you can get the battery cells replaced by local independent shops
for about 1/2 price of a new manufacturers battery

donot part discharge and recharge the batterys
use them until dead and only then recharge fully
or they get a part charged memory effect [ ni-cads]

Check the paper, Lowes & HD are having major sales on them tomorrow..

A mix of both is needed to cover it all.

A corded Dewalt can be had for $60 iirc that does everything I ask of it.

My cordless 18v Dewalt works like a champ for work and play as well. I used it the other day helping a friend set up a metal garage. His batteries wore out several times while mine was stronger and lasted in one charge. His was a smaller, lower voltage brand.

Cordless tools...
 

I was a factory rep for Milwaukee for 5 years. Here's my advice. Stick to a quality industrial brand. Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch, etc. Lithium Ion is the only way to go on the batteries. They have a much longer shelf life than nicad. Do not worry about the full charge-drain, memory thing. That is an old wives tale based from the old cell phone batteries. Power tool batteries have never had a memory effect. When you drain them you are just wasting a cycle of battery life. When you are looking to buy. Check the manufacturers web site and local industrial distributors. There is almost always a buy one get one deal going. You buy a tool and mail in for a free bare tool. They will also run a trade in deal from time to time where you can trade in a junk tool for a rebate. $100 off is pretty common. These usually go through local industrial distributors. Keep an eye out. If you can stack these promotions, it can turn out to be a sick deal.

i"ve had very good luck with hitatchi (from lowes).....one drill motor went out after much abuse and i discovered (by a call to hitatchi usa, not lowes) that they all have a 5 year warranty.
imo makita is nothing like it used to be, i went through 3 makita drills over the past 5 years.......10 years ago i held a different opinion about them.

Lots of good advice above. I have a Panasonic 15.6V drill that is really really good. It has tons of guts and is small and light. As a person who is slow to adopt new technology, I went years without a cordless drill. Now? I use my corded drill less than once per year. It is a dinosaur. A nice cordless will do virtually anything you ask it.

Larry

You have to go up to Mountclair to Tools-r-us. I got talking to their sale guy at our shop 2 weeks ago and decided to try their Milwaukee 18V drill. The battery is small and the drill has great balance. We ended up getting 3 pairs of drills and impact drivers. I tell you I am a big fan of Makita up until two weeks ago. The Milwaukee is very, very nice. plenty of power. The drill and impact driver combo kit is still on sale. call them. If you like tools, you gotta check out this place. They have only industrial tools and no junk. I think it was $ 109 or was it $190. I don't remember, but they are sure worth the money. Non of our guys use the corded drill much anymore unless they are drilling 3" hole through a 4x material. We go and get the big Super Holehog.

I like Panasonic, but the newer Li Ion-powered tools are superb. They're so light.

If I were buying again, I'd consider Panasonic, Makita, and maybe Milwaukee. My only complaint with Milwaukee is their slide towards power and volts over weight. The 28 volt Milwaukee will twist screws like no tomorrow, but they're so damn heavy. I have a slim build and smaller arms, and I don't want to be fighting a heavy drill, when the Makita and Panasonic can do everything I need at half the weight.

Hard to beat this deal..

Shop DEWALT 18-Volt 1/2" Cordless Drill with Case at Lowes.com Friday Values

Lowes.com - We're Overwhelmed with Holiday Joy Support-_-HP_Area_2-_-Over_300_Deals_Shop_All&cm_cr=Homepage+1.2-_-Web+Activity-_-Homepage+A2+Activity+Black+Friday-_-HomePage_Area2-_-10602_3_PROMO_TopBlackFridayDeals

This one too:

Lowes.com - We're Overwhelmed with Holiday Joy

Battery circular saws are at the bottom of my list. Not fast enough to make a real clean cut and don't last too long. 2nd to those are the battery recip saws. But, if one came in a kit, I'd take it. Flashlights are not a waste. I use one all the time and I hate D cell batteries.

Hammer drills are all the rage now for driving screws. It does work better, especially with Phillips head. But, if for nothing else, get a 3/8" chuck battery drill of a good make. Everyone should have one of those.

Newest out in the battery field is the multi tool. Don't have one yet, but I'm thinking about it.

I think I'll go to the Home Defect and see what the gig is.

^^^ True, but for someone that needs to cut a few boards here and there, the circular and recip saws can be handy. Especially when the cutting is not close to a power outlet.

They are all a compromise and have there uses.

Just go back, picked up the radio/battery charges and the 100 piece Bit kit.:p

Compact design and light weight are code words for smaller cap batteries on the DeWalts. 18 volts but less time to recharge.

I have a shop full of De Walt 18 Volt tools. I get the batteries rebuilt for $45 from Intersate.

If you shop around. Dewalt runs deals on two packs of 18V batteries regularly for $99. Sometimes $89. You have to be a little cautious whe you get batteries rebuilt. The cells are often not the quality or amp hours of the originals from the manufacturer.

Milt,

I am a huge fan of the Muti tool. I wanted one way before they had the dumb infomercials. Fein is a fine, fine tool. I now also own a Bosch cordless muti tool. They do the job of a Sawall but with much better precision. I use it to cut moulding and hidden nails mostly. I never use the sander or grout removal tool. That's all the tool is really good for but if it ever breaks, I will have another immediately.

Jeff

Well, I'll just wade into this and throw the name Black & Decker into the debate.

On the side I partially own a company that owns rental places, and we occasionally fix and flip houses. I do things like install toilets, lights, blinds, do minor plumbing work, take apart and repair major appliances [I'm real damn good at replacing dryer belts~], and I get to climb on roofs and snake toilets on a regular basis.

Installing blinds requires me to drill into drywall vertically; I use my 18 volt B&D hammer-drill for this and it works great. The only caveat: You HAVE to clean the chuck if powdered dry-wall contaminates it! I installed about 125 blinds in 2008-2009, and didn't clean the chuck on this drill- it eventually locked up and I had to buy a new one. This thing looks cheesy, but it is a workhorse! The batteries last a long time, and as long as you keep the chuck lubricated, it works great. This things' hammer drill feature is a HUGE advantage, and it was $99!

Hello?

N!

I bought this set for $100 a while back. Now it's $2 bucks less :D. Not sure how long it'll last, but I am happy with the power and everything else beside the battery time. I have to switch the battery every several mins, no big deal since it comes with 2 batteries.
http://www.cpoprotools.com/products/zrr86007.html