Good point about the chuck. One-handed would be, er, handy. I like most keyless chucks, except for those where I can't find the keys!
If the brushes last 6 years...
What i find worrying about this one are the discrepancies in the description:
3 x 1.3Ah Ni-Cd Batteries 10mm Keyless Chuckor:
No.of Batteries 2 Chuck Capacity 13mm
I'd insist on having a look at it first.
I don't know how much difference this voltage lark makes. I can remember driving a box of 50 mm screws into studding with a 9 volt Bosch
Yup, 13mm chuck is vastly preferable to a 10mm. If its any use, a mate has a 14.4V Makita (fairly high end one) and that has a 13mm chuck.
Its a way of upping the energy density of the pack and is nice marketing hook as well. IME an 18V makita will do everything you can think of, and the 14.4V will do nearly everything!
(in everything I include mix a large bucket of plaster or quick levelling, turn a 127mm hole saw, or a board access saw, drill a 50mm hole into end grain using an expansive bit etc along with drill holes and drive screws)
The Makita equivalent of the Site (has 3x1.3Ah batteries) has a 10mm chuck (according to the (web) site
My 13 yo Bosch 7.2V still drills well, but its main advantage is the 'feel' when using sub-4mm bits, where a full combi would break them before I know that there's any stress.
Even the Powercraft with its dying battery managed 40-off 50mm holes with a saw in 3mm hard ply. This might seem OK, but the charging time is close to
2 hours instead of 1 hour and the battery will lose a lot of its charge in a few weeks. This means that when I do go to use the drill, there's not much in the batteries but I don't want to charge one whilst it still has 50%-plus in it.
In the case of the Mak it depends on which model it is (they do several at each voltage). Their better ones (with their so called "marathon" motor, usually have the bigger chuck)
The clutch on mine is very repeatable, and can be set to a very low torque if required - so you may find it less of a problem than you expect.
Well exactly, so there's no point in going over 12 volts unless you're doing some of the above on a regular basis. That said, I've regretted not being able to drill into masonry when doing electrical work with the mains turned off.
I remember watching a guy removing electrical screws from a light switch with an enormous Hilti cordless. He was doing maintenance on a council estate, and I think he only carried the one tool. Very delicate it was too.
Bugger. You've just cost me £80. I guess I can't really be happy with my old Kress 12 volt after all :-)
Congratulations! How many megapixels does it have?
It's not so much that aspect of it, John, but just the difference between
2kg and 800g with a small bit. The 'feel' of a heavier drill can lead to breaking the bit before one is aware of it (especially after a few pints of 7% organic cider!).
Council 'worker' and delicate - must have been a pneumatic drill ;-)
Oops - yes, that's the 14.4V link - the 18V is £60.
Went to SF today. Had a look at a Makita 18V that was out on display and liked it. Went to the counter and asked to look at the Site 18V (it is 13mm chuck and does have 3 batteries - didn't look at the 14.4V model). It seemed a bit 'cheap' cf. the Makita: the switches were smaller and not so well formed (not good for my fingers to operate) so, as it's me barfday on Monday (I have one a year), I treated myself to the Makita.
Thanks for all the guidance. Now I must find some holes that need making. :-)
Ref the thread about a B&Q Warehouse going trade only, asking to look at things in SF just isn't playing the game :-) Would Argos do that? Still, I'm glad you did because I plumped for the Makita too, based on the likelihood that the build would be better.
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