Treated myself to a new Makita 18V cordless combi drill at the end of September. You know the one - on offer with 3 batteries at Screwfix for £99.
Nice tool - or so it seemed. Not used it heavily as current house renovation v. nearly finished (but just about to start another...). Put in about 100 screws with pilot holes to match, used it with a Forstner bit to make blind holes in MDF to recess 16 nuts + washers on 6mm bolts for a small project, used it with a nut driver to tighten said nuts, used it with an auger bit when fitting a door, about 12 holes with hammer action into brickwork etc etc. Hardly run in yet...
As I used it more, I began to feel it 'wasn't quite right' and eventually came to the conclusion that the chuck was not accurately centred. It was fine with short bits (eg screwdriving) but when using a long bit (eg an auger, or say a 150mm long masonry bit) there was a very small amount of 'wandering' at the tip and more vibration than I expected.
So I returned it to Screwfix as faulty. Kudos to them - reported it Friday, no quibbles, replacement delivered early Monday, 'bad' one collected Tuesday. Excellent service.
But on an initial test, the replacement seems no better. So - is it me? Is it my imagination? The effect is quite slight, it just 'feels' slightly wrong. Testing with a length of 1/2in dia brass rod (to get something true) seems to confirm a slight 'wobble' - but if I fiddle with the rod and re-tighten the chuck, it seems to be better, if not fine.
I can't remember this with my previous 'el cheapo' drill (batteries failed, too expensive to replace or re-cell them). Anyone else experienced this or anything similar? Or am I a perfectionist who expects too much for a mere £99?
All comments appreciated