to filter out all the posts where people just recommend the brand they own.

Comparison information is much more useful than "I have this drill, and because I bought it, it's good" type of opinion. I listen closely to people who have used several different brands and have settled on one for a particular reason.
 
M

M Fan

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I have owned several Makita drills over the years and have had really good luck with them. In fact my 9.6V 6095D will be 17 years old this July and its still running strong! I also have two 12V models, a right angle 9.6V and a 14.4V model that are also running strong.

Having said that though, I'm sure my next cordless drill is going to be the only model I have found that is not made in China...the Bosch Litheon series (Switzerland). I have recently purchased a couple of their Litheon Pocket Drivers and their Pocket Impactor and these little gems are outstanding!
 
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speed bump

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I own the Craftsman 19.2v drills and they work pretty well for most things and you can't argue the price when they are on sale.

I have used the Dewalt 18v drills at work and while the drills are pretty much bullet proof (even if they feel like they are going to blow up) the newer batteries seem to be **** and don't last that well.

My dad had (and still has) a 9.6v makita drill that he bought and used for work for about 12-15 years and in that time he only went through a 1 battery and a charger. I can't comment on the newer stuff

I used one of the Milwakee 18v drills yesterday putting up sheetrock and I must say I am impressed, the battery life isn't bad but the drill weughs next to nothing, has plenty of power, good balance and a usefull sized belt hook.

Bosch also makes good stuff but I haven't used their drills yet.
 
1

1320stang

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I have Dewalt 18V NiCad and like it, I wanted to add a 6.5" skil saw and picked up one new on eBay for $60 shipped with no battery, charger or case.

I work for an engineering firm and frequently have to go to job sites to observe tests on plumbing and such. The current project is a 14 story medical office building with some labs and a helicopter landing pad on top. Every floor has two temporary breaker panels that are mounted on carts to supply power to the floor. I'd say 95% of the battery chargers that are huddled around these carts are Dewalt, the other 5% are a mixture of Ridgid and Milwakee with an occasional Makita. And since there are 100's of workers on site, there are dozens of these chargers.
 
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nissan_crawler

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Bosch. The dewalts at work shell gears and batteries at an alarming rate. The bosch has no issue running a 1 1/4" holesaw through steel.
 
K

k0walski

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I was contemplating between the Makita and Milwaukee 18v Li-Ion drill, both felt exactly the same (compact, well balanced) but I decided to go with the Milwaukee due to its 5 year warranty over Makitas 3 year.
 
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Vinko

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timgr said:
I still have and am still using my Makita 9.6V drill that I got from my Dad in the 90s. Recommended.
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My favorite too.

I bought a Hilti for $250 (on sale from $350) that's been pretty damn good for general service. Been using the Milwaukee 02346 as a corded model.
 
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Vinko

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thewelder said:
Hilti cordless drills are nice, but if you got the money go with Metabo.
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What about the Metabo is superior? Can you be specific? What about the components, manufacturing process, performance? What specific uses do you put the Metabos too? How long have you been using them? When did you last purchase one?
 
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cweagle

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B.K.M said:
Did you ever notice that no one serious makes a plug-in cordless drill? (kind of like the absence of plug in hybrids).

(snip)

Now I realize the AC/DC difference between grid power and battery. I realize also that the batteries prefer a low current recharge while the motors in the drills need more current to run -- and so rewiring the transformer on the charger to the battery contacts on the drill won't work. But is the conversion at higher current really so difficult or costly to overcome? Why do you think it is we cannot plug cordless drills in when we need to, but must swap batteries with a second whilst the first one recharges?
Click to expand...

A few years ago, I was one of the designers of a mobile robot that incorporated what was, at the time, the highest-end DeWalt 18V cordless hammerdrill. We took the drill apart and repackaged the gearbox and motor, and needed to power it. As an experiment, we measured the current the motor drew while drilling a 1" hole in concrete (roughly the intended task). Depending on how hard the drill was pressed into the concrete, we saw transient currents of over 90A, with sustained currents of at least half that. We ended up building a large-capacity 18V battery pack into the mobile robot, rather than try to provide this level of current from an AC-conversion power supply. For reference, a 90A/18V supply would be just fine for MIG welding 3/16" steel!

The cordless drills have a motor designed and wound to generate the HP rating at a low voltage, therefore requiring the very high current that a NiCd battery can provide (NiMH never really caught up, but the more recent developments in LiIon have done fine too). Corded drill motors have totally different windings designed for high voltage with the associated much lower current draw.

So either you would need to swap motors (you could keep the gearbox and chuck, but this still seems like a tricky design problem - oh yeah, swap the speed control too!), or your 'battery eliminator' is going to be the size of a small MIG welder.

I'm not surprised nobody sells these. :)
 
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Identaltech

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the 18 volt dewalt is not as good as they use to be.
mine is 18 months old and on its second chuck and trigger

my old ryobi performed better just shorter battery life.
 
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Sundowner

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The problem with bieng an engineer is that you notice all the little details that go back and forth between different "brands" of tools. I'm not sure if the deal has gone through yet, but Ryobi either owns or plans to buy Milwaukee, and they already make some of the cordless stuff for Rigid.
Black and Decker makes DeWalt, and they own Porter Cable now, too. There are threads about how B&D parts are interchangable wit DeWalt Parts.

For my own part, I've owned a DeWalt 14.4v hammer drill for nigh on 15 years and it's on it's second set of batteries. I've owned an 18v DeWalt that fell apart on my after 5 years, and I recently bought a Rigid 18v Li Ion drill 6 months ago that already crapped out it's own batteries.

My advice to anyone looking is to buy the best deal you can get. Rigid does offer a good warranty that's tough to beat, but it grates to pay extra for a Ryobi drill. Porter Cable has some really nice prices right now, but it's just a B&D drill, so what else would you expect? Of course you could also argue that the DeWalt is just a B&D drill, too. ;)
 
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