Need a new cordless drill/driver for onsite work

HCHTech

HCHTech

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My aging Makita is starting to give out. I like the "compact" models, want a couple of batteries and two chargers. I don't use it every day, usually only a couple of times per month - hanging access points, shelves for equipment, etc.

Has to have a clutch, variable speed & reverse - but those are not big asks these days. Something like THIS, but I don't have a good handle on brand quality - DeWalt/Bosch/Milwaukee/Makita probably all have similar models. Brushless vs not - don't really know. Quality is more important than price. Pro model vs consumer-targeted a plus.

Anyone have a model they really like? Brands they hate? All data is useful!

TIA!
 
I got a Dewalt DCD777 20v drill a while back. Haven't used it a whole lot yet, but haven't found a reason not to like it. I got Dewalt for battery compatibility with a recip saw. Also because it's the most common, so it wasn't hard to find a real good deal on batteries on Ebay, and better chance of battery interchangeability if you're working with someone else.

Brushless is more efficient so batteries last longer.

I have an old Dewalt 12v drill I would've kept using, but I dropped it off a roof and broke the last good battery I had, and new batteries for it are either junk, or so expensive that a new Li-Ion drill made more sense.
 
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Years ago I standardized on Ryobi because they were the cheapest. One thing I learned is don't skip on the voltage, I started with 14vdc. What a mistake. With a fully charged battery I couldn't do more than 3-4 core holes on a counter on one battery.

Now a days the best brands, in my book DeWalt, Milwaukie, and Bosch, don't have a huge premium compared to the others. So if I had to start over I'd pick one of them. I probably use these tools for more tasks than you do @HCHTech. Everything from turning screws to cutting all kinds of material as well as concrete and steel drilling.

I have a Bosch Bulldog for heavy duty drilling. Everything else is Ryobi.

Over the years I've been on many, many construction sites where GC's and the subs are taking care of business. I'd say the brand split is about 49/49 between DeWalt and Milwaukie. Makita and Ryobi are the rest. Starting over I'd probably go with Milwaukie. That place is tool city even if they don't come from there any more.
 
I still really love Ryobi simply because of their body color, which may sound ridiculous, but when you're working in theater (and I do as an avocation) the darker, duller colors can disappear very easily and it can take quite a while to find what's gone lost afterward.

I haven't had issues with the Ryobi cordless tools I've used, whether mine or someone else's. I really like Makita, too, if they made a neon body of some sort I'd be buying Makita again.
 
The only power tool I've ever had a problem with was a Harbor Freight special... darned thing flew apart on a job. And I mean FLEW apart, I hit the trigger, there was this thump and the world exploded in ball bearings as the chuck hit the floor.

I've got a Ryobi drill now, lithium battery... it's served me well for all my work professional and private. I prefer Milwaukee because of both of my grandfathers, but I can't justify it anymore. Name brand tools cost entirely too much, for almost no benefit.

I mean heck, anyone around here ever buy Black and Decker batteries for their Dewalt tools? It wasn't all that long ago they were interchangeable.
 
I have Ryobi at home myself.

Yes, I like the color... :)
And the price point.

Mainly though, when I was redoing my deck, my buddy helping me had Ryobi, so I bought one to so we could share batteries.
Battery life was good, recharging didn't take forever, and they worked.
Now, 2 years later, I have almost a full set of Ryobi cordless tools with spare chargers and batteries.

They have some nice deals on bundles if you watch for them.
 
I have two sets of drills that I use all the time. Both of them I got super good deals on and both came in combos of drill/driver and quick connect impact. I use the quick connect impact more than anything with the jobs that I have.

For nasty weather or nasty job sites I use my Dewalt Tool Connect 20V. One because they are cheaper, got them on sale combo for <$100, and two, because I don't like them as much as my Milwaukee M12's.

For indoor, or compact areas, or clean job sites, I will pull out my Milwaukee M12's. I can't say enough good about these bad boys. They are beasts, compact, and just work. I got a set completely free, but I still don't want to use them on job sites that could be damaging to them. Replacement value is around $150ish in my area. I have had this drill set so long that they have paid for themselves many times over and I have never replaced a single battery. I have even considered buying a set of M18's for my heavy duty jobs.

Lastly I have a cheapo pawn shop hammer drill, I couldn't even tell you anything about it since I rarely use it. I keep it for the jobs where I have to drill through a concrete block wall or similar.
 
I've been using a Dewalt 20v brushless Drill + Impact driver kit for a few years now. Done everything I've ever wanted. It's not a hammer drill sadly but works for all other drilling!
 
I just picked up a new Craftsman 20v model..nice and small, was at Lowes and they were out front on sale. The new Craftsman line up is made by Stanley Black & Decker...who also makes Dewalt and Porter cable tools.

I forget the price, think it was 69 bucks.
 
YeOldeStonecat said:
The new Craftsman line up is made by Stanley Black & Decker...who also makes Dewalt and Porter cable tools.
Click to expand...

Which points up that there is very likely little difference between them other than the branding.

There are scads of brands that ceased to be their own independent entities a long time ago, and those who bought them did so for the cachet the names already hold.

I'm not saying that a given maker may not have good/better/best lines, but there are many that have several different brands aimed at exactly the same market, and it's really improbable that there's much other than what used to be called "badge engineering" for cars going on. Call it "plastic body engineering."
 
Just to close this loop, I went with this Milwaukee. I ordered a 2nd charger & battery, under $200 all told. I haven't used it yet, but it seems way stronger than the 18v Makita it is replacing. Smaller as well. It is missing an on-tool clip for bits. Thanks everyone for your comments!
 
britechguy said:
but when you're working in theater (and I do as an avocation)
Click to expand...

@britechguy I knew there was something I liked about you! :p I did a ton of community theatre when I was young, and we still spend a sizable portion of our entertainment budget on shows. We never had the luxury of an actual experienced crew, so always had to build our own sets. It was a lot of fun looking back on it, but I'll bet actually working in the business is quite a challenge.

I took a tour last year of the shop where our city's CLO builds & maintains its sets - it was eye-opening, wow. The tech in use these days is quite impressive.
 
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I bought a couple of Ryobi last year and they do me fine, but im only a low usage DIY person. I bought an SDS drill as i needed to put up some curtain poles and also wanted a drill/driver for normal use. Using the same battery is a great idea and im happy with both drills. I have the 18v 1.5Ah battery and it does fine, but if you were wanting to use it for a number of hours at a time definitely go for a bigger battery
 
Bosch 12v with hammer and impact is our standard daily

Mounts racks to whatever it drills through whatever
 
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