Cordless drill recommendations

[Charles Bjorgen]

Both batteries on my seven-year-old 12v Ryobi cordless drill/driver seem to be not holding a charge that is useful. It's my understanding that replacing batteries is nearly equal to the cost of buying a new unit so I'm looking for your recommendations on the best cordless drills. I'll probably want to go to at least 14.4v and maybe 18v. I sure see lots of Dewalt units in use. Are they the defacto standard?

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Charles. I bought a 12V DeWalt from the Outlet dept. at Amazon.com. Yes, It was reconditioned and had been worked upon, I could smell the oil or cleaning agent on it when it arrived. That has been a couple years ago, and it has performed well, but I am an easy user but I tend to run my batteries down the last groan before switching for a fresh one. You can save a couple dollars by shopping the reconditioned market.

I would definitely buy a DeWalt again, but if I were you, I would also check Milwaukee and Mikita. And lastly, there are currently several models of the DeWalt drills available at the Amazon Outlet store.

[Ken Salisbury]

Both batteries on my seven-year-old 12v Ryobi cordless drill/driver seem to be not holding a charge that is useful. It's my understanding that replacing batteries is nearly equal to the cost of buying a new unit so I'm looking for your recommendations on the best cordless drills. I'll probably want to go to at least 14.4v and maybe 18v. I sure see lots of Dewalt units in use. Are they the defacto standard?

I have 3 DeWalt drivers -- all have performed very well.

[Steve Clardy]

before you give up on the drill and batteries. Several years ago I gave up on a Mikati. It sat around 6-8 months. Decided to pitch it one day, but got to going over it, noticed the charger was not working. Other than finding a charger, I bought some new Porter Cables. I gave the drill and everything away. Present owner had one just like it, and he charged the batteries up with his charger. So my old charger had quite, not the batteries. But, being 7 years old, anything is likely to be wrong. Steve

[Steven Wilson]

Charles,

I mainly use a 14.4v Dewalt in my shop but as soon as mine dies I plan on picking up a 12V Metabo (their grinders are great too). I had the pleasure of participating in an American Woodworker cordless drill test and the 12V Metabo was nice and light, had gobs of torque (more than the 14.4V Dewalt, close to the 18v Dewalt), has a wonderful chuck, and very controllable (easy to set the torque ring for lightly driving brass screws). The Metabo would be my choice, closely followed by the Panasonic. Anyhow, head on down to Seven Corners Ace Hardware in St. Paul and try them out; they have the Metabo, Dewalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Panasonic, and IIRC the Fein. I'm sure you find one you'll like.

[Jim Becker]

Dewalt 14.4v 1/2" chuck XRP is what I'm using and am very pleased with. It's more comfortable in my hand than my older PC 14.4v and really holds it's power for a long, long time.

[Paul Kunkel]

1/2" chuck, 3.5amph NIMH batteries, nice feel, and very good clutch. Panasonic makes the best batteries on the market. This recomadation comes after 2 Skills, 1 Bosch, 2 porter Cables. I wouldn't sell mine for $50 more than I paid.

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Glad you asked, Charles. I too am looking for a new drill after some low life lifted my drill, pry bars, chain saw and new Toro blower. Grrrrr. If I ever find out who did it and I have a new drill, I'm going to drill him a new one.

[Anthony Yakonick]

I have a DeWalt XRP 18v and the retro B&D 14.4 chrome drill, I thought the B&D was a deal for $50 at Home Depot but I see Lowes has the same drill for $33. You can't go wrong with the big name big volt drills.

[Kevin Beck]

I purchased a Makita 14.4V MFORCE drill earlier this month. Makita is currently offering rebates on these drills. The drill was $179 at Lowes with a $30 rebate. The Makita fit my hand better than any other drill I tried and the 14.4V was barely larger than the 12V drill. The chuck is nice and and the batteries are 2.6Ah NIMH.

Kevin

[Ernie Kuhn]

DeWalt 14.4V. I've had it over three years. Built a 10 x 16 shed with it, charger and both batteries still working fine. I can lay it down for two months, pick it up and use it. Batteries seem to hold a charge for ever, relatively speaking. I've driven 3" screws into 4 x 4 posts with no problem and used 1/2 " screws in thin stuff. Just be careful of torque setting.
Ernie

[Jim Martin]

Earlier this year I purchased a Milwaukee cordless that is also a hammerdrill. This is a great drill. Two of my friends have also purchased the same drill since trying mine. Plenty of power, runs forever on the 18 volt batteries and with the flip of a switch I have a hammerdrill. There is a promotion going where if you buy this drill (and several other Milwaukee models) you can choose from either a third battery or a vehicle battery charger. I chose the charger and it is really handy. I have it plugged into my van and I just throw a battery on it while working at a jobsite.

[Glenn Clabo]

I bought this a year and a half ago. I've used it for every kind of thing that you can think of...from installing a kitchen to mixing floor leveler. I can't say enough about it.

[Charles Bjorgen]

Lots of great help in this thread. Thanks very much to all. I'm quoting Steve Wilson's response because I know him and also because we're both fortunate in having Seven Corners Hardware (Tools on Sale in the magazine ads) as a local firm in the Twin Cities. It appears the Metabo, Panasonic and Dewalt deserve a close look. Also the Milwaukee. Funny, I have lot's of Porter Cable stuff but not many recommended that brand.

Charles,

I mainly use a 14.4v Dewalt in my shop but as soon as mine dies I plan on picking up a 12V Metabo (their grinders are great too). I had the pleasure of participating in an American Woodworker cordless drill test and the 12V Metabo was nice and light, had gobs of torque (more than the 14.4V Dewalt, close to the 18v Dewalt), has a wonderful chuck, and very controllable (easy to set the torque ring for lightly driving brass screws). The Metabo would be my choice, closely followed by the Panasonic. Anyhow, head on down to Seven Corners Ace Hardware in St. Paul and try them out; they have the Metabo, Dewalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Panasonic, and IIRC the Fein. I'm sure you find one you'll like.

[Richard Allen]

Hi Charles

I have had a Dewalt 18 volt for 7 or 8 years. This is a real workhorse. 4 years ago I bought a Panasonic 15.6 volt for my Dad. I inherited the drill a couple of years ago. I have been using both drills for the last couple of years. I much prefer the Dewalt. I haven't analyzed why, I just know that I reach for the Dewalt more often than the Panasonic.

Thanks

Richard