I'd decided to treat myself to a Mak 18V brushless drill (no hammer) and ID, but the range of model numbers is impenetrable and I haven't found a simple comparison page. Does such a thing exist, or has anyone got a decode table for the model numbers?
Combi and ID would be the more typical paring, any particular reason for wanting a DD only?
To paraphrase Douglas Adams, Makita think their range of 18V platform tools is superior to other brands because the vast range of tools available. Other brands think their range is superior for the same reason.
There are prefixes: First letter indicates battery platform. For LiIon tools that will be:
B Previous range of LiIon batts D Current range
Anything you buy now will start with a D
Then the next two letters give a bit of information about the class of tool. So:
TD Impact driver HP Combi drill DF Drill driver HR Rotary hammer (typically SDS) HS Circular saw UC Chainsaw UH Hedge trimmer
(and so on - there are loads of them)
Then you get the model number. As a general rule, like bigger number, the higher up the range it is - but that is not always the case. Sometimes you can go by price for a similar indication, but even then there are some exceptions bases the tools are grouped into ranges.
So for example the following two tools:
Then there is a suffix - that normally just tells you about the way its supplied, what batteries it comes with etc. The most useful on is probably "Z" which always means "Body Only" - i.e. bare tool with no case, batts or charger. (very handy once you have enough batts and chargers). (although ZJ means the same but with a case)
but they seem to vary by continent, so be aware if you see a tool on youtube, then can't find anyone selling it when you search for that model
e.g in the UK impact wrenches are DTWnnn, in the US they're XWTnnn drill-drivers DDFnnn vs XFDnnn chainsaws DUCnnn vs XCUnnn
the theme seems to be swap X and D prefix, reverse the next two letters.
I've avoided the cult of systainers and shadow foam, but I thought J suffix was more specifically a makpac case?
What's the difference? My daughter has asked for a drill for Xmas and I suspect she wants something to drive screws and drill into walls.
I had already decided to go for 18V and probably Makita
drill-driver has no hammer function.
Yup, quite likely.
(not a great fan of the systainer type cases myself - I find the previous case type more practical generally)
Combi has three modes:
Drill (i.e. turn only - no clutch) Screw, turn only user selectable slipping point on clutch Percussion, drill with hammer action.
DD lack the percussion mode.
The only advantage is its very slightly smaller / lighter and a bit cheaper. However far less versatile since masonry drilling performance is very limited without hammer.
(there is a separate class for drills with SDS style hammer)
In this house only an SDS will make a dent on the walls, so why have a (presumed) slight weight and cost penalty to get a hammer function that I won't use? Once having used an SDS I would never revert to hammer action.
I now understand why I was puzzled ;-) More seriously, is this all documented somewhere (other than your excellent response)?
Armed with a Bosch multimaterial bit, I have found that the combi can be surprisingly effective on masonry. Somewhat battery than on main percussion drills I have used in the past.
In fact I quite often find cases where I can do the whole job easily enough with the combi to not make it worth getting the SDS out. (there are also times like when working on a ladder its easier)
There are various bits of it scattered about. Sometimes just a good retailer's site using a suitably qualified search will drill down (sorry!) through the model range. So for example on the lawson site I linked before, searching makita drill driver 18v brushless will find there are 5 products (ans some of those are the same machine in a different package) that match the search, and its quite easy from there to look at the specs.
The Makita UK site does have a compare function. So say you go to:
+1 I have a 18V makita combi and it surprising what the hammer action gets through when used with a decent drill bit (Bosch multi-construction bit or a decent masonry bit)
I would still use my 2kg Dewalt mains SDS for real serious work
+1
My experience of hammer drills comes from 10+ years of using B&D mains hammer drills before I discovered SDS. I still have one lying around which was fine with brick and block walls but which won't touch these walls, which are made of unusual and very hard (and very heavy!) concrete blocks that are about 820x230x110mm. I presume the modern hammer drills still have a ramped disk that makes the chuck move forwards and backwards slightly(?) - are they hugely better than the old B&D ones?
I'd found that but was hoping for some simple comparison table to make it easy for potential customers to be Mak products. I'll have to keep wading through the number swamp.
>
Presumably still the same design, sometimes that is enough and an SDS would be too much, IME it's worth having both types of drill available, presumably like most of us you use your tools on friends/relatives houses as well as your own?
IIUC its a similar concept of operation, but it does seem to work better. I get the impression there is more travel on the hammer action than that on the B&D's of old (which tended to be lots of noise and some vibration, but not much actual hammer!)
Case in point, previous house had a very hard render, and I remember spending 15 mins trying to drill one hole with a new masonry bit in a green Bosch hammer drill - the wall was having none of it.
Some time later I needed to stick in a hole in the wall but while up a ladder, and decided to give it a try with the combi - fully expecting to be met with similar dismal performance and have to go get out the SDS and extension lead. I was very surprised that it coped quite easily. Now this is not a like for like comparison since I had also discovered the Bosch multimaterial bits by then. But I have found the combi useable as a hammer drill on many occasions. So with that experience I personally would opt for the combi version each time since the extra versatility outweighs the minor down sides IMHO.
Its not as bad as it first seems - if you specify say DD and brushless in your search you are rapidly down to only a handful. You can assess visually which have big side handles are the high torque ones. So you will likely be only comparing two or three tools at that point.
Well, I've just spent a couple of hours looking around the web and it seems that the DHP481 or DDF481 are the models to choose, with the weights, sizes and prices being quite similar - so I'm prepared to go for the combi. Because of the staggering and confusing number of options it's very difficult to find the best deal, especially when the likes of FFX have the bare DHP481 for £150 and with a 5Ah battery for £267, yet the 5Ah battery by itself is available for £75. It's bad enough to make me want to give up and buy a brand that knows how to market sensibly and transparently. It seems that the ID of choice is either the DTD171 or the DTD154, so it would be great to find someone who will sell one of these as a package with the 481 ... but I'm not sure I've got the will to keep looking :-(
combo sets
Don't overlook that if buying a bare unit and a battery separately that you also need the charger. Does the £267 kit also contain the charger and perhaps a carry case?
I've already got a charger and two 5Ah batteries (I bought the 36V plunge/track saw a short while ago - expensive but superb)
115Nm of torque ought to be enough :-)
I could not see those exact deals at FFX - body only was £150, but £295 for + 2x4Ah, or £300 for 2x5Ah
The £300 deal seems ok since its equal to the cost of the two 5Ah batts, but you get a case and charger as well.
(although Lawson are doing the same kit at £290)
Closest I saw was:
Might also be worth considering if you particularly want/need brushless
- since with a drill and ID you will get quite significant run time on a
5Ah battery anyway. BL give some extra toys like constant speed with varying load, and on very high drain tools like angle grinders, BL is well worth it.When I replaced my NiMh kit I went for a kit like:
So far they have tackled anything and everything I have thrown at them.
In message snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net>, snipped-for-privacy@aolbin.com writes
ITS London do a fair bit of Makita stuff. Deals tend to crop up when a product is being replaced or not selling well.
It seemed that N&B Power Tools currently have the best price so a DHP481, DTD154 and battery will be dropping through the letter box in a few days time. This will probably be the cue for someone to tell me they're a bad choice and are much cheaper at xyz.com :-(
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