The only downside to the Makita I posted is that it doesn't have any built in bit storage. I'm told if you call Makita they will send you a stretch on bandito bit holder for free though. The led light that is trigger activated seams like a gimmick at fist look but is really really helpful! It's a great idea.

Go to Home Depot and handle them though, you won't believe the size difference. The Makita 18V is smaller than my old 9.6v DeWalt and makes the 18v DeWalt look like a mailbox.

Right now Costco has a nice deal on a Lithium Ion Makita kit which consists of the 18v drill, Sawzall, flashlight, and impact for $349.00. Comes in a nice carrying bag. I'm sorely tempted to get one even though I don't need it. Cordless sawzalls are unbelievably handy. Impact wrenches are very nice too.

I use mainly Milwaukee 14.4 drills. Nice and durable, and well balanced. I have a 15.6 Panosonic hammer drill. It's okay, but has less torque than the Milwaukee drills. I love using other's Dewalt 18v drills. Way more power than my Milwaukee, but kinda heavy.

The Makita looks like the best of all worlds.

Unless you have current tools that you want to match, you're a fool if you buy something with NiCad batteries. The Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer batteries give longer run times, are smaller, and can take full cycles (i.e. run them dead then charge). My father in law is a contractor and has a huge variety of 18V DeWalt cordless stuff. Everything from drills to impact drivers to saws to a vacuum. He has the XRP batteries and has trouble keeping them charged and working. He claims that he's lucky to have the batteries last 6-months before they need replaced, but he has so many tools it would cost a fortune to switch brands.

I have a Milwalkee 18V hammer-drill and 6 1/2" circular saw. Both are superior to his DeWalt tools in their construction and performance. However, I have killed 2 NiCad batteries so far, and my 3rd is slowly dying. Fortunately Milwalkee is nice enough to offer a Lithium battery that is compatible with their old NiCad tools, so I can cheaply upgrade without replacing everything. I also have a Makita 12V impact driver, both NiCad batteries were shot after several years. Otherwise it is a quality tool.

Whatever you buy, price it on Tool Crib. They are typically cheaper than Home Depot or Lowes, and a great company to deal with.

I always bought Makita until I tried the new impact drill drivers from dewalt. If you try one you'll become a believer.

I'm surprised to hear that. I have the 18v DeWalt impact and it's just ok. I didn't do any shopping around before I bought it because I had always just bought DeWalt. But once I did some research I found it was among the least powerful. It works fine but is terribly big to be underpowered compared to the competition.

I just bought mine and I don't know the model #. It is, however, very small. I have actually marveled at how small it is (excepting the battery). I don't know how such a small motor can have so much power.

I also have a 8-10 year old 14.4V Makita, but it has no where near the torque (nor the impact feature and neat little LED light) that the Dewalt has.

FWIW, my son has had fun driving 2.5" screws clear through 2/4's with the Dewalt.

The small hammer models drive screws in the hammer mode quite well. A carpenter doing concrete forms used his on the hammer mode and it never spun in the drywall type screws he used. When stripping the forms after the pour, the hammer mode got into the screw head a lot better than conventional. After seeing this, I want to buy a hammer model.

The new Makitas are a totally new design from the old sea foam blue models, don't base this comparison on those. It sounds to me like you have the small 3/8 impact where I have the huge 18v 1/2 inch impact. It can take most lug nuts off but not all, it is a very nice tool to have around though.

Makita also makes the hammer models. I know it sounds like I own stock in the company, but I really am impressed. My buddy is a lifelong finish carpenter and he used mine for a couple days and was stunned, said it was far and away the best he'd ever used. The small size is the biggest eye opener, it fits in places it shouldn't while being som powerful.

Maybe they've changed alot, but I've had a 14.4v Porter Cable for over 10 years and the original batteries still hold a full days charge. Just 3/8" though and not a hammer drill. Paid quite a bit for it, but I've beat it, dropped it, left it out in the rain and snow and cold, just lube it and charge the batteries. Still works great. I'd buy another.

Karl
88 Targa

Not sure on the price but that sounds like a decent deal. I know that those impacts are kick butt. My dad has several of the drills and the impacts. He also has a Porta-band that uses those batteries. That is by far the coolest of all of that stuff if you have a use for it. They also make an angle grinder and a flourescent drop light that use those batteries. So far all the stuff holds up great and Has an excellent power to weight ratio. My dad is a Makita Fanatic. I mentioned all those other brands in the earlier post but by far he has the most makita stuff. He has like 9.6, 12,14, makita chop saws, and a makita chain saw(gas). Makita seems to hold up the best and their factory service centers are pretty good too.

Thanks guys. I finally went to Homedepot and got this deal, below. I think the drill is the same as the one lendaddy recommend. I did check on the lithium battery and turn out Makita has better price than Dewalt. Makita is $100 while Dewalt is $150. The cheaper Dewalt batter is ni-cad battery. Also, it is smaller and lighter compare to Dewalt as lendaddy said. I do like the look of the Dewalt, the look of "contruction". I am not sure what the impact drill does that the normal drill can't but it's only $50 bucks more for another machine and a battery, it should be a good deal. The guy there told me it has more torque in case there is something you can't do with the normal drill. BTW, local Homedepot has better price then their website.
Again, thanks all for opinions.

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...50d39a_300.jpg

Nice set, I wish I had bought it that way.

The other is (I think)a 3/8" impact, use use it with sockets when disassembling.....well anything. They are very very nice to have around. Think of it as a very powerful, high-speed, cordless ratchet rather than a drill.

I've had the Makita 18V lithium for about a year now (reasonably heavy use) and have noticed battery run-time diminishing rapidly. For some jobs, I'm taking my charger with me; when new, the battery charger stayed at home as the two batteries always got me through the day.

I think the light weight will still be worth the "short" battery lifespan -- but I'll see if I still feel that way when I need to buy new batteries.

I've had similar problems with the lithium batteries in cell phones. They seem to have a rapidly decreasing ability to store energy after about a year of use.

Makes me wonder about some of the electric cars being produced with lithium battery packs. But I guess anyone buying something like a Tesla, can afford new batteries every year!

Note on the Makita: That 18V light-weight drill -- along with the new color scheme for Makita -- was originally designed to appeal to women. They thought they were going to sell drills to an underdeveloped segment of the cordless drill market.

I hope that doesn't make me a "girly-man" for owning one!

The impact drill is 1/4" and the "hole" doesn't look like the 4 edges air impact gun/ratchet which can fit the socket. It has 6 edges and is much smaller. It look more like the screw driver type socket. I am not sure how to use it with socket.
If I need a saw, I think the costco package is the better deal. $100 bucks more, you get a saw and another battery. The battery alone is $100 bucks.

Buy an adapter that has the 1/4 hex head on one end and a 1/4 or 3/8 socket adapter on the other, they're easy to find. The 1/4 hex on the impact driver is the same size as the bits that fit into a magnetic screwdriver or bit-holder on your drill. An impact driver is the best tool on earth for driving screws or lags. Smaller tool but more power than a conventional drill. Once you try it you'll understand.

matt,
look like this is what you are talking about. Do you think it will as strong as an air impact gun, or even close? If so, I can avoid the heavy air compressor huh.

http://www.toolking.com/images/Produ...iumgp71038.jpg

alright, so I expereience Dewalt and Makita. Now we need another cordless drill. I went to Home Depot to ask and found that Home Depot has it's own brane called Rigid. The nice thing about Rigit, Home Depot, drill is that the batery is life time warranty. If it's dead, all you have to do is bring it back to the store and they hand you a new batery. 2 people actually own it said that the power and everything are the same between Dewalt, Makita, and Rigit.
Anyone experience Rigit and one of the 2 brands, Dewalt and Makita, can give comments?
How about the different between the compact, and none-compact drill? How is the auto-shift model works?
Thanks.

Good time for a thread like this! My years old Makita 9.6v cordless (yes I know, its older than dirt) gave up the ghost...

Now to look for a newer and better cordless model!

Again.... We have used them all.... Buy the 18v zebra makita stuff.


Rigid may have a lifetime battery warranty but the tools are heavy and the battery life isn't that great.

Funny you should say that, the classic 9.6v. The one that started it all. I would like a new one but it just keeps running. Need to drop it from a ladder or something!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1280082905.jpg
:p