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Opinions on best cordless drill

shortythorne

shortythorne

shortythorne
I am starting my Christmas shopping and need advice on the best cordless drill. I don't need anything larger than 1/2" dia.. When I started looking at the options, it got a little confusing between those with brushes & those without. What are the advantages or disadvantages, and yes I know what brushes are :),as I was a mechanical draftsman for 10 years at United Technologies where we manufactured fractional horsepower motors. That was some time ago, and everything we made had brushes. Many of you have a lot of knowledge about such things, and I would like your opinions. Also, I don't need anything out of the $200.00 range, but I want the best for the buck. All opinions welcome, but I don't want to start a fight :).Thanks in advance.
 
IMHO, steer clear of Ryobi and Hitachi. Personally, I like DeWalt in 20v.
Watch the Black Friday/Cyber Monday offerings for the best deal on kit packages, which could range from an impact driver in the kit w/ the drill, or accessory packages (bits, etc). My 13-yr-old 18v DeWalt is finally nearing its end of life so I’ll be shopping in a couple weeks as well.

Best,
DG
 
II have had the best luck with Makita cordless equipment. The Makita CT225r 18V kit is a winner for me.

61jmaIiI4eL._SL1000_.jpg


Listed on Amazon at $199 but the price is usually pretty steady across the board....paying attention to the battery capacity in a comparison.
OM
 
Cordless

Really can't go wrong with any of the name brands, for most homeowners the batteries will go bad from just setting before drill will wear out, watch the xmas sales for the price of a good drill you can usually get a combo with drill and impact driver with a couple batteries for about same price.
Good brands Dewalt, Milwaukee, Mikita, Bosch, Ryobi, and others.

What ever brand you get look at the availability of other tools that use same battery for future presents!
Other people type faster than I do don't disagree with their post, FWIW I also have the Mikita stuff started out with the 1/2 inch impact driver came with charger 2 of the larger 18 volt batteries found the 1/2 drill with charger and 2 smaller 18 volt batteries for around $115 impact wrench much more and worth it.
 
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I dunno if they are the best, but Festool makes really good ones. I bought one with a 90 degree attachment that I find invaluable. The 18 volt Festool is demonstrably more powerful than my 18 volt Makita. Festool stuff is made in Germany so it comes with a BMW like price, but I have found that most of their tools offer better functionality than the cheaper brands.
 
I have a couple of Ryobi and one Milwaukee. They all work fine.

I have had a Ryobi the longest and never had an issue with it. The One Plus Lithium batteries fit a bunch of reasonably priced tools and hold charge well. The Milwaukee one I have is smaller and doesn't hold as much of a charge. But it is a lot more convenient driving screws and stuff around the house.
 
Look for one of the package deals that several of the manufacturers offer. I bought one made by Porter Cable that has a power drill, hammer drill, circular saw, reciprocating saw, 2 batteries and a charger for under $200. I also have a Dewalt drill and hammer drill. There have been several mergers and takeovers in the power tool industry, so it is hard to tell who is really making what. I think in most cases the tool will outlast the batteries and those suckers are very expensive. It is similar to printers, where ink is so costly that it is almost cheaper to buy a new printer. Unless you plan on making a living with your tools it is hard to go wrong. I was planning to buy a compound mitre saw last spring in anticipation of rebuilding our back deck and stairway. I was looking at $600+ name brand saws, but found one at Harbor Freight for $149 and it had all the features I wanted. It worked flawlessly and will likely be the last such saw I’ll ever buy. If I made my living with the saw I’d have the expensive model.
 
I’m recently retired but owned a garage door sales and repair business for over 20 years. With 4 technicians we had cordless drills and impacts for each of them. We had the best luck with the DeWalts. They held up to the abuse my guys put them through dropping them from ladders etc and the battery life was good. I tried the Harbor freight stuff and it would last maybe 2 months. If you buy the kit with a drill, impact, and charger together you’ll get the best deal. The nice thing about the DeWalt stuff is if you decide you want a sawzall or other DeWalt cordless tool you can just buy that tool minus the battery and charger you already have and save some money.
 
Stuff

Big box lumberyard store whose name does not start with h or m has new sale ad outIMG_0281.jpgIMG_0280.jpg

If one chain has sale other chains usually do at same time
Sale date 11/9 to 11/15
 
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Ridgid brand from Home Depot is great too. We bought them for our MTB club as they have a lifetime battery replacement policy. Just bring your old battery in and get a new one a any Home Depot. I bought a Ridgid kit for my personal use as well after seeing how well they are made..
I like Dewalt too, but their batteries aren't as good. Their corded stuff is amazing however. YMMV
 
Since this is a BMW forum, perhaps someone is interested in German tools ...

Bosch
Metabo
Fein

... likely none of which are made in Germany these days.

I still run my AEG sander and circular saw, but they've dropped out.

An old Bosch drill I had was actually made by Scintilla ... remember Scintilla Vertex Magneto? Swiss.
 
Makita is a great choice, still the same company after 100 years. Still have some old 9.6v still running 25 years or so. They maintain their battery configuration. Unfortunately Milwaukee is part of Tectronics or TTI, their battery stuff is all Chinese now and run down the same line as Ryobi, Ridgid and a myriad of other companies. B&D, Dewalt, and I think Porter Cable are all together as well. Just some info, we sell this stuff where I work, see it every day, for what it's worth. For residential use any of them should suffice your needs.
 
Brush vs Brushless

Airhead charging systems have brushes old farts with airheads seem to like that, all I know on subject of brushes now if a smart person can answer question in original post!
I would not mind knowing also.
 
Yeah.....brushes. “Hey, my Harbor Freight power tool even came with spare brushes”. ......”They have to”.
:eek
OM
 
Opinions

Omega Man said:
Yeah.....brushes. “Hey, my Harbor Freight power tool even came with spare brushes”. ......”They have to”.
:eek
OM
Click to expand...


Brushes? Isn't that what you use to clean up the sawdust and wood shavings??? :dunno

Friedle
 
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