Thread: Cordless Drill/Driver

I have found the Makita great to work with. I use it for just about everything and that included putting up my shed as well. It can handle drilling up to 50mm in wood, 13mm in steel and is a good driver as well. No probs driving Tec screws at all.

The only down side of this drill is the price, but as the saying goes the more you spend the better you get. I have had mine for 2 years now and it is still going as good as the day I bought.

If the old Bosch was a good workhorse, why not consider a new Bosch 18volt Cordless Drill. If you cant afford the Professional range there are two models that sell for about the $250 mark. Seem like good value.

I have an old Bosch hammer drill (electric) that i have used & abused and its' still alive. It's done some serious work thats had it smelling like it was about to burn out but lived to see another day (and then some).

I am also looking to get a cordless drill and was looking at the Bosch range because i cant fault my electric Bosch hammer drill.

Interesting to see what others have to say, keep us posted on what you end up deciding on.

Originally Posted by djstimber

I have found the Makita great to work with. I use it for just about everything and that included putting up my shed as well. It can handle drilling up to 50mm in wood, 13mm in steel and is a good driver as well. No probs driving Tec screws at all.

The only down side of this drill is the price, but as the saying goes the more you spend the better you get. I have had mine for 2 years now and it is still going as good as the day I bought.

price is not a problem - when i purchased the bosch back about I think 7/8 years ago, it was really good - perhaps age has caught up but also, it has never really done the hard yards as I put it through on the weekend
what i want is a real "tradies" tool so that if i need to drive 200 screws, it will do it ans more - I hope then back up and do a lot more without the need for a recharge........
Bosch 18V has been mentioned -
I do recall now early last year, i bought my son an identical 18V bosch driver/drill
will it make that much difference being 18V ?
certainly want to go down the make of the 'traide" as I have mentioned

Dewalt?? I have an 18v reciprocating saw - any suggestions on dewalt range of drivers?

The Bosch Professional drills are pretty good, and you can now get LI-Ion batteries which reduce the weight.
You'll need to get rid of the plastic chuck though (most brands have plastic keyless chucks), and get an all metal one - about $80 to replace (if I remember correctly). I've broken one.
The 36V (model GSR 36V LI ) weighs 2.5kg, pretty good.

Hi HBomb,
I have an 18V Makita which is a joy to use for hard, repetitive work. I also have a Festool C12 (12V), which gives very close to the grunt of the Mak. The battery life is good, can't tell you how long. Comes with a bayonet lock type system, which makes changing bits a breeze. Also comes standard with a metal keyless chuck, an offset adaptor for going around other things and a 90 degree adapter. This drill/driver is the one of choice for me. Apart from the Centrotec (bayonet fitting) most other drills and driver bits will fit.

Regards

Rob

Is your battery still good?
What part do you think gave up?

The carbon brushes on my Bosch 14.4v broke up on a hot day. Turns out the brushes are part of the motor yadda, yadda.

Just got it back with new motor fitted for $89, hopefully good for a few more years. I like the drill because its well balanced and weighted, and fits well in my hands.

Ive tried the cheapo GMC's and Ozitos, but there either to big and heavy or the grips have poor ergonomics.

If the battery failed why not replace it, often non genuine are available, some at Jaycar

My Makita 7.2 is still going and does me fine with replacement batteries from Jaycar.

ther would be a numbr of places to purchase replacement batteries or they can be re packed

Doug

If it is the motor and not something else Bunnies can get probably get you a replacement motor. Recently replaced mine (14.4v Bosch green) as all the brutal work had totally destroyed the brushes. From memory motor was about $45 and only took a couple of days. Not a difficult job to replace yourself - all you need is the correct star screw driver and a good soldering iron.

Geoff

$170 inc 2 batteries.

For large scale driving of fasteners I suggest you look into Lithium Ion power packs. They represent a significant ergonomic improvement because of the reduced weight to deliver the same power.

Consider: Each NiCad battery delivers 1.2 volts of power. So, for an 18V driver the battery pack must have 15 individual batteries wired together to reach the voltage. Each Lithium Ion battery delivers 3.6 volts of power, thus needing only 5 batteries to deliver 18V--a big savings in weight which is important when you are driving fasteners all day. (Bosch have one.)

Another alternative, mentioned already by Rob, is the Festool C12 series (available with several battery configurations but all 12V) which is designed to deliver roughly the same power as the 18V but again with far less weight.

Either, IMHO would make a better choice for the kind of volume you indicated. Save your arm don't ya' know!

I dont know if you have the new Makita li-ion drill drivers yet there in Oz. I bought the 18v hammer drill driver and the impact driver and so far they have been great the batteries last for ages and thats with me using them at work all day long. They also have lights on them both which I thought was just a gimmick but has been really useful. I payed around £450 for both with 3 x 3 amp batts, charger and case.

I agree with Stuart. The Triton is a ripper drill. Powerful, 2 batteries, light, variable speed, hammer setting and the plunge guide is very useful when you need to drill straight.

If you are basically just driving screws all day then an impact driver is what you want. I have an 18v dewlt , very small and light and very powerful. I screwed off the roof of a double carport using it and only just had to use the second battery.

Impact driver for screws? Seems a very strange combination. I'd prefer very smooth, soft start, high torque device to smoothly drive screws in, not one that is going to pound the crap out of the head.