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Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: richyoung on January 03, 2006, 09:25:47 AM

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: richyoung on January 03, 2006, 09:25:47 AM

My Black and Decker cordless drill grew legs and walked off.  No big loss - it was lousy, and the chuck had already started to wobble, despite less than two years of sporadic use.  (I mean it, it still LOOKED new - but was worn out).  My choices, in what I could afford were:
King 12volt, dual batteries - $19 at atwoods - passed - looked like cheap imported stuff - who knows?
Buffalo 13.4 with accessories, $38, Atwoods - passed, same reason.
B&D "Firestorm" 12v $38 Loewes - passed - already spent too much on the first B&D, and the snop-on,snap-off chuck-to-driver socket looked like an invitation that trouble couldn't resist
Skil 12v $39.00  Loewes passed.

Ryobi 12v, with some accessories, spare battery, stud finder - $49 on sale - I went with the ryobi.

Is it possible to get a decent cordless drill for less than $150, or will this one be shot in a year, too?

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: onions! on January 03, 2006, 09:35:10 AM

Ryobi is good stuff.

Some of our mechanics use Harbor Freight $19.99 14v drills w/the intention of replacing them often.Suprisingly,thay seem to last at least a year before dying.

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: mtnbkr on January 03, 2006, 09:38:29 AM

I've yet to be impressed with any cordless offerings (though, I haven't tried the contractor grade drills).  Nowadays, I use my cordless for driving screws or light duty work around the inside of the house.  I bring out the corded drill for anything involving metal or more than an inch or two of depth.  

My dad still has and uses what has to be a 30yo B&D corded drill.  Between the two of us, we've used up 4 cordless drills in the past 10years.

Chris

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: K Frame on January 03, 2006, 09:46:05 AM

I have a Skil 18 volt (IIRC it's 18 volt) cordless drill that my Father gave to me.

No, it's not got the power of even a cheap corded drill, but what it does have is flexibility, maneuverability, reach, and independence.

Those can be very important considerations when you're working far from a power source, or working in a location (scaffold or ladder) where a cord can be a significant hazard.

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: erik the bold on January 03, 2006, 09:58:53 AM

I personally like my Ryobi, in 18V.

Had it for about a year with no issues, and I beat the crap out of it......

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: Brad Johnson on January 03, 2006, 10:17:56 AM

Was not impressed with anything cordless until I used a friend's Porter Cable. Wow, what a difference good equipment makes! He does HVAC for a living and the drill gets the crap beat out of it all the time, so it must be pretty rugged.

I would imagine that any of the Makita or Milwaukee offerings would also be good. I also hear that the Craftsman branded units at Sears are a decent buy for home use.

Brad

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: Ron on January 03, 2006, 10:25:01 AM

My Dewalt stuff (18v)gets used and abused heavily.  The  sawzall had to be repaired after wearing out the drive mechanism.  Eventually I wore out the 1/2 inch hammer drill also.

I replaced the drill with a newer model and it seems even tougher than the old one.  

These tools were used a lot, I would reccomend them to anyone without hesitation.

For a casual user they would probably last a lifetime.

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: mtnbkr on January 03, 2006, 10:33:38 AM

Quote from: Brad Johnson

Was not impressed with anything cordless until I used a friend's Porter Cable. Wow, what a difference good equipment makes! He does HVAC for a living and the drill gets the crap beat out of it all the time, so it must be pretty rugged.

I would imagine that any of the Makita or Milwaukee offerings would also be good. I also hear that the Craftsman branded units at Sears are a decent buy for home use.

Brad

You know, I completely forgot about the Milwaukee cordless drill (18v I think) a suitemate had in college.  His bro was an HVAC engineer, so he (lil bro) had access to a lot of cool tools.  This drill was massive though.  It wouldn't fit in places my equally strong, but corded B&D drill would fit.  However, it was cordless and would be useful in an absence of AC power.

Chris

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: 280plus on January 03, 2006, 10:52:06 AM

I''ve only ever had Milwaukee 12V so far, they are reasonably sized and I've seen one of mine bounce off the concrete 20" below and keep on tickin'. It was a little tweaked, don't get me wrong, but it kept on going for quite a few years afterward. Never cared for the 18V cause they ARE bigger and heavier. I gotta lug mine up to the roof on occasion, so I like 'em light.



I hope this thread doesn't lead us into the virtues of 12v vs 18v drills...

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: Brad Johnson on January 03, 2006, 12:12:08 PM

Quote

I hope this thread doesn't lead us into the virtues of 12v vs 18v drills...

oh, no....

RUN, FOREST!!! RUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!!!!!



Brad

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: erik the bold on January 03, 2006, 12:44:26 PM

Quote from: 280plus

I hope this thread doesn't lead us into the virtues of 12v vs 18v drills...

Use enough gu.....uh, I mean drill motor........

.38 (12v) v/s .50 (18v)

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: Guest on January 03, 2006, 02:24:38 PM

I've got a Craftsman that I've had for about 5 years..I probably use it a dozen times a year. It's been fine. If I were using it on a more frequent basis, I'd probably get a Dewalt. But if I were using it much more often, I'd get a corded one.

In other power tool news, I am seriously coveting my friends compound saw.

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: zahc on January 03, 2006, 02:52:06 PM

My father has a Makita 14.4v. Fantastic drill. Has built 1 house and 2 pole buildings. He would use it to drill 3/4 inch holes through every stud in the house while wiring and to drive every screw in the deck. I told him he should use a corded drill and he'd say 'I bought it to use it'.

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: 280plus on January 03, 2006, 03:11:16 PM

As long as you're not wasting time on charging batteries or running out of juice or not being able to find a charged battery to start with, I have no problems with battery vs corded for doing a big job. I see too much time wasted like that when, in the end, it would have been faster to just run a cord. It's a pet peeve of mine, sorry...

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: richyoung on January 04, 2006, 05:17:13 AM

As to the corded drill issue, the Ryobi arrived with two battery packs, both discharged.  I was running out of daylight, and the batteries kept dyin', so I ran to Big Lots and bought a generic 3/8ths variable speed reversible drill for $14 - obviously a Pacific Rim knock-off (complete with "Engrish" manual) of an old Black & Decker - but has a massive chuck and worked fine to get the job done - (involved drilling through 1/4 steel plate - the joys of mailbox reinstallation!)

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: zahc on January 04, 2006, 08:56:34 AM

This poor college student noticed that my neighbors had thrown away a Ryobi cordless. I salvaged it from the trash to find the batteries were junk. Being in constand need of a drill while working on my truck, I appropriated the cord I'm supposed to use to light up my pizza delivery sign. I now have a 12v corded drill, which I use constantly.

Title: Cordless drill help:
Post by: 280plus on January 04, 2006, 09:57:31 AM

Quote

I now have a 12v corded drill, which I use constantly.

Geez that's smart!