Thread: The BEST Cordless Drill

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I work in an RV repair shop for a "living". Me as well as most of the guys I work with use ryobi. I hadn't had a problem with my daily user of 2 years and I drill through just about anything steel frames wood on occasion concrete. When the litium ion came out I got one it seems to have more power and longer bat life I love it.

I have used several brands, black&decker,makita,dewalt,porter-cable, rigid,&milwaukee. So far the rigid and milwaukee have been the best.

I currently have a DeWalt.

On a related note, what have you found to be the best drill bits for drilling steel?

I must admit I have had good luck with the Harbor Freight 8 for $1 drill bits and their step drills. But tonight I was drilling through the bumper and chewed up about half a dozen cheap and expensive bits and only have one little hole to show for it.

My now retired construction superintendent brother swears by anything that says "DeWalt" on it for hard use.

My wife gave me a Makita 14.4 volt drill about three years ago and it has been fine for my purposes but I don't really give it severe use.

I bought a little 12 volt Milwaukee at a garage sale for $20 and it seems to be a really tough piece of equipment with bunches of torque, but the batteries don't hang in very long before needing a visit with the charger. It came with two batteries one of which was no good. I decided that's no big deal. I'll call Milwaukee and order a new one. Yeah, sure! A new one is only NINETY TWO DOLLARS plus shipping. It wouldn't make much sense to spend nearly a hundred bucks for a battery for a $20 tool, but fortunately I was able to sniff around on the internet and find one for about $35. Sorry, 37 Caddy, I don't remember where I found one, but if you'll Google "replacement power tool batteries" (or something like that) you can probably find what you need.

Jim

Originally Posted by Sinister

I have used several brands, black&decker,makita,dewalt,porter-cable, rigid,&milwaukee. So far the rigid and milwaukee have been the best.

X2... i like the Rigid 18 volt after i got the rigid i gave my dewalt to brother.

I have tried alot of brands and found the Craftsman to be the best for the money,(I think they are made by Ryobi)
I agree with the more you use it the longer the batteries last.
I have an 18.2 volt and use it about every day, have 2 drills, impact driver,
saw, 2 flashlights and a radio that take the same batteries.

Ken

There's a lot of excellent drills. Test them out, hold them and see if they are comfortable to use. Go with least 19.2 volts and the lithium ion batteries. Many of the newer ones have a 1 hour recharge time, so if you get a couple extra batteries, you shouldn't have to worry to much about down time..

Also , just so you know, Home Depot has a 90 return policy . They dont want to return and might give you a hard time about it but It their policy , use it for 90 days and if you dont like it return it. Just keep all the paper work and box so when you return it and of course the receipt.

My first one was a 7.(2?) volt Black and Decker automotive series. It wasn't the most powerful ever but, get this, I left my cabin in Alaska, screrwed plywood over all the windows and doors, threw the screw gun into the front seat of the pickup that I left there. 1 1/2 years, read 2 Alaska winters, and I came back, pulled it out of the pickup and took the screws out. Also I left the other battery in the charger for months at a time and never ruined a battery.
I have owned lots of them since but just can't get one the battery will stay alive in or not overcook in the charger.

Went looking for a cordless and was focused on 3 specific ares of the product that were important as to how the tool works over all. I find that there are 3 key areas that define this product , the size of the tool, chuck operation and torque/power.

I found and got the new Milwaukee, and it is worth every penny I spent, have the craftsman and they are JUNK even if given away... why well the cheep piece of crap will shit the bit out of the chuck when the trigger is released after use. When using it as a screw driver this becomes on huge pain in the neck, just plain drilling of multi holes becomes a nightmare. It also allows the bits to slip galling the bit making it impossible to put the bit back into the drill bit box. On the other hand the Milwaukee has a chuck that locks, the chuck teeth are grooved to hold the bit without slippage. The chuck is the most important part of a drilling tool. It is smaller in size and gets into tight places. .....................

Hope I have added some food for thought when thinking about a cordless drill...

Ryobi, I use all of mine almost daily. Knock on wood, I have yet to have a tool go bad, not the case with Dewalt. Also got tired of $90 batteries that would just go bad. Home Depot has the lithium kits for $299 and you get a free tool, get the impact driver you will love it. The 18v angle grinder is a must have for junk yard adventures.

Ron

I think if you are using them daily, a lot of them will be satisfactory. Where they really fall down is th occasional use. Dewalt salesman even told me you can't leave the battery in the charger, bullshit, I can't remember to take it out before I need it. I need a drill that the battery holds a charge for extended periods and the other one can set in the charger and not get ruined. I've been shopping for a new one and can't get much of a straight answer on either issue, except what the Dewalt store said.

Notice in the first You Tube video. The guy tests the Dewalt and he is shooving down on the drill... Then he goes to that neon green brand and isn't even pushing down lol. I like DeWalt and Milwakee. The red Milwakee brand works great my father uses them for construction and never has problems with their sawzall (sp) no drills, lights or anything else. I have used it plenty of times for hole saw cutting, drilling, screwing in things, etc. Never had problems and batteries last a long time.

Originally Posted by willowbilly3

I think if you are using them daily, a lot of them will be satisfactory. Where they really fall down is th occasional use. Dewalt salesman even told me you can't leave the battery in the charger, bullshit, I can't remember to take it out before I need it. I need a drill that the battery holds a charge for extended periods and the other one can set in the charger and not get ruined. I've been shopping for a new one and can't get much of a straight answer on either issue, except what the Dewalt store said.

Lithium batteries are really the way to go , sure they can go bad but they dont have the memory of the charge and dischargeing cycles that screw up the NiCd and NiMH batteries like in the Dewalts and others. New technology, the only way to really screw them up is useing the batt untill it can no longer go, draining the batt till there is nothing left. When you feel the batt start to weaken replace and charge ,dont push it.
Compare weights ,torque, speed, all metal gears, and price...