Need new cordless drills!

[John Coloccia]

My Hitachi is finally dying. I have to say, it's really been quite a workhorse for about 4 or 5 years, so no regrets buying it. The low gear is finally starting to act up. It will pop out of gear and grind. The batteries are still original, though Great drill.

Here's what I'm thinking now. Usually, I get a honkin' drill because I need to be able to drive screws too, but what do you guys know about the new compact impact drivers? Maybe it makes more sense to get a lighter drill and just for drilling, and then a driver for driving? Can those tiny little driver really drive like my big 'ole heavy drills?

What do you guys think? I'm just looking for opinions and recommendations. There's soooo much to choose from out there, I just don't have the bandwidth to go on yet another quest for a power tool.

[John Coloccia]

One thing to keep in mind: if I get an impact driver, I'm just going to keep the Hitachi for now and run it into the ground until the "High" gear setting dies.

[John Coloccia]

I guess I should give my application too. I'm mainly using screws when I'm building things for the shop (storage, hanging things, etc), or building things for the house like lumber racks, maybe some deck repairs, etc. For anything major, like lagging a deck to the house or driving anchors into concrete, I have a corded impact wrench. A typical application for me is screwing 2X4s to each other with 3 1/2" deck screws or something like that. The other main application is building jigs...I build lots of jigs! That's typically very light work so I'd be interested in having something that offers good control too.

[Van Huskey]

For me drill wise:

Festool, Panasonic, Makita and Dewalt in that order assuming you are looking for something in the mid-range voltage and power wise.

[Stephen Tashiro]

I find that the impact drivers work great! They work much better than a powerful drill. With impact action you don't have to exert a strong force against the torque of the tool. They spin the screw like a drill until the screw offers some resistance. Then the impact action kicks in automatically.

[John Coloccia]

Do you think the small, compact drivers will do what I need it to do, or should I be looking at one of the midsize ones?

[Gary Max]

They are handy and work great on small stuff----are they work horses----nahhhh.

[Stephen Tashiro]

I may not understand which tools you mean by the "compact" ones. I find that my Ryobi P230 18 V cordless impact driver is completely adequate for driving deck screws (my favorite type being the "Deckmate" brand). It's so nice that I rarely use nails for anything - mainly because the impact driver is also great at taking screws out. Compared to pulling out nails, impact unscrewing is effortless!

To step up to a more powerful impact tool, you could get an "impact wrench" as opposed to an impact driver. I have a cordless DeWalt impact wrench. I'd prefer not to carry a tool that heavy around just to drive screws! (You can get a drill chuck that fits an impact wrench from a small company called Cowan Manufacturing. Using that chuck the impact wrench works well as a masonry drill.)

[Robert Chapman]

I have a number of the Bosch 12V tools. The ones I use the most are the drill and a non impact driver. I build furniture and these compact tools have plenty of power and are very easy to use. Check them out - I bet that you will like the way they feel in your hand.

[Bill Leonard]

+1 for Bosch. I own two, probably need two more.

[Tom Rick]

John- buy a couple of the m18's.

Lighter than my bad old 12 v gear and solid machines. I am about to buy another and @ $179 for the kit, the price is right...

[Dave Gaul]

I have the Makita BDF452HW. It would fit your bill just fine IMHO. I also have it's big brother, and sometimes it is too big for my needs.. I often find myself taking bits out of the big one and using the little guy to get into tight spacer, or for light duty work, but the little one can drive just about anything!

[Dan Blackshear]

My Dewalt Impact is my go-to tool for driving screws. The nice thing about impacts is they don't strip out screw heads like a driver does, the hammering keeps the bit from slipping. It's especially helpful in construction when things aren't pre-drilled. The compact size is also nice.
While it's not necessarily a finesse tool, you "learn" it like anything else and I can drive drywall screws with it and put the head just below the paper every time.

One other thing, I have found with the impact, you are better off getting the impact bits if you are driving long scews. I broke more than a few of the regular bits until I got some impact bits. No problems since.

[Curt Harms]

Do you think the small, compact drivers will do what I need it to do, or should I be looking at one of the midsize ones?

Get both. Seriously, I have 10.8 (now 12) volt and 18 volt Bosch. The smaller impact driver works very well for smaller screws like hinges, drawer slides and the like. I find impact drivers less prone to camming out phillips head screws. The smaller impact driver is easier finesse. The 18 volt will drive 3"+ screws or 1/4" lag bolts all day long. i don't know if they're still offered but last Christmas there were Bosch & Makita 18 volt Li-Ion kits drill & driver its for less than $200.

[Paul McGaha]

Lots of good choices John. Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee are the first three that come to mind for me.

I have a couple of 18V Makita's for my shop I'm really happy with. They are about (5) years old. I'm a weekend hobbiest so they get used pretty lightly.

I'm a long time construction electrician and if I were buying battery drills for work I would probably do Bosch or Milwaukee as I think they are more heavy duty than the others.

Good luck with your choice and purchase.

PHM