Need a new drill driver
 

I need a new drill driver. The B&D unit I bought for a track repair at walmart is crap and I'm ready to stomp it.

I've had good luck with Dewalts (yes I know they are made on the same lines as the B&D stuff), Hitachi's here at work, and Mikita's. I like the mid voltage units, 12-14v vs the 18+, less weight and longer run times. I've never needed stump pulling torque with a driver.

What do you guys have and like?

Bosch or Milwaukee are what I'd use.

I like to buy American whenever possible however I don't think that is possible when buying power tools anymore.

I have had excellent luck with Makita, used them in construction for years dropped them off ladders/rooftops, drug them though dirt/dust and they lasted for years. I presume they still have the same quality. Bosch also make a excellent drill.

And yes the big monster battery drills are silly/stupid. I have a 6V B&D here at work that the guys are always borrowing because they can't fit there big macho drill into some little space where they need to work.

Have a 18V Dewalt and an old 12V Bosch. also a 14V firestorm Just picked up a Rigid I'll see how that holds up. the Dewalt is pretty much bullet proof. Stay away from B+ D Firestorm, they are not bad drills, but they change the battery configuration on them too often. Hard to get batteries afterwards. The Craftsman prfessional series are also excellent drills.

Back in '91 I bought a B&D sander that lasted all of 45 minutes. I returned it to the store and was told that B&D had turned to real garbage since the company had been bought by Clorox? or some other non-tool company. I don't know if it's still true, but I've steered clear of B&D ever since.

As for Walmart equipment, you know that a lot of what they sell is built on a separate line in order to keep costs down. Quality suffers. I've heard that Levi jeans sold at Walmart aren't even close in quality to the Levis sold at, say, Mervyns.

I like DeWalt a whole lot. I've got the 14V cordless drill that I really like, but I think I'd have been happier with the 18V version.

My Ridgid is terrible (the battery life is extremely short) and the DeWalt I had was awful. Makita or Bosch is the way to go!

Love Makita, and love light weight. I have the 9.6v Makita drill and 9.6V electric impact. For heavy work, I've got air tools and a $20 1/2" Harbor Freight 120v drill with hammer drill. I'm amazed at how much car & house maintenance work you can get done with 9.6v.

Never tell someone your Ridgid is terrible....besides, they have treatments for that now.....

Pro, where would one find such a set?

i'll second what procon said. That little impact driver is awesome!

I have owned many brands and Makita is the only one I would buy.
Dave

I've owned dewalts & makitas, problem is the batteries only last two years or so, and replacement batteries are typically 80% of the cost of a new drill.

This time I bought Ryobi 14.4 drill/saw/vac/light/sawzall combo at home depo, around $150 with two batteries. Still going strong 18 months later.

are these actually impact wrenches?

Nobody uses Panasonic??? We've been using these for years (drill motors, circular saw, hammer drill) with good results.

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/cordless-drill-reviews/

Either Festool or Fein if you want something REALLY nice.

Fein and Festool drills

What kind of torque capabilities are you looking at with some of these, is 240 ft/lbs adequate or do you need more for the car stuff? DeWalt gets tricky, they give the torque in in/lbs so you have to do some math to see what you are really getting.