18v Cordless Drill Advice

[No skills]

From their grinders I've only used an old 9", very heavy but powerful and I have the brushed 5" cordless which I like.

My t18 lives in fear,it's one step away from being sold for the the bl lxt combi.

My 10.8v Metabo lives in its metaloc systainer, cos I'm really organised like that....... Hahahahahahaha..... Not.


Sorry for the thread divert OP!!

 

[Mark A]

Hi chaps,

Thanks again for the feedback, it's much appreciated.

Metabo and Milwaukee seem like the favourites so far.

I'm off to Cumbria tomorrow for a few days so I should have some time to do a bit of research. Also going to pick up some goodies I won at auction on the way north - three industrial dehumidifiers, a Belle mixer and a nifty Nilfisk vacuum.

Re. Hitachi tools, I've only owned two: a 9" saw and a 9" grinder. The saw was unreassuringly flimsy so I sold it on eBay and bought a used wormdrive, whilst the grinder just keeps going and going. The bearings are beginning to sound like they're on their way out, but the amount of work it's done I can accept that.

 

[woodenstx]

I've got an "old" Hiliti NimH Cordless hammer (no idea if its a drill/driver or a combi... never worked that out in general), its an 18V 2Ah effort and when new it was the mutts nuts!!! It still is fantastic 9 years on, but the batteries are very very very tired, I'm contemplating rebuilding the packs or to simply buy a new piece of kit.

 

[MikeJhn]

I have four DeWalt 18v drill/Screwdrivers two being over 20 years old, both are Nimh powered and have only had one pack go down, one other is Nimh powered the other LiIo, if I was buying today I would definitely go brushless and LiIo, brushless have more torque and LiIo have less of a memory and can be brought back to life when they give up, if you know the technique.

DeWalt 24V packs have genuine A123 LiIo batteries in them, or they used to, these batteries are the best available, each cell is 3.3V and can be charged at 10amps and discharged at 80amps, I used a four cell pack to start a X5 with the battery fully discharged.

Mike

 

[LancsRick]

No love for Bosch blue in here?

 

[Wuffles]

No love for Bosch blue in here?

I used to be nearly all Bosch Pro until about 4 years ago, then I just felt like they'd lost their way.

 

[deema]

The Milwaukee and Fein drill driver and impact driver look IMO to be the same product badged to the brand.

I have the DeWalt drill drivers. Work perfectly. Had an issue with dead batteries which a member on here suggested I contact Dewalt and without quibble, replacements promptly arrived.

The difference between brushless and brushed motors is simply that the former is a 3ph motor with electronics to create the 3ph and the latter has simple brushes. The later if the brushes wear out are easy to replace, the former has a more reliable motor but potentially less reliable electronic wizardry.

I have the Fein 5" and 9" grinders (corded) and love both of them. The quick release system works perfectly, which for me is a major asset over others I have had / tried.

 

[No skills]

No love for Bosch blue in here?

They have been pretty slow in catching up with the brushless bandwagon, they have been floggin the same (updated with an anti kick/twist thing recently) brushed full sized combi for years now. The compact combi's have kept up with the times but not the big one - strange.

 

[DiscoStu]

I was talking to a chippy today and he was raving about Panasonic mainly due to their batteries. As he said they are an electronics company and know a lot about battery technology.


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[YorkieT]

My trusty Dewalt 14.4v drill recently died recently after many years of heavy use, I was on a bit of a tight budget so did a lot of research to try and get the best for the cash available, ended up buying a Stanley fatmax combo drill with 2 X 2amp batteries, 4amp batteries are available. I was so impressed that I have just bought the impact driver, not missed a beat so far and the batteries have not needed a top up charge since the first one despite driving in several dozen 4" screws and drilling numerous 13mm holes through 4" timber! As good as any Dewalt or Makita drill I have used in the past.
Excellent value for money at around £80 delivered and a 3 year warranty :shock:

 

[MMUK]

My trusty Dewalt 14.4v drill recently died recently after many years of heavy use, I was on a bit of a tight budget so did a lot of research to try and get the best for the cash available, ended up buying a Stanley fatmax combo drill with 2 X 2amp batteries, 4amp batteries are available. I was so impressed that I have just bought the impact driver, not missed a beat so far and the batteries have not needed a top up charge since the first one despite driving in several dozen 4" screws and drilling numerous 13mm holes through 4" timber! As good as any Dewalt or Makita drill I have used in the past.
Excellent value for money at around £80 delivered and a 3 year warranty :shock:

All's well until you realise they are re-branded and re-cased Black & Decker with a higher price tag :-"

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No love for Bosch blue in here?

I used to be nearly all Bosch Pro until about 4 years ago, then I just felt like they'd lost their way.

Most companies seem to go up and down like yo yos quality wise - I regularly use a thirty year old angle grinder, a nineteen year old jigsaw and a twenty five year old router, all Bosch blue. I cannot fault them.

 

[Wuffles]

No love for Bosch blue in here?

I used to be nearly all Bosch Pro until about 4 years ago, then I just felt like they'd lost their way.

Most companies seem to go up and down like yo yos quality wise - I regularly use a thirty year old angle grinder, a nineteen year old jigsaw and a twenty five year old router, all Bosch blue. I cannot fault them.

Yes I abused a blue grinder, an expensive one too at a whopping £30, for a good ten years before it expired. Those were the days

 

[Mark A]

Hi chaps,

I've been so busy lately I forgot about this thread...

Still haven't made a decision, but the Milwaukee fuel range is tempting.

Probably a daft question, but all the flagship models of cordless drills have so much torque now I wonder if they can handle diamond cores?

It's typical that I have three different rotary hammers but none can be set to rotation-only mode. Two can handle 6" TCT cores but I'd demolish the walls in the process!

Mark



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[Mark A]

On the subject of old power tools, I use at least one of the following every day:

1948 Ripsnorter,
1950s Tarplaner
2x 1950s B&D saws
1958 10" Wolf saw
1960s Stanley saw (fitted with a diamond blade for masonry)

:mrgreen:

 

[MikeJhn]

Diamond cores should never be used in any kind of drill that does not have a clutch, once a core gets a bit sideways in a hole and jambs the torque from the drill can give a very nasty sprain at least, and break you wrist at worst, I have actually seem someones arm broken, this was someone who said he had done this for years without a problem.

Macrist make vibration cores, not hammer cores, these cut a very nice clean hole without breakout or demolishing the rest of the wall.


Pic shows a 125mm hole through a 650mm limestone wall, could not believe how easy it was with the correct equipment.

Mike

 

[Oaktree11]

I have all Hitachi 18v cordless gear. Its really well made and very easy to use. I just bought the brushless circular saw and its awesome.
Bear in mind that Makita, Miwaukie etc are owned by a Singapore based conglomerate and the quality is reducung year on year.
There is a Canadian lunatic on youtube that tests gear in a novel and rather amusing way. He clearly knows his stuff technically take a look at some of his vids on power tools... here is one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JerVHGoj-d0
John

 

[AJB Temple]

Surely Milwaukee and (most of) Ryobi are owned by Techtronic, based in China? They also own AEG and Vax. Do they own Makita? That appears to be nothing to do with Techtronic (TTI).

 

[Oaktree11]

Sorry, I am probably wrong in the detail to be honest. The point I was trying to make is that (especially in the USA) the old traditional brand names are not what they were, the names have been sold and the products are not necessarily as they were in quality terms.
Brand names are now tangible assets and can be capitalised on a balance sheet
The Canadian guy strips down and examines in detail brands like Makita, Milwaukee, Bosch etc. Sometimes its surprising what he finds
John

 

[memzey]

All my 18v gear is Makita LiI-lon and it works a treat. Interestingly almost all tool hire companies use Makita as well which I think talks to the general durability and quality of their stuff.