A really good cordless drill?

winifredevw · Post by **winifredevw** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 4:53 pm

I use Hitatchi and Dewalt, corded and cordless. I use mine mainly for carpentry work, I have to give the nod to Dewalt as far as being "Grunt proof", but Hitatchi gives more bang for the buck.

GA_Boy · Post by **GA_Boy** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:05 am

MNAirHead wrote:Any tips on keeping battery tools fresh and long lasting... biggest challenge is battery mortality.

Here is a trick that I use. Replacement batteries are sometime the most expensive part of a cordless. I do the following on 12V and 13V drills.
Remove defective (Will no longer take a charge) battery and take apart to expose the actual batteries.
Remove and safely dispose of these batteries.
Buy (For a 12 volt VW) 15 feet of heavy duty lamp cord and a universal lighter plug.
Observe polarity and solder one end of lamp cord to where you removed the batteries from, replace cover, and install lighter conector to other end of lamp cord. (In one of my conversions I installed a plastic medicine bottle in place of the batteries to hold extra tips and a few screws.)
Now you have a 12 volt corded drill to use in most any 12V vehicle.
On a 13 V I used heavier wire and squeeze clamps to hook directly to my F250 batteries and that puppy has good torque.
Marvin

Post by **Leatherneck** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:41 pm

If any of you guys have Milwaukee cordless drills they had a recall on the batteries, I got 2 new ones for two worn out ones. Look up on there site.

perrib · Post by **perrib** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 7:15 pm

To say FESTOOLS are high end is an understatement. My 9.6 volt Mikita, 12 volt Dewalt and 14 volt Craftsman cordless drill batteries have had it. As alway a drill with two new batteries is cheaper than purchasing.
FES564139two batteries. The Dewalt had the most power but the two speed Makita was easier to control. I had a chance to try a 36 volt DeWalt it had roid rage.

TDK15.6CE 15.6V Cordless Drill Kit with NiCd 2.4Ah Batteries. Includes LC 45 charger, 2 NiCD batteries, FastFix® chuck, Centrotec® chuck, Bit holder, In Systainer 1. $415.00 EA Festool

FESPTDK15S
TDK15.6CE 15.6V Cordless Drill Kit with 4 Chucks & NiCd 2.4Ah Batteries. Includes LC 45 charger, 2 NiCD batteries, FastFix® chuck, Centrotec® chuck, Right Angle FastFix® Chuck, Eccentric FastFix® Chuck, Bit holder, In Systainer 1. $522.00 EA Festool

PANEY6432
EY6432 15.6V Drill/Driver ONLY (Bare) $125.00 EA Panasonic

PANEY6432GQKW
EY6432GQKW 15.6V Drill/Driver Panasonic $219.99 EA Panasonic

PANEY6535GQW
EY6535GQW 15.6V MULTI Drill Panasonic $319.99 EA Panasonic
FES564139
TDK15.6CE 15.6V Cordless Drill Kit with NiCd 2.4Ah Batteries. Includes LC 45 charger, 2 NiCD batteries, FastFix® chuck, Centrotec® chuck, Bit holder, In Systainer 1. $415.00 EA Festool

FESPTDK15S
TDK15.6CE 15.6V Cordless Drill Kit with 4 Chucks & NiCd 2.4Ah Batteries. Includes LC 45 charger, 2 NiCD batteries, FastFix® chuck, Centrotec® chuck, Right Angle FastFix® Chuck, Eccentric FastFix® Chuck, Bit holder, In Systainer 1. $522.00 EA Festool

I am leaning towards a Makita 14 volt drill with 2 batteries on sale for $79.95. I like the fact the Makita sevice center fixes them for the price of the parts.

Post by **Leatherneck** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 7:38 pm

I have a Makita 9.6 with a chuck key that I have had for 12 years and it still keeps going and going and going.

michael86 · Post by **michael86** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:47 am

I am using the new FESTOOL TDK12+3.
It is a 10.8 volt unit which is stronger than most 16.6 volt machines and is lighter than a hotdog.

I am amazed everytime I use it.I use it daily for 8 to 10 hours and most of the time don't have to change the battery.

Michael

hpw · Post by **hpw** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:30 am

If your batteries finally give up the ghost try these folks out, they can rebuild

your old batteries for a fraction of the cost and they are nationwide.

http://www.batteriesplus.com/

perrib · Post by **perrib** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:38 am

I went that route. I had to disassemble them and the cheesy batteries they used lasted 14 months. SAve $30 on three. I won't be doing that again.

Kafer_Mike · Post by **Kafer_Mike** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 6:56 pm

I retired my two 14v Dewalts and bought one of these 18v Makita. It's much lighter and more compact than my other drills. It came with two lithium-ion batteries. They don't have "memory" issues like NiCad and charge in 15 minutes, so never a dead drill. Love it...

http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Too ... x?ID=20211

turboblue · Post by **turboblue** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:23 am

Kafer_Mike wrote:I retired my two 14v Dewalts and bought one of these 18v Makita. It's much lighter and more compact than my other drills. It came with two lithium-ion batteries. They don't have "memory" issues like NiCad and charge in 15 minutes, so never a dead drill. Love it...

http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Too ... x?ID=20211

You just liked the cool striping package Mike...........

Kafer_Mike · Post by **Kafer_Mike** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:16 pm

That too...

scrap wire · Post by **scrap wire** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:03 pm

18v dewalt. it puts out enough torque to eventualy break the handle(they last me about 2.5 years) i have broken 2 like this

MrDrill · Post by **MrDrill** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:47 am

I would second the advice about the 18V Makita BDF452HW. It's in the top-5 18V drills for being light-weight, about 30% less than average. It has one of the highest power-to-weight ratios and is made with an all-metal transmission. DeWalt, Bosch, and Panasonic have some great close contenders in this category, but if I had to pick one, this would be it.

jweir · Post by **jweir** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:14 pm

Makita gets my vote. I had one battery go bad, but I think it was from the cold-hot-cold-hot charging and doing interior trim work with it daily for 2 years. Makita has outlasted the dewalts, is much lighter than the milwaukee. My friend had one and he somehow broke the 3rd gear after like a year and he got it replaced for free under warranty. Makita makes great angle grinders, impact drivers, and drills from my experience. try and get the drill impact driver combo, or some kind of combo deal, they are a great value.

User Name · Post by **User Name** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:36 am

I only use dewalt, at home and work
I'm a contractor by day and an mechanic at night/weekends they get used all day every day, and rarely if ever let me down
I also like the dewalt stuff, because there are so many things that'll work with the same battery
my latest toy is a dw934 an 18v chopsaw that cuts sheet steel

since I got it, I have no idea how I ever managed without it

their DC925 I believe is a must, metal gears, lots of other drills have plastic gears

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A really good cordless drill?

Re: A really good cordless drill?