Recommend me a cordless drill
Recommend me a cordless drill
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Discussion

davemac250

Original Poster:

4,499 posts

221 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
As the title says really.

Budget upto around £375

I found this one http://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/dewalt-dc910kl-2...

Thought that was pretty good, and a very good price.

Any one have any experience with these? Any other makes I should consider?

Ta

PaulHogan

6,958 posts

294 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
Makita.

jeebus

445 posts

200 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
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Metabo 18v ltx This is the best cordless on the market today IMO and the most powerful with 100nm of torque (the dewalt only has 48nm),4 pole motor, two batteries and a removable chuck which lets you use a hex bit in the spindle. Also comes with a three year guarantee which covers the batteries as well, I think screwfix do them for £319 including vat.

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=166260

Edited by jeebus on Saturday 24th October 20:53

count duckula

1,324 posts

290 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
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I have nothing but praise for the 18volt dewalt range, it has been known to snap the heads of screwfix gold range screws (probably says more about the screws to be honest wink )

maser_spyder

6,356 posts

198 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
I have a Bosch 36V GSB model, that was about £350. Had it ages, never gone wrong, plenty strong enough, no issues and very pleased with it.

Have heard good things about Makita too though.

R60EST

2,364 posts

198 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
count duckula said:
I have nothing but praise for the 18volt dewalt range, it has been known to snap the heads of screwfix gold range screws (probably says more about the screws to be honest wink )
I bought into the dewalt brand some years ago . I have at least 10 items , 5 of them are the xrp 18v hammer drill. 2 are FUBAR and of the remaining 3 , 2 are on their way out and the newest one , 6 months old is just starting to show signs of not running at full speed , like the other 2 .

I think I'll be looking at the Metabo a few posts up

ETA . The drills I have are used for about 3 hrs per day , upto 6 times a week

Edited by R60EST on Saturday 24th October 21:32

thinfourth2

32,414 posts

220 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
PaulHogan said:
Makita.
Agree with above hand them for years and they work fine and why buy something so big a small light one is better for most jobs and then if you need power get a mains powered one

jeebus

445 posts

200 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
R60EST said:
count duckula said:
I have nothing but praise for the 18volt dewalt range, it has been known to snap the heads of screwfix gold range screws (probably says more about the screws to be honest wink )
I bought into the dewalt brand some years ago . I have at least 10 items , 5 of them are the xrp 18v hammer drill. 2 are FUBAR and of the remaining 3 , 2 are on their way out and the newest one , 6 months old is just starting to show signs of not running at full speed , like the other 2 .

I think I'll be looking at the Metabo a few posts up

ETA . The drills I have are used for about 3 hrs per day , upto 6 times a week

Edited by R60EST on Saturday 24th October 21:32
I have a lot of dewalt stuff as well, the 18v xrp drill I have has been a decent drill but the battries are losing a bit of power and the variable speed on the trigger has stopped working so i have ordered the metabo one I linked above, I was shown a demo of the drill and was well impressed.

The non xrp dewalt drills are crap for every day use,although a lot of people have had gearbox woes with the xrp range and the makita lithium stuff while good is a bit to fragile for me, I have seen two which have been dropped and the complete gearbox assembly has sheared off.

The dewalt that the op linked to, in my opinion is far far too big and heavy to be of any use to me in my job although that's not to say it isn't a good drill it's just that I have no experience of it apart from having a look of one in the local tool shop.

grumbledoak

32,176 posts

249 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
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What, exactly, are you planning to do with this?

A relative is in the trade and spends the big bucks for the best tools; it is worth it for him. But, your profile says 'Fund Manager'? As an office worker myself, my occasional needs can be met with much cheaper stuff than that. Just make sure it isn't too weedy, 14.4V seems to be enough for casual household stuff.

ETA- while he was laughing at my (Black and Decker, IIRC) he was quite keen on Makita. Not sure if they are still his favourite.

Edited by grumbledoak on Saturday 24th October 22:08

IanMorewood

4,309 posts

264 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
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davemac250 said:
Black and Decker in a pretty dress mate.

The wife says (she sells power tools) either Panasonic or Metabo. Whatever you buy, make sure it has metal gears NOT plastic ones and avoid NiCD batteries like the plague.

astroarcadia

1,720 posts

216 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
Hilti are doing some great deals at the moment on all their tools with heavy discounts on drills. Might be worth giving them a call and getting in touch with the local rep. May be overkill for domestic use but the budget you set is high.

Edited by astroarcadia on Saturday 24th October 22:37

davemac250

Original Poster:

4,499 posts

221 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
Cheers all.

I looked at the Bosch range and have some of their corded kit.

Although the profile says fund manager, the wife likes to think I am also a plumber, electrician and joiner. Between us we also have a few rental properties and the thought of paying someone to do what I can do myself pains me.

Latest project is a raised decking area covering about 75m2 (to cover a truly shagged garden) and I am fed up trawling a corded drill around and I have killed a cheapo 18V drill and a not so cheap 24V Macallister one whilst making the frame.

We move in about 2 months, and am sure that the round of 'Could we just move that wall/have new shelves/units/bathroom etc' will kick off just after Christmas!

On the subject of the Panasonic, does their kit not run much hotter than the competition killing off the battery life sooner?

Makita is high on the list of alternatives as is the new Hitachi range although I tried their top end stuff and it was much heavier than a similar price Matebo.

Does the Li-Ion battery option mean 18V is as good as an old Ni-Cad 24V? My old Ni-Cad 18V struggled to drill into breeze block.

Some sites I've gone through since posting seem to rave about the Milwaukee range and slag the Dewalt as fancy coloured Black and Decker? However, as they are based in the US some bias is to be expected I suppose.

jeebus

445 posts

200 months

Saturday 24th October 2009
quotequote all
The Milwaukee stuff is meant to be good although you will pay a premium for it and have have never seen one on site or in a shop ever. Make sure you stay away from ni-cd batteries as they are crap now compared to ni-mh and I suppose the jury is still out on li-on as they are relatively new but they seem to be good and very light compared to ni-mh packs.

One thing to bear in mind is that if you will be drilling into a lot of masonry then a combi drill/driver will not last as long. If ever im drilling into masonry then I use a battery sds drill, the only time I use my combi drill is for the odd one or two holes and it saves me going back out to the van. Repeated use of the hammer action can knacker some chucks as it did with a makita I once had and also shortens the life of the gearbox. As you said above the hitachi drills tend to be quite heavy but from what I have seen of them they appear to be ok but I personally wouldn't have one over a makita. Also the panasonic gear is meant to be superb I know a couple of joiners that swear by them. One thing I would say is don't buy one over the internet simply because if you do have a problem you can't beat just taking it back to the shop and letting them deal with the warranty side of things.

Edited by jeebus on Saturday 24th October 23:26

cjs

11,255 posts

267 months

Sunday 25th October 2009
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What is the drill to be used for? Drilling into brick for screw plugs? Or Screwing into wood etc?

If you're drilling walls then get yourself an SDS 24v/36v, Bosch are the best.

If it's for screwing then an 18v Makita will last for years and 18v is enough to screw a 6" screw into timber.

One drill will not do both jobs properly.

Edited by cjs on Sunday 25th October 09:16

headcase

2,389 posts

233 months

Sunday 25th October 2009
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I have a DeWalt 18v XRP with 2.0Ah Batts for the past 5 years, still on its original batts. In this time its had a service and a new trigger and thats all. It gets used daily for drilling into brickwork and screwing etc... gets alot of hammer and its a good hard drill. But in my opinion they are a little heavy for DIY use. After 5 years the Batts are now loosing capacity.

allegro

1,234 posts

220 months

Sunday 25th October 2009
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10 print " MAKITA "
20 goto 10
run

wink

mickk

29,841 posts

258 months

Sunday 25th October 2009
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I have always used 18V XRP DeWalt stuff, but i've now purchased a 18V 3.0ah Milwaukee drill and to be honest it seems a much better built piece of kit.

It cost £280 with two batts and a 3 year guarantee.

My local stockist is fed up with DeWalt stuff being returned, i don't thing its as reliable as it used to be, thats why i'm trying something different

V10Mike

606 posts

222 months

Sunday 25th October 2009
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Another vote for Panasonic -perhaps this one: http://www.tooled-up.com/ManProduct.asp?PID=162243