Spec me a cordless drill

Since the OP has got his info and we're more or less chatting about drills outside his budget, here's a few recent observations I made.

K.C. Leblanc said:
Oh and it doesn't satisfy the £100 pricing celling, but Metabo :D:D:D:D
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Was looking at some Metabo cordless drills recently as I've liked them in the past and would have happily purchased one. However the range I was looking at recently which I think was 2012/13 LTX, the ergonomics were way off. Was chatting to the guy in the shop about it and he agreed they'd messed up when it came to a well balanced drill. Not saying there was anything wrong with the drill per se, it was on a good offer with 3no. 18v 4.0 Ah batteries but it just felt so heavy, fat and uncomfortable.

gillywibble said:
Panasonic make the best cordless drills, end of. If you can afford one, get one.
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I currently use Panasonic and while I think you can't go wrong with most of the main brands the Panasonic drills are fantastic and I'd say the best drills I've used. I use the 18v 4.2Ah drill and have the impact driver as well. Having used the 14.4v 3.3Ah version previously which I think is one of the best balanced drills you'll find, I was concerned the bigger batteries in the 18v would upset the balance but there's nothing in it, still a well balanced comfortable drill. The 18v 4.2Ah batteries and brushless motor in the impact driver are something else, it's ridiculous how long a charge will last.

And while I'm bleating on here about drills, I've said negative things about Dewalt in the past, however when looking at the Metabo drills I was also handling some of the recent Dewalt offerings and I thought they felt very good and came with a 3 yr warranty. They were also 18v and possibly 4.0Ah batteries but don't quote me on that as I'm not 100% sure. Very tempted by the drill/impact driver set and while I haven't actually used them they did feel good.

And one last shout goes out to the blue Bosch 18v 1.5Ah compact battery impact driver, cracking little drill that I've used and so lightweight and easy to hold it's brilliant. Maybe some might find the 1.5Ah batteries a bit small compared to some of the recent offerings but if you're after a cracking lightweight drill it's hard to beat.

Any way that's some of my drill ramblings, I'm sure you'll find plenty to agree/disagree with in there. :D
 
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This is my current driver and it is a beast of a tool. Have dropped it out of a bedroom window and it bounced on the concrete and just left a bit of a scrape on the alloy gear housing.

http://www.toolstop.co.uk/dewalt-dcd925l2-xrp-18v-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill-2-batteries-p9595

I'm considering making the move to the new battery system as the batteries for the old post type are silly expensive now. The post type system has been around for 15 or so years now so it's about time for a change.
 
Lopéz said:
Agreed

This is the one I got recently

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-xr-dcd785c2sf-gb-18v-1-5ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/22732
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I'd take that over the Makita for the faster drive and drill speed and extra battery. But £150 is a lot for some people to justify for a diy tool I guess.

Makita - 0-400 / 0-1300rpm vs Dewalt - 0-600 / 0-2000

EDIT: In fact i might even get one of these soon to go with my DCD925 as that's a bit big to be taking up ladders and this would also be great for getting into tight spaces. I used to use a Makita 18v driver with my Dewalt, so that I didnt have to keep swapping the drill bit for the screwdriver bit, but the old NI-MH batteries are starting to lose their charge after years of use and it'll cost me £160 to buy two new ones, so I'd be better off just getting this.
 
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I bought this recently - it is seriously sexy £150 though but worth it.

Makita BHP456RFWX 18V LXT Combi Drill 18V

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Pow...456RFWX 18V LXT Combi Drill/d40/sd2789/p48669

Sometimes I take twice as long to get my diy done as half the time i can't stop admiring it! lol

seriously though 50nm max torque
3.0 amp hour battery (more than 2 x 1.3 li-ion bats ) (you will not ned to charge it in any one sitting) 22min charger, LED light and makita warranty......oh and it's black and white.

it's an anniversary edition hence the colour scheme but you also get either an aluminium case (feel like a hitman putting up a shelf) or you can get the grey plastic case which comes with loads of drill bits.
 
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At the risk of thread stealing, are there any cordless drills which would handle Acrington brick?

We moved into our house and its been a bugger to drill into. Luckily my father in law had a fairly hefty Bosch hammer drill which seems to do the trick but i'd like a cordless one to replace it if possible.
 
Marvt74 said:
At the risk of thread stealing, are there any cordless drills which would handle Acrington brick?
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Ah! Acrington brick like Staffordshire Blue, hard as nails.

Now that's a challenge, even with Bosch Multi Construction bits I reckon you struggle with a 18v combi drill, but the larger 18v, 24v, 36v sds Rotary Hammer drill should manage it.
 
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Cheers, might just stick to what i've got for the walls then and pick up a cheapish drill for just general drilling woods and the like. Its not like i do loads of drilling!
 
Nightglow said:
Ah! Acrington brick like Staffordshire Blue, hard as nails.

Now that's a challenge, even with Bosch Multi Construction bits I reckon you struggle with a 18v combi drill, but the larger 18v, 24v, 36v sds Rotary Hammer drill should manage it.
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Ever come across Acrington NORI brick? Burnt 3 of my 6mm SDS drill bits in a day :eek:. Also had to cut through a few bricks and my 4" grinder with diamond blade wouldn't touch it, it was turning it into lava rather than dust! Had to go home and get my Stihl saw.

also any love for JCB? £89.99

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-too...view-all=brand

really great specs for a great price 20v too but the lack of spares for them put me off. they have a 5 year warranty also.
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It'll be a cheapo drill made in China and I personally wouldn't buy it, but if it comes with a 5 year warranty and you only need it for DIY use it should be fine. You can just take it back to B&Q for a replacement when it breaks.

It's probably 18v btw. Dewalt 18v tools are marketed as '20v max' in America due to them being 20v at their peak, but as soon as you use the tool it drops to 18v again. It's a bit of a marketing gimmik. I'd imagine this is the same.
 
Hey guys,

Really thankful to the OP for starting this thread as I'm after a new combi drill myself. Was gonna get the Makita, all my mates harp on about them being brilliant as well :-)

Wondering if I could hijack slightly and ask you guys opinions on the following drill:

http://www.very.co.uk/ryobi-rcd18021l-18-volt-drill-driver/1183737452.prd?browseToken=/b/103279

The reason I may get this over the Makita is that the missus has opened an account with these buggers because you get discount on your first order. So was gonna add this on the first order to make it sub 100 and never order again.

Is it almost on par with the Makita?

Cheers
 
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