Which 18v Kit

[owsnap]

well good luck with the kit, however had quick glance over the tool specs on that site and seems like just a regular average tools-nothing special about them..
also - 70 Minute Charger , is it for real? 70minutes to charge a battery?
the only good thing I can see is that the drill/impact are brushless, but again when comparing the specs they come on par with the almost the very cheapest makitas

£600 for that.. :|
adding it all up and when you would take the best models from makita range, it comes around the same price for the same type of tools- of course not put together as 1 kit which you can just buy with 1 click of a button

Well good luck either way
and congrats on a new kit.

Funny - as I read this I've just asked to return the kit and replace with this Makita kit http://www.its.co.uk/pd/6LMJ-Makita-18v ... AK6LMJ.htm (I got it cheaper than shown).

My reason really being the lack of LED on the jigsaw... A small thing maybe but it was going to bug me and I knew I'd regret it. The fact the charger was 70min was something I had overlooked initially but now adds weight to it going back. Shame as the tools were good ergonomically and I liked it being brushless on the drill and impct.

Now the Nakita kit is all brushed but I figured we got this far in life with brushed tools so why stress the little stuff!! The circ saw and jigsaw both have LEDs so all work will be well illuminated.

I do feel I have to challenge your view on the drills being ordinary though. The Dewalt on the previous kit and this Makita fit my needs. Enough torque for most things I will do and both come with metal gears, leds and decent chucks (although the Makita is rubber). I don't need or more important want a big heavy drill. What use is a big drill that could be used to mix plaster or drill 4 inch core holes in concrete if all I need to do is drill 25 MM holes in joists, 5.5mm holes in brick or 65mm holes on plaster board? I have an 8lbs sledge that can smash the granny out of a brick wall but it's useless if I'm assembling furniture or tapping chisels when cleaning out dovetails.....

in terms of buying all the bits separately - really depends on how you do it as I've often seen savings eroded by delivery charges of I'm buying from 4 or 5 different retailers.

I'll feed back on the Makita kit for anyone that's interested.

Oh damn man... can you possibly return it again?
there are A LOT of problems with that kit-
the drill, it's a flop for the makita range, it has some serious faults with it , chuck that will soon become loose+not much power+ it's a very very cheapo unit!
impact driver- again it's a cheapo unit, yes it's new brushless unit but again it's a cheapo unit, there is one which is a model up which has some super sweet functions (like smart/variable impact screw driving etc..)
jigsaw- it's a seriously super super old model that wasn't even that good, there are some super sweet jigsaws for makita now!
circular saw- also there was a much better one which only cost like £5 more,but it's not that bad , just could get a better one for almost the same price..
hammer drill- I have no idea how good/bad it is.


I feel like there's not much choice if you want to buy a pre-packaged kit as most of them are like this-from cheapo end.
btw 99% of the online websites don't charge for shipping if you buy over a certain amount, like £50+ I don't think you would need to pay any shipping charges at all if you built a kit yourself.


These are the units I would buy myself:
Makita DHP481Z drill -around £110 depending on place
Makita DTD154Z impact -£115 http://www.tools4trade.co.uk/makita-dtd ... -unit.html
Makita DJV182Z /Makita DJV181 jigsaw depending on which body you want - about £163 depending on place

Go ahead and pull up those model names and compare with what you have bought...
I feel like it's a large enough sum to do a proper research and buy tools that are top of the range, not just as a complete kit which is easier? to buy with just 1 click yet where they just package inside some utter old cheapo garbage...

 

[LJM]

I'm all for progress etc, but why do manufacturers offer so many slightly different models? If they feel each has its own strengths, why don't they highlight and differentiate?? One of the down sides I see is that the lesser models in the professional ranges let the others down; how many times on threads such as this, has someone related bad experience with Brand-X? Often that experience, I've noticed, relates to the cheaper 'pro' tools.

Anyway, I use Makita, partly because of ergonomics, partly availability when I first bought. These days, alongside DeWalt, they seem one of the most widely sold brands and so retailers can offer better prices on these than others. Of course, price isn't everything. But value is certainly up there; this includes support.

My father's local dealer (Toolite, Mitcheldean) offer excellent customer support, but this is particularly so with DeWalt, because they sell so much of it (so DeWalt in tern support them well, with no quibble). And they can usually match an online price, or will get as close as they can.

So as well as being careful to compare like with like, be sure that the tools you're looking at fit your needs, and consider whether downtime on a tool (perhaps sending back to an online supplier) is a problem for you. Then choose the brand whose ergonomics work for you.

 

[Petey83]

Just an update on this - am swapping the drill out for a DHP458. Although the DHP482 seems ok the chuck did feel flimsy and some extra digging has thrown up a few more reports of chucks breaking and not being repaired under warranty by Makita. The 458 is heavier than I really wanted I guess I'll just need to get down the gym more!

 

[MMUK]

One of the problems with Makita (which I use and recommend by the way) Is that they don't tell you what are there DIY, light duty, heavy duty lines and I think it is very confusing. I'm sure other makes may be similar. Even in their LXT 18v stuff, there are differnent qualities of tools, they're not all the same.

Problem? Surely if you're investing professional money in cordless kit, you take the time to research the products to find out the specs? If people don't check the specs before they buy, it's hardly Makita's fault.

 

[MMUK]

I posted in another similar thread. I was seriously looking at getting the Makita DHP480 which is not one of their cheaper offerings until I read about their wobbly chucks. It's mentioned on this comparison review at 11:30. The wobble is terrible for a drill of this price. I guess it varies on each drill but if I got a bad one or it went bad after a year I'd be gutted. It is a great shame because Makita have one of the widest ranges of cordless tools.
This could be an example of the drop in quality over the years where the older brushed drills were designed and built to a much higher standard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBU7VC51YwE

-Neil

I have 3 DHP480s and none of them have any chuck wobble at all :?

 

[MMUK]

Well guys It's all your fault, you made me do research on the newest/best tools there is and I'm making now pictures to list all my old makita kit for sale, will put some money extra and buy the following:

Makita DHP481Z -£108
Makita DTD154Z -£115
new charger- £32


The used cordless tool market is just damn weird, seems like I can sell my old stuff & add maybe 30% and buy brand new stuff again with new warranty,the latest&best models and of course everything new and shiny.
oh well quite unexpected, but why not

I'd be interested in what the DTD154 is like. I'm considering updating my DTD129 for one of them.

I have two of them but the USA models (£63 each inc import duty). Lightweight, fast, battery life phenomenal. Only problem is I can't find any impact driver bits that cope for more than a week without snapping.

 

[MMUK]

Petey83

An impact will be well used if you get into commercial sparking, self drilling screws into steel are quicker and easier (but louder ) with an impact driver - spade bits and small forstners with a hex fitting will drop into an impact for tight space joist drilling.

Good luck with the job change - I hope to be able to scrape enough cash for a domestic installers course next year, fingers crossed

It's a domestic installers course I am doing with the commercial / 3 phase system modules attached so I can do commercial but won't be qualified to design commercial instillations. Costing me £3k and is Saturdays and Sunday classes so I'll be a busy boy in the new year. Plan is to stay in the office job for a bit and try and pick up little jobs like light fittings or periodic tests etc at weekends.

Best of luck. My advice though, don't bother with domestic electrics - there's just too much hassle and paperwork these days. I've completely ditched the domestic electrical work now, apart from the odd job for friends, and concentrate on commercial and industrial stuff instead. Money is so much better too.

 

[Petey83]

Petey83

An impact will be well used if you get into commercial sparking, self drilling screws into steel are quicker and easier (but louder ) with an impact driver - spade bits and small forstners with a hex fitting will drop into an impact for tight space joist drilling.

Good luck with the job change - I hope to be able to scrape enough cash for a domestic installers course next year, fingers crossed

It's a domestic installers course I am doing with the commercial / 3 phase system modules attached so I can do commercial but won't be qualified to design commercial instillations. Costing me £3k and is Saturdays and Sunday classes so I'll be a busy boy in the new year. Plan is to stay in the office job for a bit and try and pick up little jobs like light fittings or periodic tests etc at weekends.

Best of luck. My advice though, don't bother with domestic electrics - there's just too much hassle and paperwork these days. I've completely ditched the domestic electrical work now, apart from the odd job for friends, and concentrate on commercial and industrial stuff instead. Money is so much better too.

Well the course I'm doing allows me to work on industrial but not design electrical instillations. The plan is to pick up some small jobs at weekends and hopefully get in with a few estate agents in the area for periodic reports and the like whilst staying in the desk job Monday to Friday. The money I earn at weekends hopefully will pay for me or at least partially pay for me to do the course for commercial design qualification.

 

[RossJarvis]

I'd be interested in what the DTD154 is like. I'm considering updating my DTD129 for one of them.

I have two of them but the USA models (£63 each inc import duty). Lightweight, fast, battery life phenomenal. Only problem is I can't find any impact driver bits that cope for more than a week without snapping.

Hadn't thought of importing from US, they're fairly easy to get from Japan and in fairy colours too. The one I've got can kill bits in seconds flat. I'd hope the variable power of the 154 may reduce that.