Whats the best cordless drill I.Y.O ??

[911bear]

Hey guys
              just trying to find out what cordless drill has worked best for you including battery life i have a 14.4 DeWalt keyless chuck it has done a pretty good job just wandering whether to buy new batteries or a new drill ?
                                                                          thanks guys & gals       

[bandit67]

   I have bought several of the major brands and wore them out.  A Makeita was given to me as a gift and it is still going. The next one I buy will be a Makeita brand ..............J

[Ghoste]

I've had pretty good luck with the Makita as well.

[bill440rt]

I had a Black & Decker Firestorm. Complete piece of sh*t. I then bought a 5-piece 19v Ryobi kit from Home Depot. I LOVE the cordless drill! Very powerful for the money.
I did happen to break one, well I was abusing the tool at the time. Home Depot, as usual, replaced it without question. Other tools in the kit work great, too. The batteries work with all of them.

[mikepmcs]

I have a ridgid 18v from home depot.  2 batteries, lifetime warranty, and i get free batteries for life.  Don't know if they still have that deal but i got it way back.  I have no issues with it at all.

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/18-Volt-Cordless-12-Drill-Kit

v/r
Mike

[resq302]

My father and I have the DeWalt 18v set.  Love all of them and they seem to last forever.

[Mr_fixit]

28v milwaukee lithium ion. for me.  And i'm a big fan of their cordless bandsaw & right angle drill.

[Lord Warlock]

the higher the voltage the better.  Some manufacturers are much better than others.  Makita makes some bitchin tools, dewalt industrial tools are also great.  If it costs less than 50 bucks avoid it or put it aside for lesser mundane tasks.  I've got a 14.4 rechargeable and it has survived now for 5 years without a problem, but it also won't stand up to heavy use either, i use a plug in drill for heavy duty jobs.  I'd like to get a 24v or better rechargable with extra battery packs.

[NHCharger]

I had a Black & Decker Firestorm. Complete piece of sh*t.

Yup. That junk is for Joe homeowner.
As a contractor I've used several different brands. Burned up my first cordless a Bosh. I mainly use DeWalt, but the other brands mentioned are just as good.
The problem in the past is the bigger the voltage the heavier and more bulky the drill was. I stuck with the 14.4 DeWalt's for the weight since I have tendinitis in my left wrist.  With the new battery systems in the drills coming out these days weight is no longer an issue.

[69-DodgeCharger]

Well I work for Menards in the Hardware Dept. (Menards is basically like Home Depot except more of a Midwest chain of stores) and I have had people tell me stories about different drills they have owned. Now someone mentioned the Black and Decker one, yeah its ideal if you use it occasionally to do household things but if you are going to be using it constantly on a daily basis then go with Bosch or Makita (I would recommend DeWalt too---Menards doesn't carry any DeWalt products however)

[Ghoste]

I've found the Bosch to be a heavy slug to try and throw around for a day.  No complaints about it's quality, just the weight.

[Chryco Psycho]

DeWalt is just Black & deckme repackaged because b&d had such a bad name
I use Makita , good tools

[Chatt69chgr]

I use the 14.4 Dewalt for my cordless drill applications.  I like it better than 18 since the battery isn't as heavy and I mostly only use it around the garage.  Actually, it gets used for driving screws and in the house putting up curtin rods, etc.  I have a corded Milwaukee I use for most applications in the shop.  I use 18 volt dewalts for the 4-1/2 inch angle grinder and sawsall.  I really only bought these to take to the junkyard to cut stuff off.  The angle grinder works the best.  I use cutoff wheels on it and it zips through hardened bolts, sheet metal, etc.  Use the sawsall when I have to get into a tight place.  I use this brand because I got a good deal on them as close outs at Home Depot.  I think Makita is actually the best if I was going to pay full price.

Chryco is correct that Dewalt is owned by B&D.  Now Dewalt was a good tool before B&D bought the company.  I think they pretty much learned their lesson when they cheapened the B&D line and ruined their name so they have kept the Dewalt stuff pretty good quality.  Craftsman didn't learn from that experience.  At one time, their electric tools were real good.  But they got away from quality when they went to Emerson and then Ryobi to build their stuff (I apologize to anyone that uses the Ryobi----no offence intended).  Their sockets are still good but so are the ones at Harbor Freight. 

Speaking of Harbor Freight.  I got tired of paying $80 for one 14.4 battery and $90 for one 18 volt battery (dewalt).  So I went over to Harbor Freight and bought one of their 18-volt rechargeable batterys for $10.  I took it apart and removed the sub-c cells and then rebuilt my dewalt battery.  Actually works better than the original.  A friend of mine went one further.  He bought one of the cheap Harbor Freight drills and cut the part off that the battery slides in to.  Then he attached it to a dewalt battery case.  He doesn't have to fool with rebuilding them like I do.  By the way, if you do rebuild a battery, a couple hints.  You will find that one of the Dewalt cells slides up into the top of the battery case.  To remove it, you have to drill out the two spot welds.  Oh, when you take the case apart, you will need a #10 Torx screwdriver.  Then push on the terminals with a inverted pencil (the eraser end) to gently push out that cell.  It is kind of held in with some sticky foam.  I removed the straps with long nose and reuse them.  They are spotwelded but I solder them back.  You need a 200 watt soldering iron (got mine at a yard sale for $5).  And the secret is to use acid core solder.  Rosin core won't stick.  And get on and off fast so you don't damage the cell.  The real trick is soldering the terminal back that you drilled out (the one that plugs into the drill).  It can be done.  Ask your friends for their spent cases if they don't want to go thru this process----or better yet----do what my friend did and make an adapter.  Dewalt and the other companys charging what they do for batteries is a rip off.  For what they get for the batteries, they ought to give you the drill free.

I have heard that there is a 36 volt system coming.  Uses Nickel metal Hydride technology I think----or something like that.  It will probably obsolete all of the stuff we have now.  My 3 cents worth.

[Chryco Psycho]

36 volt will most likely be Lithium Ion

[GreenMachine]

We use and abuse Makita's at work, they hold up very well.

[whitehatspecial]

I had a Black & Decker Firestorm. Complete piece of sh*t.

Yup. That junk is for Joe homeowner.
As a contractor I've used several different brands. Burned up my first cordless a Bosh. I mainly use DeWalt, but the other brands mentioned are just as good.
The problem in the past is the bigger the voltage the heavier and more bulky the drill was. I stuck with the 14.4 DeWalt's for the weight since I have tendinitis in my left wrist.  With the new battery systems in the drills coming out these days weight is no longer an issue.

Another 14.4 Dewalt using contractor here.

[Irisharse]

Milwaukee or Makita...just buy from a tool supply corp, not a Home Cheapo or a Lowes type dept store.  It seems that (they) mass produce these tools sacrificing quality.