Power Tools & General Tools Recommendations & Advice

In need of a new drill now my 10yr old Black and Decker has finally given up the ghost. Looking at something robust and long lasting brings me back to DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee every time.

Are there any decent deals on anything at the moment? I'm not bought into any particular battery system at this point.

This Dewalt is the best I've found so far but is more than I intended spending and massively overkill for what will just be general DIY. I'm a firm believer of the 'buy cheap, buy twice' mentality though.

https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-dcd796m2-gb-18v-li-ion-brushless-combi-drill/p89165
 
batfink said:
In need of a new drill now my 10yr old Black and Decker has finally given up the ghost. Looking at something robust and long lasting brings me back to DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee every time.

Are there any decent deals on anything at the moment? I'm not bought into any particular battery system at this point.

This Dewalt is the best I've found so far but is more than I intended spending and massively overkill for what will just be general DIY. I'm a firm believer of the 'buy cheap, buy twice' mentality though.

https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-dcd796m2-gb-18v-li-ion-brushless-combi-drill/p89165
Click to expand...
B&q have another Dewalt for £100.

I went from a 10 year old black and Decker to a Stanley combi drill for ~ £60, and it was noticeably a step up. Love mine!

B&q have a deal on the Stanley combi plus an impact driver and 2 batteries for £100. As a DIYer I'd buy that if I were replacing mine today. Really would like an impact driver.

https://www.diy.com/departments/sta...-batteries-fmck465c2s-gb/5035048667279_BQ.prd

Edit:

Also, you 'bought cheap' on that black and Decker and that bad boy lasted you 10 years :D
 
Ordered a fast charger for my dewalt batteries. Charging a 5ah battery took what must have been 4 hours the other night.
Anyone used the flexvolt ones? Thinking of getting the 9ah
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
What about this DeWalt for £120, two batteries too.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d...i-ion-xr-brushless-cordless-combi-drill/268fx

Do you want an impact driver as well?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d...-li-ion-xr-brushless-cordless-twin-pack/682fk
Click to expand...

How does the 778 stack up against the 796? Plastic Vs metal chuck, 2Ah Vs 4Ah batteries. Would I even notice the difference?

Having never used an Impact Driver, I have no idea whether I would use one or not!
 
Given you have had a cheap B&D for the last 10 years, for DIY you'll likely not notice the difference.

The 796 has a bit more power and extra 5nm of torque. The plastic chuck adjustment will be fine either way.

For me I actually prefer the smaller batteries on a drill, smaller, lighter and more balanced. But the bigger batteries are much more versatile if you want to get into the other tools. For example a circular saw or jigsaw would chew through a 2ah battery in no time.

The 796 is a better buy if you want to invest further in the range, the cheaper 778 is a good buy don't want to spend loads of money and are unlikely to invest further in the range. The cheaper drill will be more than fine for DIY.

If my drill packed up today I'd get the 796 but I am invested through the range already and have plenty of smaller batteries and would like some more larger ones.
 
batfink said:
How does the 778 stack up against the 796? Plastic Vs metal chuck, 2Ah Vs 4Ah batteries. Would I even notice the difference?

Having never used an Impact Driver, I have no idea whether I would use one or not!
Click to expand...
Always loved impact drivers I have a 18v one and a 10volt one, they get loads of use.
I have the 778 and it's good enough for me for most stuff, I tend to borrow an sds drill for big masonry tasks though. 2 vs 4 amp(I've got 2 and 5) I didn't notice in the drill apart from how long it lasted , in an impact driver and defo the circular saw you can tell the difference in piwer
 
I have a Milwaukee 18V drill and impact driver as well as a 12v of both too. I really do like an impact driver but my one is so noisy it hurts my ears when fixing lots of screws. I often switch to using my 18v drill to drive big screws in and the 12v to drill a pilot hole to assist.

Apparently the newer 'fuel' impact drivers are a lot quieter (some new hydraulic technology). I've been thinking about upgrading my 18v to a milwaukee fuel drill and impact driver kit.

You deffo wouldn't want to be using an impact driver on a saturday or sunday at 7am in your garden :D
 
cheesyboy said:
B&q have another Dewalt for £100.

I went from a 10 year old black and Decker to a Stanley combi drill for ~ £60, and it was noticeably a step up. Love mine!

B&q have a deal on the Stanley combi plus an impact driver and 2 batteries for £100. As a DIYer I'd buy that if I were replacing mine today. Really would like an impact driver.

https://www.diy.com/departments/sta...-batteries-fmck465c2s-gb/5035048667279_BQ.prd

Edit:

Also, you 'bought cheap' on that black and Decker and that bad boy lasted you 10 years :D
Click to expand...

So you went from a B&D back to a B&D
B&D owns Stanley and DeWalt - I have nearly the full pack of Stanley -bought a mains jig saw rather than battery. Also I am a bit disappointed with the circular saw -Not a patch on the Makita I used once.
 
I pulled the trigger on a DCD796 with 2 2Ah batteries about a month ago, to upgrade from a black and decker as well that lasted about 5 years. The drill itself was ok but the NiCad batteries were totally done, barely held a charge for 20 minutes. Was silly to get NiCad at the time really, didn't know any better. Can't say any more than has been said about the difference from the 778 but very happy with the 796 so far.

DXP55 said:
So you went from a B&D back to a B&D
B&D owns Stanley and DeWalt - I have nearly the full pack of Stanley -bought a mains jig saw rather than battery. Also I am a bit disappointed with the circular saw -Not a patch on the Makita I used once.
Click to expand...

Just because they own stanley and dewalt doesn't mean they are the same tools at all.
 
Has anyone experimented with mixing batteries between brands?

I know even those from the same group (for me, I'm interested in anything that I might be able to put my Stanley batteries in - so Dewalt and B&D etc) are designed slightly differently to prevent them being swapped, but I'm also aware that people have been known to modify connections, and there are adapters available too.

Any real life experiences?
 
I've got a dewalt to ryobi adapter (dewalt indoor tools, ryobi garden equipment) and it works just fine. I've got 2x4ah batteries and they last absolutely ages.
 
Just thought I'd share this amazing workshop I seen on YouTube.

The level of detail is unbelievable.

 
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