Drills

[kenskip1]

I hope that this will fit in to the gear.

I am on a search for a new drill. My old Black and Decker 12 volt has had the course and the batteries are to costly to replace.

I have narrowed the search down to,

Milwaukee M18 1/2 drive 18 volt compact drill driver.$ 199.

Makita BDF452HW !/2 drive 18 volt compact drill driver $179.

The specks are both very close on both of these models. I was wondering if any others have one of them and how well that like/dislike their drills.I am leaning towards the Makita but have not closed the book on the Milwaukee. I will use these for general purpose work like wiring my garage hanging shelves into concrete blocks ext. Am I going overkill? Milwaukee has a nice Little 12 volt 3/8 drill that would save me close to $60. Thanks, Ken

 

[Soundslikejosh]

When I got out of the trades 3 years ago, I saw MANY more of the Milwaukee drills than Makita. Certainly 3 years can change the market a great deal. At that time, Dewalt and Bosch were the most common.

Good luck. Remember, if you buy a model with lithium ion batteries- don't run them completely dead. They shouldn't be completely discharged like the older NiMH or NiCAD batteries.

Regards,
Josh

 

[woodmeister]

i've had great luck with the 19.2 volt sears drill plus it adapts to so many other tools.i.e. sawzal, circular saw, light etc.

 

[Soundslikejosh]

Ken,

I thought of one other thing- Up here in Indiana, there were a few places that had the Dewalt compact 18v drills on sale for Christmas for $100 with 2 batteries. This is obviously one heck of a deal- only $20 or so more than the cost of the batteries. Perhaps if you keep your eyes open you will see a similar deal in the next month.

Regards

 

[JustWood]

I like AC Milwaukee tools better. Haven't owned any DC. IMO tougher tool all around.
Might want to save some bucks though for just around the house use. For general use you can't beat the deals Craftsman has.

 

[firefighterjake]

I had the same question a few months back . . . and for me it boiled down to the exact same choice. Both the Makita and Milwaukee have good reviews on-line and I could have gone either way. In the end I went with Milwaukee.

At the time Milwaukee had the better deal price-wise (but it was very close) . . . if memory serves me correctly it seemed as though there were a few comments that swayed me to the Milwaukee vs. the Makita but I can't remember what they were exactly -- it might have been on the batteries . . . speaking of which I do like the Milwaukee's batteries which have a gauge on them to tell you how much life you have left in them.

Personally, I would go with the 18 volt . . . I waffled a bit as well on whether to save a bit of money by getting a 14 volt system, but I cannot tell you how every time . . . and I mean every time . . . I use either the drill or the driver (which incidentally I use a lot . . . especially after I bought an adapter to use on my sockets) I tell my wife how this was one of those purchases I only wish I had made a long, long time ago.

Only couple of drawbacks I've had with the Milwaukee . . . I wish the light would stay on a little longer -- it only comes on when you depress the trigger . . . not a major issue though . . . especially since I never had a light on my old drill. Also I wish the drill had the belt hanger which came with the driver.

I'm also unsure . . . would the drill do OK going through cement blocks or would you be better off using a hammer drill or a corded drill for a project like that?

 

[midwestcoast]

I have used the heck out of some cheap Ryobi 18V tools over the past 3 years. In that time I've fried one NI-MH battery and seriously degraded one Li battery. I'd recomend batteries with a fuel gauge to keep from running them way down.
Whatever you get, have at least 2 batteries for it for the same reason.

 

[SPED]

I have a set of milwaukee V18 cordless tools I bought a few years ago(3-4 maybe? can't remember exactly). I got the hammerdrill/driver, circ saw, sawzall, worklight, and it came with a free impact driver. I love all the tools, and the batteries. I've used the tools quite a bit over the years I've had them and never once regretted the purchase. Original batteries are still going, although one is probably ready for replacement.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

I'm in construction and the impact drivers have mostly replaced drills. If you are buying it for driving any kind of fasteners you'll be much happier with an impact driver. They are lighter, smaller, and drive any fastener better than a drill.

 

[SPED]

I'm in construction and the impact drivers have mostly replaced drills. If you are buying it for driving any kind of fasteners you'll be much happier with an impact driver. They are lighter, smaller, and drive any fastener better than a drill.

That's a great point Reggie, I use my impact driver 10x as much as I use my drill/driver. My drill/driver is now for drilling only, I only use the impact for driving. I love that thing

 

[gpcollen1]

I don't think you can lose with those 2. I bought a Hitachi last year and love it. 18 Volt is the only way to go - and 3.0 Ah if they have the choice. My batteries last a long time with the drill and not as long with the Circ saw and Recip saw, as expected.

As for the concrete block, you can use any drill and concrete bit to do that. I would only use a hammer drill if you had to do large holes or had to do many holes in solid concrete. Those blocks are easy to drill - no stone in them.

 

[TMonter]

Consumer reports rated the Makita higher than the Milwaukee but either would be a good choice. Ridgid also makes an excellent driver as well.

 

[mxjamie540]

Just last week I purchased the Milwaukee M18 drill and impact kit for $179.00......... for everything! A local hardware store had a misprint in thier ad, it was a misprint or for a reman kit. Anyway I took said ad to a competitor who matched it..... so I have a brand new kit for less than the price of the drill alone.

Both tools seem to be great, however if you get the impact YOU WILL LOVE IT. I just sat at my workbench driving 3" square drive deck screws with it. I don't know about you guys, but I seem to have problems with square drives stripping. No more with the impact, I drove the same screw with the same bit about 40 times with no perceivable wear to either!

 

[kenskip1]

Thanks for all the replies.I just happen to swing buy my local Home depot. Well I walked past the power tools and picked up the Milwaukee 3/8 drive M12 drill. It fit well in my grip.The Makita drill was a 1/2 drive and just to much for a drill, but I liked the grip.The store did not carry the Makita 10.8 volt drill anymore.I am well aware that many other have had good success with other brands. Again, thanks for all the replies, Ken

 

[pybyr]

Want a cheapskate application for what to do with 12 volt rechargeable drills with faded-out battery packs?

Open up the battery pack and remove/ recycle the battery cells.

Solder flexible cord into the shell of the former battery pack, and have it exit by a strain relief.

Run the cord to a 12 volt lead-acid gel-cell (you can sometimes get these free or cheap as change-outs from building exit sign power failure back-ups or computer UPS-s)(or get them for modest prices from other sources, too). Put the cell in a pack on your belt. Use a low-tech trickle charger to charge the gel cell.

Or use it as a 12-volt vehicle-powered drill.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I don't think you would go wrong with either. I have and use both brands, along with Dewalt. I'd pick them each up and play with them. One is bound to feel better in your hand from a weight or balance standpoint.

Matt

 

[kenskip1]

Well, I pulled the plug and went with the Milwaukee M12 3/8 in. 12-Volt Cordless Drill at my local Home depot.I showed my Veterans ID card and received a 10% discount.Anyway, this drill has more Wheaties than I suspected in a compact size.The rubber grip is similar to my Mikita and it fits my hand well. Very impressed, Ken

 

[btuser]

What is it with the tiny impact drivers? It drives really well, and I like the lightweight tiny size but the sound kills me. I can see if I'm on a construction site but I do a lot of office work and no way would I feel comfortable with the noise.

 

[Nic36]

I have a Makita 18V driver/drill. The clutch started slipping. I called customer service, even though it was out of warranty, to see if I could have it repaired. It was perhaps about the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I have a few other Makita tools, but I swore I would never buy another Makita product again.

Bought a Dewalt 18V lithium driver/drill/impact driver and love it.