Our Makita, a valuable member of our team, is beginning to sluff off. After all, it is only a 9.6V and has been called on to do some pretty heavy stuff. While we won't send him packing, he needs a younger more powerful helper.
Makita has been great, but I know many better, faster drivers with even longer life batteries are being sold these days. Any suggestions? Brand names?
[ November 07, 2005, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: Rick Beisiegel ]
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Rick...I was in the same situation as you last week..My Makita 9.6V batteries were getting to the point of needing charging after about 5 minutes of running.
I considered buying a couple of new batteries, but (and I know this doesn't help you) Canadian Tire had a sale on 18 volt cordless drill/drivers with 2 batteries and charger, keyless chuck, variable speed and 10 point adjustable clutch. $34.95
I couldn't buy half a Makita battery for that price!
I don't expect it or it's batteires will last as long as the ole Makita, but for the price I'll just toss it when it bites the dust.
Posted by Tim Whitcher (Member # 685) on :
I have a Milwaukee that works great. Stick with the name brands in professional tools, and you'll do alright. I bought a cheap ($50.00) no-name 18 volt, and it was dead (literally burnt up) after driving 200 or so screws.
Posted by Steve Racz (Member # 4376) on :
Festool is a "top-of-the-line" tool company. I've been doing some research on their tools based on some old posts from the board. They are pricey but probably worth it. Check out this link: http://www.festoolusa.com/easier.aspx
I've noticed the builder on This Old House TV show using them from time to time (although he probably gets them for free).
Posted by Bill Modzel (Member # 22) on :
I have two decent Craftsman drills that the batteries have crapped out after two years. I have a Skill 12 volt that I bought at least 10 years ago that works great yet. In fact, I use the batteries to power my fish finder when I ice fish. A lot lighter to haul around than a wet cell.
I also have a 14v Ryobi that I'm quite happy with too.
Posted by Philip Swanson (Member # 6097) on :
Having worked in the heavy equipment field as a mechanic cordless drills and impact guns were very common.A friend of mine swore by Dewalt,they make a great product, are well balanced have a one hour charge time and usually come with two batteries,on the downside they are fairly expensive. I used a Craftsman 18v 1/2 inch chuck drill for about 5 or 6 years and its still going strong. I would definatly go with something thats 18v or higher and has a one hour charge time with an extra battery.Some companys also make cordless hammer drills but I would go with a quality brand because they need to take a lot of abuse. Good luck !
Posted by Bruce Williams (Member # 691) on :
I've seen more DeWalts and Milwaukees on big jobsites over the past 3 years.
Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :
We've used nothing but DeWalts for the last 10 years or so. They are priced well and last through a LOT of abuse. I don't think they are the machine they once were... but that seems to be the way of the future.
-grampa dan
[ November 07, 2005, 05:47 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
Posted by Checkers (Member # 63) on :
Hiya Rick, It really depends on what you want to do with them. I love the power of the 18-24v tools, but man, they get heavy pretty darn quick! For ~90% of my drilling I use a 14.4v Black & Decker (the same guys who make DeWalt) firestorm drill. It came as part of a combo kit, but I'm sure it can be purchased seperately. I use a Dewalt corded drill for anything that requires serious drilling power or a lot of drilling time. If you're into serious cordless work, wait until January and check this 36v system out... http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/press_release.asp?Site=cordless&ID=1411
Havin' fun,
Checkers
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
me and mac modzel agree on somethin.....imagine that!!! 14.4 RYOBI!!!! i bought the 14.4 drill and light for $99 in 2002 i think, i loaned the drill to a guy who cranked the chuck so tight i couldnt undo it....so i went and bought the RYOBI 14.4 drill, 5" saw and light for $99 last year. the w batties from the 1st one still work so now i got 4 batteries instead of 2....and that little 5" saw is awesome.....and as checkers said....14.4 is plenty powerful, and no where near as heavy as 18V or 24V. lets face it folks...we buy these for PORTABLITY more then any thing. SEARS are RYOBI..in disguise....you notice in sears you dont see any RYOBI PRODUCTS? if i had the money...MILWALKEE,is best. for corded hand tools you cant get better then HILTI.
Posted by Suelynn Sedor (Member # 442) on :
I have a mastercraft and a 14V Makita and just purchased an 18V Dewalt hammer drill. The dewalt makes the other two feel like toys! This sucka has power!!!!!
Suelynn
Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :
My cordless hammerdrill is about handiest tool you could have. I's a porter/cable 19.2 volt and I use it to drill holes in masonry walls, drive lag bolts, etc. it has more than enough power and I've had it for 3 or 4 years with no trouble at all.
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
I have a Bosch 14v cordless with a back up battery....real workhorse.
Rapid
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
I had three 7.2 volt Makitas, and they all died on me over time, (batteries lost charge holding ability & gears seized up) but in those days there weren't many brands to choose from. In the early 1990s they were $200 each.
I bought an el-cheapo 14.4 one with two batteries for about $90, which had a 2 year warranty. The switch is kaput now- it only works in reverse- and do you think I can find the receipt!
I used a Skil one the other day and it was pricey but QUALITY, and really nice - long lasting & gutsy.
Posted by David Wright (Member # 111) on :
I have always depended greatly on cordless drills and have done a lot of research recently to replace my 18v DeWalt hammerdrill. I agree with Dan that they are not what they used to be.
If a hammerdrill is not a necessity, Panasonic, of all companys, has a very high rating with a very long lasting battery. I believe it is around a 15v or so.
It looks like for me an 18v Milwaukee hammerdrill is going to fill the bill. Reverseable battery positions, great torque and all the other features I need.
Posted by William DeBekker (Member # 3848) on :
Have had my Milwaukee for over 4 years and still going strong even after it tried to comit suicide from 40 feet up. A little Duct Tape to Hold the High/Low Switch in Postion. Not an Ounce of Problems.. Have been looking at their new line looks Very Nice with a 15 Min Charge.. New type of battery now. (I want to say Lithium Ion or something. But tried out thier Riciprocating saw and Circular saw in the kit and was way impressed)
Posted by FranCisco Vargas (Member # 145) on :
Rick, not sure of when Makita will come around when they set up a tent, but I just happen to stop by and ended up buying what I would say is one of the BADDEST drill I ever used it's a Mikita Cordless IMPACT drill 14.4 V and came with a 14.4v cordless drill. The rep showed me the power of the little baby. It's small, easy to hold but with POWER! It doesn't have a set up for a drill bit but there is an attachment that you can slip on, so I said if you throw in the attachment I'll buy it. He threw it in the box and said "there u go" Now for heavier drilling like lags in Tilt-Up Concrete, I ended up getting a Mikita Rotary Hammer Drill, that's baby is Sweet, slamms into the concrete like butter! I used to have a Mikita Hammer drill, it's good but for tilt up, I was working to hard. So if you get a chance to check out the impact drill, it even has a little light in the front when drilling.
Posted by DianeBalch (Member # 1301) on :
We have a Porter Cable- been good! We have had it 8 years. Had to replace the battery $80. We also bought a Hitachi which has been better than the Porter Cable.($89 at Lowes or Home Depot) 2 years ago. It even came with a light that uses the same battery. The Hitachi came with 2 batteries, carrying case, cloth bag and light. It is lighter weight.
Diane
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
My makita 14v has finally decided to get uncependable.
A recent purchase of a Ryobi has proven to be impressive. The 18v Ryobi circular saw seems to be a tool I don't know how I've lived this long without.
The 9.6v tools don't have enough power for my general needs.
Posted by Jason Davie (Member # 2172) on :
Thers nothing better than DeWalt 14.4 or 18. We have 6 of them and they are great. We use thm in both signs and construction.. Make sure to get the 1/2 model and not the 3/8 The head also ratchets down on the drill bit for a much tighter hold.. Its great.
Jason D
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
Well, it seems the masses prefer DeWalt or Ryobi. I spotted a Ridgid 14.4 w/2 batteries and a 20 min charger. Anybody ever use Ridgid? It's a pretty good deal.
Posted by Patrick Whatley (Member # 2008) on :
I bought the Ryobi circular saw/drill/light combo a couple of months ago. The saw quit working after only being run over with the truck one time.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Pat,
You didn't read the disclaimer not to store it with your Weber squeegee?
I always bought DeWalts until I had to replace some batteries. An entire Ryobi set at Home Depot was less than a DeWalt battery. I now have a bunch of 18V Ryobis. A couple of batteries went out but Home Depot replaced them.
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
18V RYOBI here - just bought the new 18V hammer Drill - heavy but great tool - my 2 old regular 18's have taken alot of abuse & still go, although the oldest has wore out chuck & only runs forward. RYOBI also has affordable batteries, you can buy single or 2 for about 10 bucks more.
Posted by Dale Manor (Member # 4858) on :
I run a lab in a university and we put all of our equipment through hell on a daily basis. I have been there for 6 years and all we ever use is Dewalt cordless drills. We are still using 12V mainly because we have 15 batteries laying around for 6 drills. We also have 2 right angle Dewalt cordless drills.
they take a lot of abuse and hold up well...even the new "lighter" models.
Now dewalt miter saws on the other hand I wouldn't own!
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Speaking of DeWalt miter saws, a friend of mine just got his arm mangled by a brand new one last week. He was doing some trim work and the spring that holds the saw up failed. The still running blade dropped down on his arm, cutting into a tendon and the bone.
Two friends of mine (one is an employee) had major surgery last week but Mike did his own with the saw. All three ended up in the same hospital concurrently. The only easy part of the week was that visiting everyone was quite simple since they were all in one place.
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
I love this place! Now, I go shopping armed with good information. You gotta love the voices of experience.
Posted by Jake Lyman (Member # 3280) on :
Whatever you do don't buy DeWalt from Home Depot. They dictate to DeWalt what they are going to pay for their product so DeWalt cheapens them up. A friend of mine repairs power tools and he can tell when a DeWalt tool comes in if it was bought at Home Depot by the plastic gears in it the others usually have some form of metal he told me. He also rents tools and only rents Milwaukee which is what I have. 18V cordless hammer drill (Milwaukee) tons of power and not as heave as a craftsmen I have that has only half the power.
Posted by Jay Allen (Member # 195) on :
We've tried them all and Makita has, by far, performed the best for us. The batteries outlast the others and the abuse they take is about equal with a few others. Dewalt, Porter Cable, Milwaukee, Bosch - we've used all the contractor grade brands - and Makita is the most solid.
Everybody likes their individual tools - but you have to have tried many to select one. We deal with a lot of contractors sicne we're so tied to construction. Makita is the dominant choice among the workers - but not always what management buys!!
We still get the old long-handled Makita drills on eBay for cheap - because we don't like the heavier batteries and configuration in the newer Makita models. And you can still get batteries!!
You've gotten more than two cents worth with all these answers!! Good luck choosing.
[ November 08, 2005, 09:58 AM: Message edited by: Jay Allen ]
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
I actually gave my first Makita to my son when he bought a house last spring. It was the long handled 9.6V. I had purchased a new one when I was out of town on a job, and it was cheaper to buy a new Makita locally than to go back and get mine which I had forgotten. My only complaint is that the 9.6 dosen't hold up to repeated screw installation. Slows down after 30 or 40. I am thinking more voltage is the answer. (MORE POWER!!!!)
Posted by Tom Giampia (Member # 2007) on :
We had an "Assortment" of brands that we collected over the years ranging from no names to craftsman to ryobi and dewalt.
I finally got tired of not having the right battery or charger on the job so I took all of the miscelleneous tools home to my shop and bought 18 volt DEWALT (2)drills, (2)hammer drills, sawsall and circular saw.
Now we have 6 bateries and 4 chargers that are all the same. It saves alot of time in the field having all those extra bateries!
The DEWALTS are heavy but they have taken alot of abuse and still perform well.
I got most of them as "Factory Re-Conditioned" at a good discount from www.toolking.com . Good selection, fast delivery, solid customer service.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
The best thing about Dewalt is the color...hard to lose those dudes!
I've always liked Dewalt and Porter-Cable. Love Craftsman hand tools (mechanic's tools -- rachets wrenches, etc) but not as crazy about their power tools. Haven't had a lot of experience with Milwaukee but from the comments here it looks like a VERY solid brand as well.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
all sears power tools are made by "name brand" companies, and labled CRAFTSMAN. sears doesnt manafacture anything. most of sears battery powered is RYOBI. their auto batteries are made by GENERAL BATTERY, which also makes them for K-MART, NAPA, and used to make them for oil companies that sold their own brand of batteries at gas stations, like GULF, SUNOCO,TEXECO. years ago sears chain saws were made by ECHO. now i think they are POULANS(junk). the CRAFTSMAN HAND TOOLS at one time was made by NEW BRITIAN TOOL CO., same people who make NAPA hand tools and STANLEY!!! same with sears appliances...best to do youre homework when buying sears...some years they are made with great quality...then other years in can be junk.
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Any suggestions? Brand names? ![[Thanks]](graemlins/thanks.gif)
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