How about this DeWalt drill? *OT*

I STILL haven't bought a new drill because I'm torn between a cordless and a corded one.

I NEED to get a 1/2" drill as there has been about 100 times I've needed 1/2" in the last 5 years and all I have is my 3/8" corded.

My 3/8" corded DeWalt is pushing probably 10 years old and it's a champion and has been abused numerous times and it still holds strong! That's why I'm only considering DeWalt!

I'm thinking a cordless one would be good because I do have the corded one still and this would just be an addition to my arsenal of tools

I've seen these things sell for about $200 on eBay: eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

What do you all think? I think I will bid one out and try to snag one for $200. It seems like the new 20v ones (actually 18v running power) are the way to go over the old 18v ones.

Thanks

 

Makita is another solid choice.
My mother's boyfriend has an old cordless Makita drill that is over 15 years old that is regularly used. Still works like a beast; only needed a battery replacement a few years back.

I would go cordless. The benefits of not having to string out a long orange cord is all I need.

 

Even the 36V drills (including DeWalt) I've owned haven't been great with 1/2" bits after a very few minutes. If you have to work away from mains power and you don't have a generator then you need a cordless, otherwise I'd stick with corded.
Your average use of once a fortnight means the batteries will often be flat when you want them - and if you keep them constantly charged they don't last long.
You could buy a 1/2" chuck for your DeWalt and put the saving toward, say, a nice CF-53 - or you could grind down the shanks of your larger-than-3/8" bits. Even cheaper.

 

Rob,

I drill holes for a living. Lots and lots of holes. For the last 25 years. Seriously. I have a truck full of Dewalt cordless 18v stuff. Started with it when the 18V stuff came out, built up the collection, it would be "interesting" to change brands at this point. DO NOT BUY DEWALT!!! For about 1/3 the cash you can get Ryobi Li powered stuff that is more reliable and has features you can't even get on a Dewalt. The most important of which are batteries with a built-in charge level meter. You want this. If you can't get your head around Ryobi, or need to spend more $, go with Milwaukee. Mostly though, Dewalt is just crap. I keep 3 drills on the truck because it is not unheard of to trash two in a day. Burnt motors, stripped transmissions, welded reverse switches... They really are just not that good. I work side by side with guys that have Milwaukee and Ryobi and take a lot of grief because of it. In other words, save yourself, it's too late for me.

 

DeWalt is just Black & Decker's prestige line; it's high-priced consumer grade to sell at Homeowner Hell. I've never regretted the extra money I spent on a real pro brand like Makita or Metabo. There simply isn't a cordless drill that's going to do the job that a corded drill can do; if I were in your boat, I'd get the cordless drill that is just big enough for the work it does everyday (this is the tradeoff with a cordless; you pick the one that'll do the job versus being so heavy it breaks your wrists to hold it up), then go shop a pawn shop and get a real pro brand Makita, Metabo, or Milwaukee corded drill.

If you shop 3 DECENT SIZED Pawn shops, I guarantee you'll find a 1/2 " hammerdrill from one of those brands in excellent condition for $50-75. This is such a consistent fact that when I used to do rollouts, instead of paying for the baggage at the airport I'd sell my drills and grinders in one city, get on the plane, and pick up new/used ones at my destination. Use them for a week or two till the rollout was done, then repeat.

I've bought more than a hundred drills in my lifetime; DeWalt has never been more than "DeWannabe". For a while Bosch and Hitachi made some VERY good pro grade stuff; but they haven't been consistent like the brands I suggest for at least the last 10 years.

mnem
"I put the holes in the trees; perhaps you've seen those?"

 

Good old Milwaukee

 

Milwaukee 0726-22 M28 Cordless 28 1/2 in. Hammer-Drill | eBay

 

Pictured is the kit I have ($299.99) and it works great and yes I too hate Black & Decker but it came down to price for me. I have had the kit for over 2 years and all three batterys are still going strong after building my basement...3 bedrooms, bathroom and pool room. The cordless nailer is the best hammer I ever bought . Rob if you plan on doing a lot of drilling that would be a good drill but if you are like the average home owner it's kinda over kill .

 

I'd like to be able to say the Snap-on 1/2'' chuck 18v cordless is good. I'm not able to say it because I ran over it with a 34ton tracked machine about a week after I bought it. The only consolation I've got is the battery fits my 18v impact wrench.

Not much use to you, but it would help if someone tunes in & say's, your not the only dumb s.o.b. on this forum, the same happened to me.

o.g. << one tool >>

 

A few things to be mindful of with Li-Ion powered equipment.

Li-Ion cells have a much higher operating voltage than NiCd/NiMh; a cell normally operates at between 3.25 - 4.2V vs 1-1.25V for NiCd/NiMh, which means there will be fewer cells in a pack. This means two things: overall, your battery will maintain a flatter discharge curve; but when a cell tanks, it makes a large voltage drop. If driven to this point repeatedly, the battery can be ruined in very few cycles.

Li-Ion cells are also much more sensitive to heat than NiCd/NiMh; leaving them in a car or toolbox in the TX (or wherever) heat will cook them to death; and of course, they have the same shelf-life issues as laptop batteries.

And the last point - LiIon batteries (aside from LiPo batteries) have a higher internal resistance/lower "C" rating than NiCd/NiMh; this means you cannot draw as much current from them under load. For high-load uses like driving large bolts into wood and drilling large holes, you have to get your energy density by using the highest voltage pack you can. This means, in English, that battery voltage between the two types are not comparable. You need a higher voltage battery pack to get the same stall torque out of a Li-Ion tool; a 28V Li-ion tool will yield similar bottom-end torque (What you need to finish driving a really long bolt) to a 14.4-18V NiCd/NiMH tool.

mnem
Yes, I DO know entirely too much about cordless tools.

 

I still use the NiCads because there is no <censored> way I'm giving Dewalt $120 for one stinkin Li bat that doesn't even have a meter on it like every other brand. Now I feel better. Thanks, oh scaly one.

 

I agree with mnem. Get a reasonably sized cordless and get a corded 1/2. I personally would not have fun using a cordless for 1/2 work. I bought a Crapsman Heavy duty 3/8 and put a 1/2 chuck and 10 foot cord on it probably 20 yrs ago. Still works great.

Old vacuum cleaners are a great source of long cords. Free if you pick them up on garbage day.

 

I have a 1/2" Milwaukee 18V Cordless hammerdrill I bought back in.....2000(?). The drill has worked perfectly for home and work use. The first year was brutal on it putting in hangers for all-thread, the hammer portion of it getting a workout. I've had 1 of the 2 batteries refurbished ($35.00 vs $75.00 new) and it's in semi retirment as I changed jobs in 2002.

I will say the rebuilt battery has lasted a lot longer then the original ones but it's not had near as tough a life.

 

My dad's 50 year old Black and Decker still works like new. I wouldn't get one for work, but most any corded drill is going last you forever at home. On power, my 18v Dewalt (not the newer, small battery foot model. Those are weaker.) stomps a Milwaukee Holeshooter. The owner of which cried real tears when that happened. So cordless is fine there. Any 18V is capable of breaking your wrist, and any drill will smoke when stalled.

edit: Do you really want to pull that cordless out of the box and realize you have to wait an hour because the batteries went flat since you last used it?

 

Another vote for Milwaukee. We have been using them to wire houses since 1972, and they are really tough corded drills. If you hit a nail, you will probably sprain your arm, but the drill will be OK. For 1/2" bits, I agree, don't bother with cordless.

As far as cordless drills, we have had about 4 Dewalts, and 3 Milwaukees, and a few Porter Cables, but the batteries don't seem to last and they are heavy to use for extended periods. We have recently switched to Makitas for cordless. They are very light, and powerful. (I still would not use them with a 1/2" bit.) Their 18 volt charges in 15 minutes!!!

 

Festool hands down, they just started shipping their 18V +3 (21V equivalent).

Made in Germany (Not CHINA), perfect engineering, light, and powerful, with the longest running time of ANY drill I have ever seen. More features than you can shake a stick at. (They also have almost every other power tool known to man perfected)

Costs as much as a kidney, but you toughbook folks should not mind that so much!

 

Festool Cordless Drills

 

Never even heard of this company before...

Festool T 12+3 Li-Ion 2.6 Ah Cordless Drill/Driver | eBay

Hmmm.... Man...

~Anyone wanna buy a kidney? Only 24 years old, has lotsa life left! NO RUST! ~

 

OR: Festool C-12 drill

"For sale used Festool C-12 drill with two 3.0Ah batteries. 1/2" chuck

Batteries hold charge well."

 

The NEW 18 +3 is only $500, so paying $400 for a used 12 +3 without the 3 year warranty does not seem worth it!

You have to buy from an authorized supplier to get the full warranty. The good news is that they all have the same prices, the bad news is that the prices are all high.

 

I switched from Dewalt to Milwaukee several years ago when the Dewalts started having strange problems and the factory service in my area went to hell too.

I had been a loyal dewalt fan for a while but for me the Milwaukee stomps them in every way.
I too shop Pawn Shops for tools and you can not go wrong EXCEPT for cordless imho.

The batteries are in general just too abused to trust and the cordless stuff is priced higher than corded too.

I drill every day and often with 6' long bits and giant augers and hole saws and the cordless stuff today can do almost anything well for a few holes.
A HoleShooter is the best all around cordless and always has been but to me they also make the best cordless for now too.

I also have only heard good about the current Makita and they did really start it all for cordless but I can't start over right now with a new system or I might try Makita too. I have several older Makita in my home shop and they do still work after 25 or more years somehow>

Ed

 

The Festools drills sound interesting because of their modular head and I'm really intrigued by their use of brushless motors in these newer models. If they're anything like the brushless motors we're using in RC models nowadays, you'll see amazing torque you just can't imagine from a brushed motor. A hot 4700KV brushless outrunner motor used in a 450 class helicopter can dissipate 450-500W; that's 3/4 of a horsepower from a motor the size of a "C"-cell battery. Of course, it'll drain a 2200mah/14.8v battery in 5-6 minutes, too. These are miniature 3-phase motors with neodymium magnets pushing against a static armature; they can generate some SICK power.

The part I'm NOT impressed with is the electronic clutch; I've used dozens of them and they're worthless where you REALLY need a clutch - driving small screws in small machinery. For that, I still keep going back to my little Makita 6013; nothing provides the same balance of all-day power and light weight (now that I've hacked it with Li-Ion batteries and charge it with my hobby charger) and a clutch that can drive a 3mm machine screw or a 4mm self-tapper into plastic without stripping it, or downshift and drive #10 lag bolts to hang a TV. Anything bigger and I go to my corded or my old 6333; that thing has been beaten and beaten and it still keeps coming back for more. These are the tools that hang around because they WORK.

mnem
*driven*

 

A vote for snap-on cordless.

I have been taking these to the track forever, impact especially, but also the drill.

Cordless Renovations can also rebuild the 12v batteries to 14.4 spec, and that has been GREAT.

I Keep a couple batteries rotating, and like their work lamp too...same battery for all devices is nice.

TBH, I get used off eBay, and just assume I will have to rebuild the battery in a bit....

 

Those who have made reference to the corded variety have not made any mention of the "DADDY" of all drills.

Wolf Industrial, 110v, four speed transmission, forward & reverse gears, either a 3/4" chuck or the alternative is a Morse Taper shank.

A bit "OTT" for use at home, but if you buy a new one, it will still be around when your great grandchildren are your age now.

If your into toughbook's, big 4x4's & the like, they are you.

Note: if your limp wristed, don't try & use one on your own, they are serious stuff.

o.g. << head over heels & I do mean HEAD OVER HEELS>>

 

110 this! I want the diesel one.

.:: WOLF METALRGICA ::.

 

Yeah, well, we weren't talking about core drills and their like.

Milwaukee Diamond Coring Rig w/ Large Base Stand, Vac-U-Rig 4120-22

The Wolfe is machine shop equipment; you can drill holes with a Bridgeport too, but I wasn't going to suggest THAT, either.

mnem
Here you go:
http://www.minerwars.com/ForumUploads/20100413033549_280_HippieDrill.gif

 

ha,ha...Not quite what I was thinking of.

that said, it strikes me that the OP is the type of guy that would road test this type of kit before dismissing it.

 

Rob? Ahhh... he just likes to try and always have more than he needs just in case and forget the price; I used to be that way myself when I was younger.

As I got older, I found the value of having enough to do the job, and saving my money for the things I NEED to buy when I need to do a job. Top of the line tools are nice; the ones I use every day always are that. But savings are a lot more portable and don't need a warranty.

mnem
Liquid assets are a great asset.

 

Why not a Panasonic drill?

Panasonic Drills