Who knows their power tools?

we eat Bosh's yearly, so now dont bother. EVERYTHING comes in the blue box, except the special makita's that come in small alluminium boxs, like their tiny lithium drills. Even other trades men borrow them off the husb, inquire how much etc.
Now we do trade work, hammer our tools, and makits do honour their guarantees and they are easy to repair parts.
 
By the cheapest one you can find from B&Q or similar and when it breaks take it back for a replacment. Rinse and repeat, this is the approach a builder who worked on our house took and he thought it saved him a fortune.
 
bigjimmyauk said:
charge for ages,

Also buy some good pozi bit's such as WERA diamonds http://www.screwfix.com/prods/21717...ed-Bits/Wera-Bi-Torsion-Pozi-Diamond-set-10Pc i've had mine for 6 years and still using my original POZI bit.

Need any further help just ask
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Oooo I've got them they are excellent the magnet makes life easier.

I've got a snap on cordless drill, it's lasted about 10 years I've now replaced with a Makita but I spent more and got the aluminium gearbox, I heard teh plastic ones tend to break.

As with the B&Q reference that's OK but the quality of the makitas / dewalts etc is so much better as a day to day tool the B&Q one will be annoying, battery life / recharge / torque / balance etc
 
Imo a £200 cordless drill is really for pro's who are using the thing constantly so it's a big luxury for someone doing a bit of diy. Personally i'd go for something around £50 unless there's a specific function a £200 drill does that the £50 doesn't .
 
both as good as each other, both have been arround an age and both brands are well known to be some of the best.

The warranty on the Mak will be fair better than that of the Dewalt so based on that i would say the Mak, BUT... buy the one that feels best for your grip.
 
My brother has been a joiner for years and most of his tools, inc drills, are either Makita or DeWalt. He swears by them and hasn't replaced his first ever Makita combi as far as I know.
 
maccapacca said:
.

As with the B&Q reference that's OK but the quality of the makitas / dewalts etc is so much better as a day to day tool the B&Q one will be annoying, battery life / recharge / torque / balance etc
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I was only going on what the builder said, he supplies all his guys with cheapies from B&Q without any complaints, if they break within a year B&Q will replace them fro free and if they last longer than that he considers it a bonus as the £200 jobbies don't tend to last much longer with the daily hamering they get in full time use.

Personally I have a cheapo one which I purchased when we were renevating our house, I used it loads for about 6 months but now we are pretty much finished it spends most of it's time gathering dust in a cupboard which would seem a waste of £200!
 
What you are really paying for with the good brands such as DeWalt and Makita is really torque and battery life.

After going down the route of cheap cordless stuff from B & Q for years but then finding that the battery only lasts 5 minutes or they have less torque than my hand with a screwdriver, I finally bought decent gear.

I have a 14.4v DeWalt hammer/drill/driver for years (bought from screwfix when half price) and it's the best drill I have ever owned. It has a metal chuck as well which is much better than the plastic ones.

Interestly enough, you really pay for the charger technology (fast 1 hour charging) and the batteries. I live near the DeWalt factory and there are lots of power tool shops near which sell DeWalt stuff, quite often as not complete kits.

I noticed I can buy my drill with no batteries and no charger for a miserly £35. The chargers cost £40+ and the batteries are £60+ each which is where most of the cost lies with the expensive gear.

You get what you pay for at the end of the day. With an hours re-charge I can always be sure that my other battery will be fully charged by the time I have drained the one I am using.

Over time I have replaced all my tools and they are now all DeWalt or Makita. More DeWalt tbh but that is really cause I have the advantage of same batteries fit all so now I have 4 chargers and 8 batteries.
 
bigjimmyauk said:
... Need any further help just ask
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You rate the DeWalt XRP DC988L1 18V Li-Ion Cordless Combi Drill at £150 highly and recommend the 10 piece Wera Bi-Torsion Pozi Diamond set at £26.13.

How heavy does this drill feel if you are using it to put in a large number of screws such as in decking for instance?

I do realise that it weighs 2.2Kg but balance can make this more or less tiring and I don't use a drill every day but my corded B&D drill and cordless B&D screwdriver are in dire need of replacement :(
 
I got a makita corless from b&q a few months ago, can't remember model but it was £200 reduced to £100 for the weekend then 20% off because of spending over a certain amount, very happy.
 
Ryobi.


My dad's had Black & Decker, Bosch, Makita, etc all over the years, but his current crop of Ryobi stuff has by far lasted the longest - and it's also had the most use, given that over the last 3 years he's been using them when building his extension.

Even his pre-"One+" stuff is still going strong. He's got a selection of NiMH One+, and now some Lithium One+ stuff.
 
bigjimmyauk said:
coming from the trade the de-walts have a better gearbox than the makita's, at work a makita would last maybe 3-6 months and the dewalts were lasting about 12 months then the Hilti's were lasting 3-4 years but are much more exspensive..

Personally i would recommend this http://www.screwfix.com/prods/74113...t-XRP-DC988L1-18V-Li-Ion-Cordless-Combi-Drill

it's also half price at the minute but shop around as you might find it cheaper still but i doubt it (just had a quick look myself) Don't knock screwfix they get some really good deals on the power tools, BTW it's a much better combi than the dewalt you were looking at in your first post.
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I've got the older version of this drill, the DC988KA and it's been a faithful servant in the DIY for my abode for a number of years. Happy enough driving in short screws as it is taking a Core drill bit to a wall.
 
DeWalt over Makita

Been using power tools for nearly 30yrs. Makita have always been good, but not as good as Dewalt.

On another note, I was renovating a house I had just bought and needed a new drill. I went to a retailer who has the no quibble guarantee. I got a crappy black and decker one for £50 and burned it out in 2 months on the new house. Washed it with petrol, put in back in its pristine box and got my money back. Job done!

Only time i have ever done anything like that.

But yeah, go DeWalt... they look cooler too
 
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edgedemon said:
Im after a decent cordless drill?

I have been looking at either...

Makita BHP452RFX 18V Li-ion Combi Drill

or

Dewalt DEWDC729KA Cordless Drill Driver 18 Volt

Both have good reviews and a decent amount of torque..

Primary use is for general DIY, a lot of it as well as there is so much to do around the house :eek:

Anyone know either of these or have any other recommendations - only make I won't look at is Bosch as I have had bad experiences with them.

Willing to go upto £200 - no more than that..
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I've got the Makita and a codless jigsaw and angle grinder to go with the batteries. It walks all over the competition. I'll be buying the circular saw and vacuum cleaner when I get around to it.

I had to use it all last year for about 6 months doing messy house renovation work to earn a living, was worried about it ruining my nice shiny expensive power tools that had only ever been in a workshop but they just brushed it off and you'd never know they had been used for that sort of work.

I don't like Dewalt. I think they are too heavy, batteries aren't as good and they are overpriced. About a year ago everyone I knew were ditching their Dewalt gear in favour of Makita.

Secret to Makita is get the LXT or MXT range. These are the ones with metal gears and are generally stronger.
 
stockhausen said:
You rate the DeWalt XRP DC988L1 18V Li-Ion Cordless Combi Drill at £150 highly and recommend the 10 piece Wera Bi-Torsion Pozi Diamond set at £26.13.

How heavy does this drill feel if you are using it to put in a large number of screws such as in decking for instance?

I do realise that it weighs 2.2Kg but balance can make this more or less tiring and I don't use a drill every day but my corded B&D drill and cordless B&D screwdriver are in dire need of replacement :(
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They are balanced really well would be a breeze for decking screws, the wera bits really make things a lot easier and like i say they last for age.
 
Jonny69 said:
I've got the Makita and a codless jigsaw and angle grinder to go with the batteries. It walks all over the competition. I'll be buying the circular saw and vacuum cleaner when I get around to it.

I had to use it all last year for about 6 months doing messy house renovation work to earn a living, was worried about it ruining my nice shiny expensive power tools that had only ever been in a workshop but they just brushed it off and you'd never know they had been used for that sort of work.

I don't like Dewalt. I think they are too heavy, batteries aren't as good and they are overpriced. About a year ago everyone I knew were ditching their Dewalt gear in favour of Makita.

Secret to Makita is get the LXT or MXT range. These are the ones with metal gears and are generally stronger.
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:confused: nearly all makita and dewalt 18 volt li-ion weigh 2.2kg's Must be in your head mate lol
 
The 452 is 1.8 kg. I make that 400g less, quite a bit when you're holding it above your head all day ;)
 
Jonny69 said:
The 452 is 1.8 kg. I make that 400g less, quite a bit when you're holding it above your head all day ;)
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:confused: The LXT and MXT range you suggested since they have metal gears weigh 2.2kgs as the 452 model.

The 452LFE only weighs 1.8Kg but I;m guessing not metal geared as the 400g weight loss must have come from somewhere?

The other problem is that even a 452LFE is £230+ and LXT and MXT models are nearer £300.

Therefore, doesn't come close to the £149.99 you can get the DeWalt for.

I will say though that the Makita do come with 3.0Ah batteries comapred to the 2.0Ah the DeWalt have. The Makita the OP linked to is the lesser model and only comes with one battery which is a pain in the **** tbh.

If both were the same price I would be tempted by the Makita but it's out of the OP's price range.
 
Well, if he was alive, my old man would be disgusted as I chose to get the DeWalt, and he was always a Makita man through and through.
The screwfix price and the general feeling for Dewalt swung it, Id rather pay once for a decent drill then save a few bob and end up having to replace it down the road. The Bosch drill I had only lated 14 months before the gears went, and that cost me £100 and was just outside the warranty period when it broke.
Next up, will probably be a jigsaw, and I will go for a makita just to keep the old man happy :p

Big thanks for all the advice guys
 
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