Cordless drill with good torque - recommendations?

[usenet]

I'm thinking of buying a cordless drill specifically for the task of screwing 6 x 100 and/or 8 x 100 screws into fence posts. (Those are mm sizes, TurboGold screws)

My (very) old 12 volt Skil cordless managed the 6 x 100 OK but is beginning to feel its age now (it's probably 8 or 10 years old), and it will probably find the 8 x 100 screws rather hard going.

I already have a cheap Ferm 24 volt cordless combi which is fine for what it does but it's a bit big and heavy for driving screws and I'm not really sure that it has much more torque than the Skil anyway.

My criteria are something like the following:- Probably 12 volt or 14.4 volt to keep size/weight manageable Probably a 2-speed gearbox for the torque I need Compact and light (ideally in the 1.5/1.6/1.7kg range) Maximum torque at least 30Nm, I'd really like 50Nm Less than £100 if possible though I realise it may not be Two batteries

What would people recommend? The torque requirement rules out most of the really cheap ones I think, they either don't state the torque or it's around 15 to 20Nm. On the other hand I'm not after a tool that can handle lots of abuse and last for ever on a building site, I'm really not going to work it that hard.

DeWalt and Makita both have models which do what I want but the ones that have lots of torque also tend to be the expensive ones (not surprisingly). There are a couple which hover around the £100 mark though, any preferences?

There's a really nice Metabo one at around £150 that I covet but I'm not really sure I can justify spending that much.

Panasonic and Hitachi don't seem to have anything really outstanding in this area.

What about B&D? I can't find any torque figures for their drills at all.

[Mark S.]

frontgarden09 fenceslats01

Put that together from scratch/scrapwood with my Bosch PEX400 sander and Bosch 24V cordless drill - can't fault the drill for torque, put four screws in every plank - there's another 4 panels at the other side of the drive so that's around 500 odd screws. ;-)

Cordless drill/driver - with hammer action

24v rechargeable 1.3Ah battery Charging time 1 hr 13mm chuck Variable speed and reverse Max drilling dia: wood - 30mm, steel - 13mm, masonry - 15mm

Think it's that one. You can feel the torque when you pull the trigger as it twists in your hand. ;-)

I did pre drill the planks as they are reclaimed and didn't want them splitting.

Mark S.

[Andy Hall]

What about an impact driver like a Makita 6916 or Axminster have a Hitachi one at £150.

I believe that these do well in this type of application, but please check.

.andy

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[usenet]

I think it may be a bit heavier than I'm after. Can you tell me the model number?

[usenet]

I've sort of hankered after one of those anyway, it's an idea I suppose, I'll take a look.

[Andy Hall]

I did see one used to put in long screws at a tool show recently, but didn't stop to look in detail - it seemed convincing and the claim was that they don't knacker the heads of the screws as much as normal drivers. I wasn't clear as to why, though

.andy

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[usenet]

The 8 x 100 (and I have some 8 x 120) screws have hex heads anyway so that is less of an issue with them.

[Pete C]

Try the Skil connected to a 12v car battery or engine starter, if there is a huge difference it might benefit from recelling the battery pack.

cheers, Pete.

[usenet]

There are other things wearing out as well, the chuck is getting sticky (presumably from mechanical wear) and the whole thing is getting a bit rattly as a consequence of being dropped innumerable times. Re-celling it wouldn't really be a good way to spend money I don't think.

[Mark S.]

PSB 24 VE-2

I've handled a friend's Ferm (12V I think) and that was very heavy compared to my Bosch. :-)

Mark S.

[mrcheerful]

A 55nm cordless is about 150 quid. My personal choice would be an impact screwdriver, I have one from ELU it is amazing compared to a drill driver of any voltage. That cost about 100 quid as a special from northern tools. I always use diamond bits and turbo gold screws, never any problems with any size or wood type.

mrcheerful

[usenet]

Weight 2.6kg, I'm after less than 2kg if I can get it, my existing Skil is only 1.4kg.

Maximum torque only 25Nm, that's half what some of the best 12 volt machines are producing now. It's also around £100 and you can get better, lighter 12 volt models for that sort of price.

[usenet]

Northern Tools have some interesting offers don't they.

There's a Skil 14.4 volt drill driver, 27Nm torque (just about the minimum I'm after), weighs 2kg, 2 x 1.7Ah batteries for £69

... and a Makita 6227DWE3 12v with three 1.3Ah batteries *and* a

6914DZ impact screwdriver for a total of £151

[Pete C]

Hi,

Have a look at:

and 6270DWPE-3, 32Nm and 1.5kg

cheers, Pete.

[usenet]

Exactly! That's one of the possibles on my shortlist, it seems a much better bet than the 24 volt Bosch suggested above.

[Mark S.]

I think you're being picky. :-P

Mark S.

[usenet]

. wrote:

I've ended up buying a Metabo SBT12+ for £99.99, an excellent price, better than I could find anywhere on the internet.

A local hardware shop is having a 'power tools show' this week-end and they have this Metabo on special offer - how often does that happen when you're actually looking for something! :-)

The Metabo SBT12 is almost my ideal:- 53NM torque 2 x 2.0Ah batteries Combi (minor point but it may be useful) 2.2kg

The weight is a little bit more than my ideal but being able to handle the drill at the show I decided it was compact and comfortable so the weight is OK. I looked at others and the comparable Bosch drivers in particular seemed very bulky and unwieldy. I'd already decided against the Ryobi ones for this reason.

[Andy Hall]

That's a very good deal and Metabo make good products.

I have one of their orbital sanders and am really pleased with it.

[Michael Mcneil]

You pays your money and you takes your chances. You don't get high performance, low weight drills cheap.

You can get fast drilling heavy duty 24 volt drills like mine for about £35 these days. Mine is used professionally but is heavy. It goes all day on a couple or three batteries and I am very pleased with it. Buy two, one for drilling and one for screwdriving. Or a quick release set of drills and screwdrivers and stick with the drill you have.

My recommendation is for you (and several others here) to edit your posts to cut out the fat.

Especially in your replies.