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cordless drills

1K views 33 replies 27 participants last post by  irishrokbandt 
#1 ·
Im in the market for a new 1/2 inch cordless drill. I searched but cant come up with a concensus on whats best these days. I don't wanna spend a ton but don't want a POS either. ALso if anyone has a place to get a deal on said "best" drill please holla..
 
#2 ·
There is no consensus on what's best these days.

Name a price range. I don't consider dropping $200 on a drill a "ton" but some do.

I would reccomend not spending less than $100 on a drill. If you want one cheaper than that, get a corded. More drill for your money.
 
#5 ·
1/2 inch and power in the same sentence then you are talking $200 and over range.

I have been pounding on Makita cordless products for years. Never have a 1/2 inch just up to 3/8's. The ONLY problems I have ever had was burning up the triggers ever 4-5 years. I used these in my profession so they got used a pretty good amount.

I still drag out the drop cord, power availability permitting of course, if I need to make a LOT of bigger holes.
 
#8 ·
I run my 16.8V Craftsman pretty hard. 2" holesaws, and 1-3/8" step-drill bit all the time. Only $100 a few years ago. It is a little bulky compared to some of the $bigger$ brands. Might be an issue if you working with it all day long and/or carrying it in a holster.

I seem to get good life out of the cheaper end of the tool spectrum. :D
 
#9 ·
I'm on my 2nd 14.4v Milwaulkee, and I wouldn't buy a third.

Almost everything else I own is Milwaulkee, so I'm a fan of their stuff, but the cordless drills haven't been up to (atleast my) shop use.

They both still work, but first one sounds like it's got rocks in it.
Both brakes have failed :shaking:
The first one acted up after a couple days of heavy use, the second one's brake stopped working some time a couple months ago, for no reason at all.

By comparison, the two junk 18v Ryobi cordless's I have might have no power, and their batteries suck ass, but they still sound good, and their brakes work.

One of the companies I do work for has used only Milwaulkee 14.4's for atleast 3+ years. (maybe 50 guys, spinning the drills 5-10+ hrs a day).
Maybe 7, or 8 guys still use them, but they've completely switched to buying Dewaults now.

Another, bigger company I do work for has anywhere from 50-150 guys, spinning their drills the same 5-10+ hours a day.
They've used Dewault almost exclusively for 5 years + still use them.
The old style would crack at the fwd/rev switch if you dropped them, but the newer (heavier) 3spd style, with the metal band by the gear box seems to be holding up even better, and doesn't crack at the fwd/rev switch.

A third company I do work for is pretty small, and they've been using Home Depo/Rigid stuff for the last year, or so.
They seem pretty happy with them so far.
For me, the jury's still out.

If I was gonna buy a new drill tomorrow, I honestly don't know what I'd choose.
I'd probably look at the Dewault, Porta Cable, and maybe even that Panasonic (never really caught on, but an excellent drill rated higest by most sources a few years ago) if they're still making it.
 
#10 ·
ID say Dewalt 18v XRP. Check out sears. You can get them for 269 with a rebate for a 3rd battery free. Its a tossup between the Dewalts and the MIlwuakees. The current batch of Dewalts got even more powerful, probably equal to the current milwaukees. The milwaukees are slightly heavier, which gets annoying when your working in some rediculous postition over your head trying to drill a hole.

Jim
 
#12 ·
I'm using a dewalt 18v xrp right now, had a ryobi 18v and a makita 14.4 before that. Makita had the longest running batteries, I used it a couple of years until it was stolen by some piece of shit. Only complaint was it was a little underpowered. Ryobi was awesome for the money ($100) but the batteries don't seem to last...I still use it sometimes. I love my dewalt though, powerful, great batteries, good case, good weight. My only complaint is that it tends to hang up in between gears...eventually it might strip out the gears but in the 2 years or so Iv'e had it it hasn't caused a problem yet.
I heard a while back that Milwaukee is getting ready to come out with a whole new kind of battery technology that is supposed to be more powerful, last longer ect. You might want to check on that and see when that is supposed to come out. I remember thinking that I would switch to that next.
 
#14 ·
I've had good luck with Makita's. I have a 9.6v from when they first came out with that style and also have a 18v that I've had for maybe 8 years. Still the orange battery (on second set). My first choice would be he Makita, but if you wanted to get other tools of the same battery type, it is hard to beat how broad Dewalt's line is. In addition to the usual drill/sawsall combo, they also have an 18v grinder, an 18v right angle, and an 18v 1/2" impact. Long range, I'm probably heading toward yellow and black. :D

I used Milwaukee 9.6v's when they first came out and was unimpressed by the battery life. I also have a Dewalt 14.4v right angle that kicks ass.
 
#16 ·
I still use my 9.6v Makita daily that I got some 20 years ago, it's on its second battery but otherwise nothings been fixed on it. I have a lot of green tools :)

That said, I'd buy their 1/2 too, good construction with a metal gear case and for me a very proven reputation
 
#19 · (Edited)
I have a milwaukee 18v 1/2" hammer drill and I've been happy with it so far, I got it back in march. I use it almost daily for work. The batteries last a long time just using it to put screws in and out, I havent really done a lot of heavy work to see how long they last. It has plenty of power, even in high gear. I think I got mine for about $270 at Home depot.

They just came out with some 28v tools that look pretty good. I checked out a drill identical to mine the other day. The battery pack is bigger, but it weighs about the same and is supposed to last a lot longer on a charge. Just the drill was over $400 at Grainger, but they are usually overpriced anyway.

My dad had a Makita that he used daily for several years until the gears finally stripped out. He has a Porter Cable now.
 
#22 ·
Milwaukee hands down. 10 years ago I bought a 12v and I still use it. Since then I have had dewalt, ridgid, makita, and ryobi. The second best would be the makita and the ridgid but they are much newer. The old milwaukee still has the original batteries and although it looks pretty bad and has some cracks and pops out of gear once in a while it still works fine.
 
#23 ·
Porter-Cable!

Why do you want a 1/2"?
My theory has always been to get a 3/8" keyless chuch cordless and a 1/2" keyed chuck corded drill and you should be set. For the most part I also think anything over 12V is just too much.
 
#24 ·
I had an 18V DeWalt for about three years. The batteries recently started losing their ability to hold their charge. They would only get through one or two holes using my holesaw notcher. The drill had enough power that snapped the handle off of the drill body while I was notching this afternoon. I will certainly be getting another one before too long, but I got a corded Milwaukee to work in the garage for now.
 
#25 ·
Triaged said:
Porter-Cable!

Why do you want a 1/2"?
My theory has always been to get a 3/8" keyless chuch cordless and a 1/2" keyed chuck corded drill and you should be set. For the most part I also think anything over 12V is just too much.
the problem is accesability and portability, I have a huge half inch gear reduction drill but its 2x as big and heavy and power is not always accesable.
 
#26 ·
Triaged said:
Porter-Cable!

Why do you want a 1/2"?
My theory has always been to get a 3/8" keyless chuch cordless and a 1/2" keyed chuck corded drill and you should be set. For the most part I also think anything over 12V is just too much.

Well having the extra torque of 18v is VERY nice for driving larger screws. I also have the adapter to turn the drillinto a 1/4 driver, and this thing hasenough power to drive smaller lags.

Also, Black and Decket bought out Porter cable, and for those of you who dont know, Black and Decker owns DeWalt, which is thier "industrial/High performance" line. Id imagine it wont be too long before you start seeing Dewalts and porter cables with the same exact specs, just being rebadged. Both a great tools though.

Jim
 
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