What's the best drill? Cordless? Corded?

[max]

The best drill is the one that suits your needs. Don't get sucked in to the

18 volt set if you don't need it. I had a cabinet shop and we used the Dewalt 12 volt with the XR batteries. We could drive screws all day long. The batteries lasted a long time and more importantly, the drill was not too heavy. WE checked out the 18 volt set and it is very uncomfortable to use for long periods or over your head. If you want to drill steel or concrete you need a bigger drill. Period. I have almost 10 years on the original 5 drills we bought and we love them. They can even drill largish holes in wood. max

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I sort of agree with you for most chores. When you are using it to sink a lot of small screws, the weight and balance becomes more of a factor. I chose to get a Panasonic 15.6 volt because I liked the size and the way it felt to me. Poking a few holes in concrete, I'd go for bigger.

[Leon]

Well lets compare apples to apples. I doubt any cordless could keep up with a drill such as

or its Milwaukee equivelant.

Again have you used that 18 volt drill all day long? Or in tight quarters above your head?

[Leon]

Perhaps I should have qualified my comment with a 110 volt and 18 volt that are built for the same job. While an 18 volt drill may stomp a $15 corded when it comes to spinning large bits or sinking long screws, try comparing a corded drill that compares in price to the 18 volt cordless. Like this drill,

[Leon]

Did your spell checker defeat your entire comment?

[Leon]

Better, lets s compare to this drill.

[Bob G.]

Excuse the top posting...and tyhe inclusion of the Original post along with the one reply...

Richard you do have me by a few years (I am only 62)..and like the reply I included below I have no problem "bench pressing" a 18 V drill either

BUT find them to be a royal pain...(arm, back, even my rear) when I have to keep it over my head drilling a 100 holes or screwing in a 100 screws in a ceiling etc...

Bob Griffiths

[Dan White]

Thanks again for all the great responses. I've taken notes and I'm off to Lowes. I should say that I don't plan on drilling concrete much, but right now I have a store where I need to remove a concrete counter base that is about 30 feet long. I used an old corded drill with masonry bit and was able to drill through the concrete which turns out to be only about 1/2" thick. I'm prolly going to take a sledge hammer to it, but drilling some holes in the base might help separate the base from the floor (all poured terrazzo) more easily. Maybe I'll get something with the hammer feature for "just in case" stuff.

I think if I can drive 3" screws with a 14.4v (without a pilot hole) then that might be the ticket for me. My peeve with my last cordless is that it just didn't have any umph.

dwhite

[C & S]

The discussion has turned towards value with the introduction of price. A top-quality cordless drill is going to cost about $150. I would venture a guess that a corded drill with comperable torque and chuck quality can be had for close to half that price. But that does not tell the entire story. Take into account the lifetime of that drills and the difference becomes more profound. I top-quality corded drill can last the hobbyist a lifetime. Cordless batteries are going to last 5-10 years at best.

Play with the math as you will but I think the long-term cost of cordless ownership is at least 4 times that of corded models.

Don't get me wrong I own 2 cordless drills... (+ one corded + corded 2 drywall guns if you count that) but they are expensive.

Since even the best cordless will have trouble in some applications, I think that it makes sense to make your second drill be a beefy corded model and not wory about asking a cordless to do things like drive a 1" auger bit through 27 studs for wiring an addition.

Short answer: ultimately, you want both.

Steve

[Dave]

One factor not often mentioned is the fact that cordless drill batteries die after a few years, even if not used regularly. If you use your drill daily, you got your money's worth. However if you use it infrequently, like an average homeowner, you don't get a lot of value before you need to replace the batteries. I was in for a shock when I learned that Craftsman cordless drills have very expensive batteries, almost as much as a new drill. I found it annoying to reach for the drill and then find that batteries were low and the job couldn't be done that day. Therefore for my use, corded tools retain value and reliability, but cordless (Craftsman) tools are designed to be thrown away after a few years. Planned obselescence.

Dave

"HerHusband" wrote in message news:Xns95C37606EF656herhusband@65.100.3.61...

[TBone]

LOL, those expensive batteries that last only a few years are not in any way an exclusive property of Craftsman drills. They are All like that as far as the battery goes.

[Dan White]

I'm more of an occasional user but I have to do a lot of work on my store now. My other thought was to keep the 12v I have for small stuff and get a good corded for the tougher stuff. I can go literally 6 months without having need to touch a drill. I just have to see if I can get a replacement battery charger for the 12v. I can't find the original one.

dwhite

[J. Clarke]

And that can't keep up with an 11KV Robbins tunnel boring machine either. Doesn't mean that the tunnel boring machine is ideal for every purpose.

Was the OP going to be using it all day long in tight quarters above his head?

[HerHusband]

Dave,

My drill has been used a lot over the last few years, but I suspect it'll be going back to average homeowner use soon.

I originally had two batteries so I could always have one charged up and ready to go, but I found I was draining them faster than I could charge them building our house. So, I bought a third battery.

The new third battery never really held a charge. I should have returned it when I bought it, but I didn't, too many other things to do. Naturally, it was the first battery to die on me.

The original two batteries are about 4-5 years old now, and one is just now starting to lose it's ability to hold a charge. It never achieves full power and dies rather quickly. Time for a replacement.

Yep, I think I paid close to $80 for my last one! I've seen some replacement batteries online for less though, and I'm thinking of giving them a try.

True, but cordless tools provide quicker access, and more flexibility when you have to work a long distance from a power outlet (common around our place).

Anthony

[Joe Willmann]

There is no such thing as the best drill. I have 4 drills. Each is good for what it is good for. I have a 1/2 drive corded drill hammer. It handles all my larger bit/power needs. I have an older 3/8 drive corded variable speed drill for when I am doing lots of drilling near power. I have a 15.6(?) cordless for when I need to do some serious cordless activities. And I have a 9.6(?) cordless light weight screwdriver for when I don't need a lot of power or drive lots of screws. It's light weight is what I like it for. Oh and I forgot to mention the corded sheet rock screw gun.

I guess the one I use the most is the 15.6 volt. Power enough to handle most every task. Light enough not to require liftiung weights to handle. Will easily drive lots of 3 inch screws.

As far as a decent one that will do everything a corded one will. Sorry, not going to happen. You can get close but only close.

[Leon]

I do not know, I was replying to anoither post that indicated that the 18 volt models were not that big of a deal for him. Fo me it would be as I tend use drills for extended periods of time rather than for a few holes or screws.

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 18:59:21 +0000 (UTC), HerHusband calmly ranted:

My nearly 3-y/o batteries for the Ryobi 14.4 kit were dying on me this year so I picked up a cheapie off Ebay. ~$35 delivered. What a difference!

I just now pulled the 6 dead cells out of the two packs and rebuilt one with the good cells. We'll see soon if this will work out, but the initial indication (half an hour on the 2-hr charger) shows them at full strength and torque. An hour's rebuilding time saved me a few bucks and now I don't need to toss perfectly good cells away, so it's less in the recycle or trash bin.

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