Makita cordless drills...explain...

[virgil]

Looks like I need to replace my 10 yr old Bosch drills (or one of them for now) and very confused...

When i bought Mine it was cheap and chearfull DIY or professional (Bosch, Dewalt Makita etc) of those it seemed Dewalt was the default choice for pros but the bosch was better value (and served me well) (lots of DIY)

Have a Makita corded angle drill and very impressed with the quality so looking at the Makita range of cordless combi drills. Is there a logic to the models? It'll be my main 'work horse' drill (have a little hitachi 18v) for lighter work (though to be fair to it I've given it some abuse already and it seems fine!)so want:

'professional' quality
2 x 3.0Amp hour Li-ion batteries
Spindle lock
High top speed (1750-2000rpm)
2 speed is fine
Other tools using same batteries jigsaws etc.

Don't need led lights, cases, accessory sets etc.

Do Hitachi do any good Pro stuff?

Something in me still says Dewalt Pro stuff is still over priced for what it is...

[Rosscow]

I have a Makita twin pack and it's a thing of beauty.

Can't recommend it enough.

I have this one:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-lxt202-lxt-18v-li...

[bigee]

We have used Makita stuff on sites for years,good stuff.Black battery is more 'pro' use than the red...worth the extra.

[Paul Drawmer]

My ancient Makita eventually gave up after many years of abuse.

I've replaced it with this - I'm chuffed with them.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-dv18dcl2-ds18dcl...

[Johnnytheboy]

I've got an 18v L-Ion Makita and it's no exageration to say I love it.

I get it out after a couple of months having left the batteries fully charged, and they are still fully charged.

Chose it after starting a thread like this on here.

[eliot]

Rosscow said:

I have a Makita twin pack and it's a thing of beauty.

Can't recommend it enough.

I have this one:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-lxt202-lxt-18v-li...

That's on my shopping list - having a house built at the moment and without fail every single tradesman turns up with a that exact pair.

[virgil]

Just spoke to a nice chap selling all the Makita and Hitachi ranges.

He reccomended the Hitachi over the Makita saying it was both better made and has 4AH batteries.

He reccomended the Hamemr Drill (DV18DSDL) and impact driver (WH18DSAL) kit with 2 batteries and a voucher to claim a third free for £358 which is not bad at all. Have got a second body as well for £95, so 2 4.0AH Li-ion Combi Hammer drills and an impact driver for £453 which i don't think is too bad...

[gtidriver]

I have most of the makita 18v range, plus the maki twins. Be aware that the batteries fail. It's a common problem check eBay for dead 18v batteries. Makita says no fault found. I'm going over to Milwaukee next. Look at there range.

[Stig]

Despite hearing 'build quality has gone way down in recent years', I've been very happy with DeWalt. That said, my old 14.4v combi just died, so I ordered a twinpack and pair of 3Ah batteries from MTS, good value at £270.

http://www.mtspowertools.co.uk/product.php/section...

[hedgefinder]

if you want quality go for Hilti gear.

[DoubleSix]

virgil said:

Just spoke to a nice chap selling all the Makita and Hitachi ranges.

He reccomended the Hitachi over the Makita saying it was both better made and has 4AH batteries.

He reccomended the Hamemr Drill (DV18DSDL) and impact driver (WH18DSAL) kit with 2 batteries and a voucher to claim a third free for £358 which is not bad at all. Have got a second body as well for £95, so 2 4.0AH Li-ion Combi Hammer drills and an impact driver for £453 which i don't think is too bad...

Meh, That link above to the Makita stuff is a far better buy. Why is the guy trying to sell you on 4.0AH, are you a builder?? Unless you're on site all day and literally banging in thousands of screws etc then 3.0AH is as much as you are going to need for normal heavy home use, the Makita charges in a market leading 20mins as well!

But to the crunch, he should be telling you about TORQUE, us car boys know all about that don't we?? I believe the Makita impact driver has 145nm torque to 140nm in the Hitachi. I did a lot of research and was set on DeWalt before coming to the conclusion the Makita was the bks.

[m4ckg]

I wouldnt have the 18v li-ion given to me due to the faults with the batteries I've had, bought the Panasonic 14.4 today with the 3:3 batteries so will compare the two

[Muncher]

Makita LXT 18v, I have read of battery problems but mine have all been fine and every trade I have had on site still uses them. I love mine, worth their weight in gold.

[roofer]

A brief rundown on the industry over the last 30 years.

If you had a Kango or Hilti, people knew you were serious.

Bosch began to prove theirselves reliable (German connection helped)

Then the whippersnappers started to appear with those bright yellow things that were re coloured Black and Decker, they wore ponsy toolbelts as well, all the gear, no idea we used to chuckle.

Makita then started to make a name for itself as a sturdy bit of kit that wouldn't let you down, although i still have a 15 year old Bosch SDS that still works faultlessley.

The yellow stuff moved over to metal gears, and became more reliable, and they brought out a nice matching radio as well, that meant all the gear, reasonable idea, and a bit of music to drill to.

Heavy use trades will still stick with Hilti/Kango, i also have a Milwaukee Tek gun thats 20 years old, been abused to death and still works without fail.

Hitachi is excellent quality stuff for the home and light site use, especially for the price.

All the above slightly tongue in cheek, but fairly accurate.

[Gingerbread Man]

I too have a Makita 3Ah Li Ion battery drill.

They say that Makita batteries are having an issue at the moment as mentioned above, but I've read that cheap ones on eBay are a good price and don't seem to have the same issue, so a win win.

Happy with the quality.

[virgil]

DoubleSix said:

Meh, That link above to the Makita stuff is a far better buy. Why is the guy trying to sell you on 4.0AH, are you a builder?? Unless you're on site all day and literally banging in thousands of screws etc then 3.0AH is as much as you are going to need for normal heavy home use, the Makita charges in a market leading 20mins as well!

But to the crunch, he should be telling you about TORQUE, us car boys know all about that don't we?? I believe the Makita impact driver has 145nm torque to 140nm in the Hitachi. I did a lot of research and was set on DeWalt before coming to the conclusion the Makita was the bks.

He did!! On the top trumps front, the Hitachi drill drivers beat the equivalent Makita for torque. But to be fair it's all irrelevant at that level as you'll snap the head off the screw before you'll run out of torque. My old Bosch put a 1" drill through a 9" awl without issue, so I'm sure the new stuff will walk it.

Not a builder but a sporadic heavy DIYer...have been known to go through several boxes of screws in an evening, and several changes of battery at weekends ;-). Now got a new house to renovate, so flat batteries will not be welcome!

Ordered now, so hope they're not cr@p :-)

[Pcot]

25 years in the double glazing industry.

Started with Black & Decker
Followed by Bosch
Then Dewalt
A brief spell with Hitachi (crap IMO)
Now use Makita, and its by far the best corded & cordless kit available.

My kit gets hammered for daily.

[DoubleSix]

Pcot said:

25 years in the double glazing industry.

Started with Black & Decker
Followed by Bosch
Then Dewalt
A brief spell with Hitachi (crap IMO)
Now use Makita, and its by far the best corded & cordless kit available.

My kit gets hammered for daily.

Ah well, looks like he's gonna find out for himself! Still, OP you'll have plenty of time to ponder your purchase waiting an hour for it to charge!

You'll have to provide a link for that 'top trump' though I cant find an Hitachi Impact Driver with more torque than the Makita LXT.

Sounds like you'd made up your mind before starting the thread though, so bit of a pointless one!

Edited by DoubleSix on Tuesday 2nd October 22:04

[vdp1]

My brief history

makita SDS 750w 240v drill, clutch broke after a couple of years - did use it for 117 core cutting though.

makita 240v angle drill, used beaver bit in it the first day, it jammed and smoked quite a lot. However after 5 or 6 years it still seems to work good a new with speed bits.

makita 24v cordless sds, batteries (ni-cad)lasted less than a year, got brand new drill and 2 new batteries under warranty, lasted another six months or so and both batteries knackered again. It was then stolen out of the back of the van, god I hope he got a kicking for selling a fked drill.

Bosch 18v impact/drill kit and 3 batteries (ni-cad), 18 months 2 batteries dead one still fine.

Milwaukee 18v impact/drill kit, 2 batteries (li-ion) 18 months old, fitted new brushes (need to be soldered in) but still working as new and takes a battering every day.

Several silverline tools I only use at home and all still work perfectly, especially the 4" angle grinder that has cut 50 sqm of travertine tile.

Would I buy makita again, no chance. For every day use it has to be Milwaukiee.

[essexplumber]

I got talking to a Chippy when we were plumbing in a new wing in Ranby prison, I casually asked him if his Dewalt cordless was any good as I was about to buy a new cordless set, he wanted to know "What type of system I was running at the moment?" I remember thinking, what? What does he mean "system"? Its a drill not a stereo ffs.

Sort of sums up the Dewalt crew for me

I've had a Makita 18v cordless combi drill and circular saw for about 3 years now, it has never put a foot wrong or even slightly let me down.

I also have a Bosch SDS which is the Toyota Hilux of power tools.