Cordless Drill Recommendations

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sxlalan

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Hi
The wife of a friend has asked me to pick out a cordless drill for his upcoming birthday (top spend of £170). I am not sure what I should be looking at. Is voltage (18 v 14.4) critical or would battery size be more important? I have been looking at a couple from Makita http://snipurl.com/maktia1, and http://snipurl.com/makita2, and a couple from Dewalt http://snipurl.com/dewalt1, and http://snipurl.com/dewalt2. The Makita drills are 18V compared with the Dewalt 14.4V but the Dewalt drills have 2.0Ah Ni-Cd batteries versus 1.3Ah for the Makita. The drill will be used for general DIY around the house. Any advice on these or other drills would be muchly appreciated!


Cheers

Alan
 
For general DIY work I would recconmend the Dewalt 14v Combi drill
it is light to handle and has the advantage of hammer action

14v is ample power for home use and the price at Screwfix is good at the moment
I have the Makita without hammer action and my son has the Dewalt with hammer action

Just my choice
Cheers Nigel
 
What about one of the combi's from the Ryobi One+ range? There are multiple other tools which could be added later if he so wanted.

I don't have personal experience of them, but I know a few people on here have them and rate them quite highly. Good price too - plenty of cash left over from the £170.

Cheers

Karl
 
I have the Direct power 24v one drill and hammer. always been fine for what I need. Has hi and low speed so you get more torque on the low setting. Comes with a spare battery which is REALLY usefull !!! and only £35 :)

Ive never had a 'good' one , so cant compare. but I have had lots of entry level ones starting years ago when they were about 7v the 14 then 18 then this 24

each voltage up gives much more torque - so I guess this goes for the more expensive ones too.

I couldnt imagine spending £170 on a drill driver ! I cant see how it could be THAT much better ?
 
I disagree with Tusses I used to buy the " Cheap" drills but soon learned that agood quality drill/driver is worth it. I personally think that both Makita and Dewalt are the same in quality of build and stamina. I personaly went for the Makita Brand, the reason, probably the colour. I have 2 x 14v and 1 x 12v. The 12v handles screws without any trouble. I personaly went for the Makita Brand, the reason, probably the colour.
Shop about im sure you can beat those prices I beleive that b&q have a deal on some Makitas.
 
I agree with the buy the best you can afford and dewalt, makita or the blue bosch would be a quality brand to choose from. For DIY 14.V should be fine. The 18V do tend to be a bit heavy.

Harry

P.S have a look at the Screwfix website good deals to be had.
 
andypo":17r0ol1f said:
I disagree with Tusses I used to buy the " Cheap" drills but soon learned that agood quality drill/driver is worth it. I personally think that both Makita and Dewalt are the same in quality of build and stamina. I personaly went for the Makita Brand, the reason, probably the colour. I have 2 x 14v and 1 x 12v. The 12v handles screws without any trouble. I personaly went for the Makita Brand, the reason, probably the colour.
Shop about im sure you can beat those prices I beleive that b&q have a deal on some Makitas.

like I said - I've never had a 'good' one - so cant compare !

I'm not suggesting the direct power one is a good one - just that it does what I need it to do. If I was going to be drilling into concrete all day I have a corded drill for that !

as you went from cheap to decent can you tell me what is the main differences are ?

I have used mine in brick and concrete, as well as with spade bits in oak etc etc, so would be interested to know how much better the spensiv ones are.. I do use it mainly do screws tho. Mine will give up in a few years no doubt when the batteries die - so I will be in the market for another :)

but thats another thing - battery technology moves quickly and nicad for example is out of date now - so you dont need them to last years and years else you'll be missing out on a new toy :D
 
I have the 12V Makita drill driver...excellent tool, plenty of power for diy jobs and an excellent battery charger, which prolongs battery life. Compared with the cheapos I had before, it was a revelation, well balanced, loads of torque.
 
I've got an old Bosch 12V (NiCad) drill/driver that has seen a lot of use/abuse and has never let me down, though the batteries are getting past their best (had it a few years). Very light and the clutch has good feel even though there are only five settings. This one's not made any more, but the current equivalent is about £80.

Also a Panasonic 15.6V (NiMH) drill/driver with 3.5AH batteries. This is a very nice piece of kit. It feels almost like sometihng you'd use on a factory assembly line - very precise (the chuck is very good - clicks positively as it is tightened, there are more torque settings covering a wide range of grunt, and it will grip the tiniest of drill bits). One fresh charge will drive well over 200 No.8x3" screws into softwood without piloting. Notice though that I said FRESH charge. The major flaw for this drill is that it refuses to hold charge for more than about a week. A full charge only takes about 45 mins. but having to charge it every time I use it (certainly feels that way) is a real pain.

So Recently I treated myself to an 18V Makita Li-Ion combi drill. Normally I'd avoid something this hefty like the plague. I'm not the strongest guy in the world and when I've used some older style 18V and 24V drills in the past, the sheer weight and bulk has been a killer (especially if you have to be working above head height for any length of time). But this Makita is VERY light for an 18V drill (about 1.7kg, virtually the same as my old Bosch 12V), it charges incredibly quickly (the charger is fan cooled!) and it holds charge far more effectively than the Panasonic. The battery pack give a decent working spell, though not quite as good as the Panasonic (when it's holding charge!). Rohm chuck is good quality. One thing I would say though is that the range of torque settings seems to cut off too soon (i.e. the clutch lets go too soon on heavy duty screwing (can I say that on here?!). When I first got the Makita, I thought it was a bit too lightweight because of this. Then I set it to 'drill' rather than 'screw' in desparation and promptly sent a No.12x3" screw straight through a piece of 4"x2" pine! It is a very powerful piece of kit - the clutch torque settings just tend to disguise the fact. The hammer drill isn't up to much (nowhere near as good as an SDS) but I guess it might get you out of a tight spot. I bought mine with two batteries for about £210, but I've seen exactly the same drill with a single battery for about £160 with one of the online retailers, and for that money it's a bargain.

Perhaps the best thing about the Makita is that when I give it some real grief (say drill ing a few deep holes with a 32mm spade bit) it smells exactly like my Scalextric handsets used to when I'd used them for about an hour. Those were the days.....

Hope this is of some use.
 
I`d have to go along with karl and recommend Ryobi +1 combi deal at screwfix, especially as the use of the purchase in question is purely home/DIY use....
I have the combi drill, drill/driver and the impact driver and cant fault them for the price, interchangable batteries, a good solid performance for DIY and a good range of add-ons to the system...
and the current deal at screwfix for £99.99 is the 2sp combi drill 2 batts and charger and a carry holdall + impact driver ( free )
gives the buyer some scope to the uses, but better still keeps £70 in his/her pocket to spend on other tools to build up his/her arsenal of DIY weaponry
 
Wow, lots of great advice an opinions. Thanks everyone I will do a bit more reading and make a decision later today.

Thanks again

Alan
 
MoreFillerNeeded":32v92fll said:
Also a Panasonic 15.6V (NiMH) drill/driver with 3.5AH batteries. This is a very nice piece of kit. It feels almost like sometihng you'd use on a factory assembly line - very precise (the chuck is very good - clicks positively as it is tightened, there are more torque settings covering a wide range of grunt, and it will grip the tiniest of drill bits). One fresh charge will drive well over 200 No.8x3" screws into softwood without piloting. Notice though that I said FRESH charge. The major flaw for this drill is that it refuses to hold charge for more than about a week. A full charge only takes about 45 mins. but having to charge it every time I use it (certainly feels that way) is a real pain.

I can second this recommendation of the Panasonic. However, I have had a better experience with the batteries - mine hold their charge for weeks at a time. This may be due to my use of the drill (I don't use it every day) or simply good luck on my part (or bad luck on the part of MoreFillerNeeded) as it seems that the quality of rechargeable batteries generally can be variable. This drill tends to get very good reviews in terms of power and build quality and in my experience so far it has lived up to its promise. It is not a cheap drill though (for example, Rutlands sell it for £199.99) but for me it has been worth it.

One consideration for cordless drills with hammer action is that the hammer action itself may shorten the life of the drill (this is a view that I have heard from several tradesmen and it certainly makes sense to me). My personal choice is to have a corded hammer action drill (a relatively cheap Skil one that I have been using for many years now) and reserve my cordless drills for drilling and screwdriving. Of course, if the hammer action on the drill is used infrequently then it might have little detrimental effect on the drill.
 
Another vote for Makita here.Being a joiner i use my cordless and power tools on a daily basis.Everything i own is makita(apart from an AEG jigsaw) and i cant fault the brand.Of all the battery drills i own(6 at the last count) the 14.4v drill driver gets the most use.Have the 18v combi which i reach for to drill pilot holes or fitting door locks.Also good if you want to drill a hole or two in a wall for wallplugs.Tend to use a small 7.2 or sometimes a 12v for kitchen fitting.I have seen the makita 14.4v with a free drill bit set in B&Q for a reasonable price.

I have a mate who has Ryobi stuff and he says it's not up to the task of everyday site use but i would think it would be easily good enough for home/occasional use.
 
I use the Makita LI-ion 18v 3 amp combi drill and its great if you look around you might get a good deal, mine was £450 with 3 batts and the impact driver around 18 months ago but I noticed they sell a white cheaper version now.

Ideal for you, people might tell you its over the top for you as a diyer but with the Li-ion batteries you could leave it for a couple of weeks and it would still have a charge (they dont discharge on their own) when you need it.
 
Over the years, I've used (and still got, in some cases) a very wide range from Bosch (green admittedly), DeWalt, Ferm, Makita, Triton, 14.4v, 18v, 1.3Ah batteries, 2Ah batteries. For all sorts of jobs and in all weather conditions.

If I was starting again, I'd standardise on Makita 14.4v. 2Ah if I could afford it but only because their charge lasts longer than the 1.3Ah. 18v is too heavy in my book for constant use during the day. But then I'm a bit of a wimp :wink:
 
i've never regretted buying my dewalts ( I have a 14.4 and a 18v) they knock spots off the cheaper models particularly in terms of batery life , length they hold charge, quickness of recharge, and build quality.

it is worth checking screwfix etc as they often have dewalt deals.

for those thinking of doing a lot of concrete and brick (or heavy post morticing in wood or plastic) I would also heartily reccomend the dewalt 24v sds plus rechargeable - this has an rrp of over 300 notes (though mine came from screwfix for a tad over two hundred) but even if i'd paid list i would think it was worth every penny.
 
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