Thread: Cordless drill Help

No one has mentioned Metabo yet

I have been looking at the SBZ 14.4: Li-ion, impact action, impulse function, metabo quality.....


I can't find anything wrong with it.

Pheno

Thanks for all the input/suggestions.I settled on the Hitachi 18v DS18DL(HL). It just felt right in my hand and was quite light as well for a 18v.

I just picked up the Panasonic EY7542LN2S, also known as the 14.4V Multi-Driver. $599 and Pana have a bonus deal at the moment for a free torch and kit bag.

I'm very happy with it's short performance so far as an impact driver...VERY. The comfort and control was excellent, and I was able to shift a heavily rusted 70mm screw, and a hex head bolt without any effort expended on my part. Point and click click click, and they both came out.

I also picked up some hex drills (Bosch), and will do some trials tomorrow - it felt a bit awkward in the shop having a drill bit being held loosely by a hex socket and ball bearing. I'll certainly report back on experiences on that front. I may end up getting a chuck which fits the hex.


Julian

don't go the hitachi, I had the model before this one and it spent so much time in the shop getting fixed i went and bougt a 12 volt Makita to tide me over, a much nicer drill for hanging doors and putting screws in with the Hitachi was soo heavy. I notice around Xmas that panasonic were doing a lith-ion drill/ impact kit for $650 or their abouts, very sweet drill but not the range of tools to add on.

cfour

I had a similar delema when I was looking for my cordless. Asked myself what was the best drill I could get for around the $500 mark. Did the research over the net read reviews etc. Found that panasonic or festo was the best choice. I settled on the 15.6V panasonic because of the 3.5amp-hour batteries and the fact that in low gear I could not stop the chuck from turning. I still grin from ear to ear when I pick it up. The festo was sligtly down as far as battery longevity goes but it did come with some nifty chucks that would allow you to drill right in the corner and do a few other things.

Overall if you go the panasonic you wont look back (the salesman did stear me away from the 18V because of a trigger issue but said the 15.6V was fine).
Pete

This is where the value for money is. With two batteries, charger and drill chuck was about $270.00

The drill chuck wasn't a great idea, though. The impact mechanism loosens the chuck grip on a drill. Eventually the chuck stem sheared its self off. Was subsequently able to by a ryobi 18 volt drill for 100 bucks that uses the same battery as the impact driver.

Don't know how long it will last but I have got many hundreds of hours out of it so far. Real value for money.

I just purchased the Makita 18v Li-Ion inpact driver and it's fantastic. Batteries are brilliant, 300+ S/S decking screws on a charge and could still go! Heaps of grunt and fits nicely in the hand. It was a toss-up between Panasonic and Makita but settled on Makita as batteries/charger are interchangeable with recip saw, hammer drill etc.

I've read so much about impact drivers vs cordless drills that I'm totally confused.

I want to do the following (indicates the proprtion of the total usage the tool will be used for the task):
1. Drill using ordinary wood drills (65%)
2. Drill using ordinary tungsten steel drills (10%)
3. Drive screws into all densities of wood (20%)
4. Drill holes into masonry with masonry drills (5%)

Is there one generic sort of tool I should buy or do I need multiple tools? Can I do all these things with ONE cordless device?

Originally Posted by cfour

Need some advice on the purchase of a Cordless Power Drill. My current project requires me to fasten Laserlite sheeting to a treated pine frame, using Oneshot 50mm screws, apporx 6x7m area.My current drill runs out of puff after 10-15min.

Budget < $600. Brands I have looked at are Dewalt, Makita and Bosh. Will a 14.4v suffice or I need a 18v?

After this project is over, the drill will be mainly used on weekends for work at home.

Probably not what your after but an impact driver 14.4 makaita kills it for this.. we were doing them into merbau battens before xmas which is way tougher and we still did it comfortably with 2 impacts and 1 battery each

Plus an 18v makita cordless is only around 450 bucks now anyway if you don't go lithium batteries

cheers utemad

I have owned dewalt, makita, hitachi, panasonic, Bosch but now would not go past Milwaukee and AEG. I have 2 18V drills one milwaukee one aeg and they are brilliant. I did my entire polycarb roof 100sq m of roof on one 2.4aH NiCd battery. Most comfortable in the hand of all the brands mentioned.

Anyway each to their own. Dewalt and to a lesser extent Makita have the brand recognition but Milwaukee, Metabo, Panasonic, Hilti for my money are better options.

I bought the 14.4 v Pana Li-ion, twelve months ago. I have done a 50sqm deck, 25 odd metres of hand-rail and balusters, the colorbond on the roof, a ceiling, plus odd jobs like fencing and building gates. The Pana is awesome, very easy to use, light, and the batteries last forever!

I went and bought a Hitachi DV18DL on the weekend and o my god, what a drill, it has buckets of power and would easily handle anything you can throw at it, very pleased.

If you are going to buy one I would recomend the DV18DL.

i concur about the hitachi. we have plenty of drills at work, from AEG, hitachi, dewalt, bosch, panasonic and makita and if I have the option I always go for the hitachi. Makita's are good, but they don't seem to have the same battery life. I'm not sure if the batteries are the same cell types though, so this might be comparing apples with oranges.

these drills are company owned, so get used and abused and the makitas and hitachis will take on anything.

having said that, i wouldn't use the hammer function of a cordless drill, mostly because when I am drilling in masonary, there's going to be a fair few holes, so a corded will go the distance.

I bought the Metabo SBZ 14.4 I referred to above, and it has blown me away!

The impact option and the Impulse function are excellent. It's feel is excellent and it chews through work that my previous drill could not handle. The batteries charge in now time and hold charge for months. I love it!!!!

Pheno