Time For New Cordless Drill/Driver

In news:iqp3co$nti$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me,

-MIKE- spewed forth:

My preferences are Milwakee and Bosch. Picked up a Milwakee 18v Impact here w/ no battery for 59 bucks already had

The disposable B&D cordless set I bought several years ago is finally biting the dust. I got more than my money's worth out of it and actually loved the drill and sawzall.

I think I like the idea of an impact driver this time around. If anyone sees any killer deals on cordless packages or even singles, please post them!

Go get yourself a Makita BTD141 kit. I got the heavy duty set because I often do decks and such.

The BTD144 gives you a couple LEDs and 3 variable speed ranges (which my variable trigger already has?) for $40 more. It might be a good fit for cabinet installations.

-- It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctively native American criminal class except Congress. -- Mark Twain

"Leon" wrote

Yep, I am a Makita fan tool. I bought a bunch of them over the years and steered friends to them as well. I never had the need for a super industrial model of anything. But I did not want junk either. Makita did it for me. I have an old 9.6 volt ni-cad drill with a clutch that will still drive three inch deck screws into hard joists. That is good enough for anything I do. I also like the abundance and easy availability of single tools.

You can get a kit to get a charger and batteries. Then just get what you need after that. It is amazing that a lot of people don't know that. I have told this basic bit of information to quite a number of people. Many people think that rechargeable tools only come in kits and can only be purchased at the Borg. A web search turns up lots of sources and Amazon is a favorite once they figure it out.

Some interesting discussions would follow this revelation. Like, what are all these tools for? Or, who needs all of these tools? I would patiently explain the function of most of the tools. I must admit though, never have seem some of them, I was a little unsure to their exact utility. But I didn't have any problem figuring out what I would use them for!! LOL And if they thought that the tools were kind of expensive, I just show them some industrial tools or Festool. That shuts them up.

I've trusted Panasonic for decades.

Can you elaborate of that? Thanks!

I have two of the 14.4 Makita Drills, one set included the driver. The reason I have two is my wife was sure the old one (13-15 years old?) was going to die about 4 or 5 years ago. She bought a set including the driver as a Christmas gift then.

Both are performing great. The driver has seen thousands of screws including 300+ feet of fence and and new house, including deck. Starting to look a little rough but, outside of one dead charger, no problems.

RonB

I've trusted Panasonic for decades.

Can you elaborate of that? Thanks!

From what I understand the black and white Makita's are targeted more toward the home owner type user, they tend to be considerably less expensive than the traditional green ones. They may very suite your needs however depending on how much and how long you expect to use it.

On one hand, anything Makita, including their cheaper version, will likely be a huge step up in reliability from my B&D's. On the other hand, there doesn't seem to be that much of a price difference between the two lines.... at least not enough to compel me to buy the lower.

My first drills (12V and a 9.6V right-angle) were Makita. I then bought the cut-off saw. I haven't bought a Makita since. I then went to a PC (pre-crapsmaning), which was too heavy, a few DeWalts (too heavy or not enough power) and now have a bunch (12V and 18V series) of Bosch drills and drivers. I like them far better than any of the others I've used.

Sure, but Lowes carries individual tools, also. Home Despot has gone down the tubes over the last five years or so.

Festool is outrageous for some things. Not so much for others. I'm using their smaller track saw today, in fact (just taking a break). It really isn't any more expensive than DeWalt's track saw and there are a lot more accessories available for it.

I'm almost ashamed to admit it since no other respondents mentioned DeWalt, but that's what I've used for the past several years. In my case, the 18v models with fairly big heavy batteries. The only reason I'm commenting is that more recently, I bought my first impact driver, a Dewalt 12v with lithium ion battery which is more recent technology and a considerably lighter type of battery. Whatever brand you choose, I suggest you go with the lithium type of battery which holds a charge longer and charges faster. If by chance you do choose to go with an 18v impact driver, 18v lithium ion batteries are also just entering the market.

----------------------------------- Also had an 18VDC DeWalt drill along with a panel saw. for about 10 years before it was stolen.

Wore out at least 2 sets of batteries.

At the time it was stolen, it didn't owe me anything.

Lew

I'm on my third year of a 6 unit set of cordless DeWalt tools so I haven't yet approached the wearing out of any of the batteries. Just last month I had a look at some of the new 18v lithium ion batteries. Half the weight of the XRP batteries and almost have the size. What I'd like to see is some of those XRP battery casings retrofitted to hold some of those lithium ion battery cells. Doubt that's going to happen though. Naturally DeWalt will be after people buying entirely new cordless tools than just buying new updated batteries for them.

almost a daily basis and they work great. The impact is perfect for driving tek screws into metal cabinets.

Makita 18 volt use it everyday. Its light and strong. Bought the Impact too and love it. Was an old PC user but their new ones suck! Amazon.com is the place to get em. I do and would like to try the Bosch and Milwaukee someday. But stuck on Makita for now!!!

I agree with those who recommend Makita or Milwaukee. I have the drill and impact driver in 18v by Makita and in 12V by Milwaukee. BUT if I were buying now I would be sure to get an impact driver that has a clutch. I broke a lot of screw heads off before I learned not to "impact" too much. And I'm using McFeeley's screws.

Max

Check local battery shops, marts, etc. A couple of shops in Wichita, where we used to live, would rebuild or update most cordless batteries.

RonB

Have the 18v Makita combo (drill and impact driver) and am really enjoying it in everyday use. Strong, lightweight, batteries charge in 15 minutes. So far neither has balked at any job I've thrown at them.

Bought the Impact driver at HD and it came with two batteries; bought the Drill off Amazon with no battery, to fill the other spot in the case.

Not a smoking deal but Lowes has the DeWalt 12V LI drill and impact driver for $200. The LI drill seems to have as much power as the 18V at half the weight. The drills are so tiny and light they feel like a toy but they work great.

Currently Lowes will also throw in a third battery or a work light with the LI kit. If you are not screwing down deck boards I doubt you'll ever need the 3rd battery since they charge so quickly.

I had a DeWalt 14.4 volt that I used for over 10 years. When the batteries died I bought a Panasonic 18 volt. After about two years of use both batteries died. Replacement batteries for the Panasonic are not available locally and on-line prices are about $95 each.

I bought a new Dewalt 18 volt drill instead. It cost me less than two of the Panasonic batteries and the DeWalt batteries are readily available at a considerably lower cost.