Recommended small cordless drill/driver?

[tinnews]

I'm looking for a small cordless drill/driver to replace the crap green Bosch 9.6v one I have at the moment.

I already have a wonderful 12v Metabo that does all the heavy work (why does anyone need more than 12v cordless drills) and I was almost thinking of getting a second one the same but I then realised that something a bit lighter would actually do the job of a 'second drill' very well and be lighter and handier than the Metabo.

So, what natty little lightweight cordless drills do people recommend? I think I'd prefer 9.6 volt simply because of the smaller size of the battery pack. Price not the sole criterion but I'd like to keep it under £100.

[The Medway Handyman]

If you are looking for primarily a driver, then the Makita TD020DSE 7.2V LXT Lithium-Ion Impact Driver is simply outstanding.

people on this group have one (including me) - they may well be along in a while to rave about it as well.

Incredible bit of kit.

[Rod]

Concur.

I have found *removing* screws with it to be amazing - they almost jump out! Definitely lighter than my cordless. Gets into places not accessible by most drills. Minimal torque is applied to the hand holding it.

Find myself thinking, if I wanted to buy myself another power tool, I'd buy another one of these. Obviously silly but ...

Was the original price really £170 or so?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It performs well but I'm not over keen on the ergonomics. The handle should lock in position for a start and the switch isn't in an ideal position - at least for my size of hand.

[robert]

In message , The Medway Handyman writes

I bought one on the strength of this thread and it arrived today. First impressions are very good. I will now treat myself to a couple of decent Wera bits.

[Rod]

I understand what you mean but:

If the handle locked, it might take both hands to change the angle. Not ideal in some circumstances. So that doesn't worry me.

The switch is almost perfect for my hand! But the lamp switch is poorly placed. I actually think I would prefer it if the lamp always came on when the driver is used - and switched itself off after a few minutes.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I can't really think of any circumstances where you'd change position on the fly. I tend to use one or the other - the most used being the pistol type. And it's in that one I'm not so convinced over the switch position.

Really only a gimmick to me.

If I had a choice in the design I'd have it permanently 'pistol shaped' with a conventional trigger like a drill and separate reverse switch. The inline formation is fine for light work but I already have another make for that. But even with those reservations it's a fantastic little tool that gets heavy use.

[The Medway Handyman]

One mans meat I suppose. I like the fact that it isn't locked. I tend to carry mine in the right leg 'ruler' pocket of my overalls in the inline position. I can pull it out & flick it into pistol position without looking.

I'd agree with that. Love the switch, lamp bit is fiddly.

Very handy sometimes I've found.

I like the fact that it isn't like a normal driver - saves me constantly forgetting if its set in forward or reverse!

I only have the Makita & I find it useful to use the inline mode - kitchen units for example.

On that we agree. Only comment is the noise level, suppose that is unavoidable with it being an impact driver.

[tinnews]

I (the OP) have bought one too though it hasn't arrived yet. I also bought one of these:-

the strength of my existing 12v Metabo which is excellent. I think it's cheap because it's "end of line", Metabo seem not to make any

9.6v drills now.

It arrived yesterday and my reactions are that it's bigger than I expected, the basic body moulding is identical with my existing 12v one, though the chuck is smaller and the battery pack is smaller so it is significantly lighter. The charger is interchangeable with my existing charger for the 12v drill (both chargers actually say 4.5v to

18v) which is nice.

Maximum torque is 30nM which is pretty good for a 9.6v drill. I have yet to use it in earnest.

[tinnews]

... but it has now, looks excellent, thank you for the recommendation.

[gna03633]

Not to hijack the thread, here are a few of my thoughts on the Makita TD020DSE.

Great compact unit, really useful for those small places. I've not used an Impact driver before but I do find it noisey, I'm also not that keen on the intial speed before the impact kicks in - difficult to get that screw with no pilot going. The buttons could be better on the top as its a pain to turn on tight against something.

Do I use it loads, course I do ;-)

I was taking to the guys at tools4trade (the shop is near me) they boughts 800 from Makita for a good price - only about 50 left or so he said!

[tinnews]

I've used mine a little now too and while it's excellent as a small screwdriver it really doesn't cut it for actually putting screws into wood. For example I was removing and replacing a lot of 3.5 and 4 mm screws (Screwfix Turbo) in a gate and while the TD020DSE *could* do it it was hardly speedy. It was in impact mode just about all the way. (This was a softwood gate by the way)

Now I've tried an impact driver I don't think I'll buy another, a 'real' driver with sufficient torque is *way* better than impact mode.

I expect I'll use my TD020DSE quite a bit but mostly not for wood screws.

That explains why they're selling them so cheap compared with everyone else.

[dom]

Full size impact drivers have way more torque and can out-perform any drill/driver they'd have to really, or they'd never sell any).

I regular use mine to put 6*100mm spax into softwood.

[tinnews]

That's exactly what I use my non-impact 12 volt Metabo cordless for, it drives them without much effort. I also use it for 8*100 and 8*120 coach screws which it also manages without problems.

I did specifically choose it for its high torque, 52Nm, which is good for a 12 volt cordless.

[The Medway Handyman]

You are not judging the Makita properly. Its a small compact impact screwdriver that is meant to compete with the small battery screwdrivers like the Bosch GSR, DeWalt DW920K, Ryobi CSD 4030G etc. It outperforms all of those as far as I know.

52Nm is outstanding for a 12v driver, but a 12v impact driver will have 130 Nm +. When I build large decks I get a labourer in & use a 12v impact driver & a 14:4v drill driver (both Makita) to put in 6 x 90 coach screws. The 12v impact driver is the best part of twice as fast.