Anyone got one of these drill drivers?

[Chris Bacon]

Mac Allister MSDD18-Li-2 18V 1.5Ah Li-Ion Cordless Drill Driver (873FX)

Or comments on it?

[Murmansk]

Well I guess the Screwfix reviews are worth reading but if it's anything like the "workmate" of the same brand I bought it'll not be too good and you'd pay more than the cost of the drill and battery just for a battery for a decent Makita tool of the same type.

[newshound]

My worry would be that it looks too cheap for something with two batteries.

I aim to stick with one battery type. I still have old Makitas that came with NiCads although you can now get NiMH replacements, otherwise I only buy Lidl 20 volt stuff (and I have a collection of batteries for the five tools that I currently have).

[Chris Bacon]

Yes. It's a cheap tool. I want a cheap tool, because it's probably only for one job. I prefer corded electric hand tools, but it would be handy to have an electric screwdriver plus drill capability for this job, which will involve screwing in lots of screws.

[newshound]

Then I would say if you have *lots* of screws to put in, you would be far better off with a proper impact driver.

A bit more expensive, but once you have used one, you will never want to give it up.

[williamwright]

So you're never ever going to do another job?

Bill

[Theo]

Don't know that one, but I have one that looks roughly the same from Aldi - drill, battery, charger, soft case, set of bits made from cheese: £25. So I bought two. They're really good. They've taken everything I've thrown at them, which isn't massive (the first year in a new house, with all the jobs that need doing) and I've only charged the batteries a few times. They struggle a bit screwdriving into really dense wood, but that's to be expected - an impact driver is on my list. I only use them for drilling wood and plasterboard, not masonry (despite the alleged hammer function) and they're fine for that. They're actually quite powerful - miles better than my previous NiCd drill.

Maybe I should have got 1 drill and 1 impact driver instead of two drills, but they we're excellent value IMHO. I couldn't buy even a Makita battery for that much.

On your 'you have one job', do you actually need the two batteries? Or is this just the cheapest available? The current Aldi one is marginally cheaper with only one battery:

not the same as mine which is a blue 'WorkZone' from a few years ago.

Theo

[Chris Bacon]

Interesting (although I must be too dim to work out how to buy it!).

What size screws does it struggle with?

[Cursitor Doom]

Should be good for many more than just one or two! I've had a couple of these make's products before and one in particular has lasted spectacularly well and taken some severe punishment (4" angle grinder) so I would say they're definitely not in the lowest tier of tools by any means.

[PeterC]

Torque is very low for an 18 V drill - same as my Makita bought in '12. For same torque, combi 2x1.5Ah 12V batteries and cheaper, the Distianert /looks/ OK.

[David]

What they said.

I bought an impact drive when I saw how much our builders used it.

Cheers

Dave R

[Theo]

It was an Aldi 'specialbuy' - the aisle of random stuff that changes every week, and the same model is never seen again. There's a couple on their website at the moment - one that uses their 'Ferrex' interchangeable battery system (you have to buy the battery and charger separately) and one that doesn't (includes battery and charger). They look different to mine which is ~5 years old.

I did a wall of Spur-style shelving. 8mm holes into masonry (Lidl mains hammer drill), wallplug, #10 (5mm) 2.5" woodscrews into plug. The Aldi cordless drill drove all of them, but in the cases where the plug was slightly out of line with the hole in the metal upright I had to apply a bit of extra torque to the drill body to get it in. An impact wrench probably would have done that without much trouble.

Theo

[Chris Bacon]

Well, I succumbed, and bought one. Seems OK. It will drive an 8 x 3" screw into softwood, which is more than I need, and make a 10mm hole in

3mm steel without complaining (2mm pilot hole first). So it'll get some use and I'll see whether it lasts more than a month or two.

It's a lot quieter than my normal corded drill, which - seeing as I've been upsetting people with my cement mixer/chainsaw/angle grinder is helpful. It hasn't got the oomph, obviously, but it reduces the need to use that drill.