Thread: Cordless Drill Replacement

Originally Posted by cava

I already have an impact drill of the corded variety, and to be honest, I have probably used it a handful of times in the last 10 years.

That's why you don't use it George.

You're going to build a house. You'll use an Impact Driver many times a day if you have a good one.

Smaller and lighter than drills of the same power
plus the impact function
plus not having to take the drill bit out to drive a screw.

I have two IDs (powerful Makita, 10.8v De Walt relegated to Philips head small screws) and 3 drills - looking at getting a fourth DW 10.8 drill.

Yup, I don't like changing bits around during a project.

Originally Posted by cava

I already have an impact drill of the corded variety, and to be honest, I have probably used it a handful of times in the last 10 years.

However, point taken regarding driving screws into hard materials.

This might help explain that your impact drill is different to the impact driver and why you haven't used your drill over the years.

Originally Posted by cava

Much as I dislike Masters, I think that a preliminary visit is in order to see what they have.

Just came cross the Hitachi set marked down from $400 to 300 before the 20% off, not bad for $240. but couldn't find it through a search though.http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221930217...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Pity I am not an octopus so I don't need anymore battery drills and impact drivers.

To throw a different name into the discussion: I absolutely adore my Panasonic cordless drills.
The 9.6V one has the pointiest nose (slim chuck) and the finest torque adjustment of any I've
seen - some 20 steps, which makes it perfect for doing things like working on computers or driving
screws into something fine that might just be prone to splitting.
My wife absolutely loves it too. I don't think they make them any more though

I also have a 12V one. Feels like it's made from lead. Both are NiMH technology, and I can get after
market batteries from some outfit that is situated in Holland, they post them free of charge from -
I think Hong Kong. They are as good as, if not better than, the original ones.

Both these drills are much heavier than comparable products from any other brand I've held.
Very very solid, tight engineering. But - expensive to buy, I'll say that.

When I tightened up my deck before the wedding party 15 years ago, I tried to use a Ryobi 18V (I think it was 18)
such that someone gave me. I could feel the whole body warping and twisting. Eventually the gear box snapped
internally when we put up a Totalspan barn not long after. The 12V Panasonic? Ha! Did a better job driving, never faltered,
and felt as stiff and solid like a piece of cast iron in my hands. You get what you pay for. Sometimes.

Disclaimer: I had these for a long time. The 9.6v one since the 80s, no sign of flagging. I don't know anything about
their new production line of Li-ion ones. They could be absolute rubbish for all I know.

My thoughts on this discussion.

Impact driver
Read Treecycle's link, it explains the difference really well. If as you say you are building a house the impact driver will save a hang of a lot of effort and make driving screws much faster and easier. The impact driver is a huge time saver.

Make
Don't go bargain or cheap you will regret it. But as others have said once you make this purchase you will be locked in to that battery type. Go for the highest capacity battery you can, I think they are currently 5 AH. I have the Dewalt but any quality brand should be fine.

Brushless
Up until recently the brushless motors have been elite but they are coming into their own and will soon be standard offerings rather than elite. within a year I would predict that most contractor quality cordless tool ranges will be replaced by brushless and even now most manufacturers are beginning to offer brushless equivalents for not much more than the brushed equivalent. Why brushless? They are smaller and more efficient for the same power. They use fully computerised electronic control which means that they hold speed and torque setting much more consistently. In other words they do not change speed under load, they just keep going so long as they are not overloaded. I have a really nice brushed drill/impact combo set but all of my new new hand held power tools will be brushless. The cost previously has been the control circuitry but as production ramps up the cost has dropped making them much more in line with their brushed counterparts and this will rapidly reach parity IMHO. In short brushless is the future for powered hand tools.

In conclusion I know you stated that your budget is $500 (my combo set was $499 with 3 batteries but that was when the AU$ was healthier) but don't be afraid to spend a little more if you need to. Trust me you will not regret it. And finally, as others have said, once you have settled on your choice shop around. Do not select brand by what is available, select your brand and model then look around for a good price. That in my opinion is a better strategy.

John

Bought the Makita 18V Li set of drill and impact driver about 3 years ago. The biggest advantage I see is the drill can be left purely for drilling, no constantly changing bits.

As others have said, didn't think I would make much use of the impact driver but really wanted the drill. I was wrong, wrong, wrong, the impact driver is well and truly my go to for screwing both ordinary screws and hex headed screws. Last year I repaired a pool fence which had nailed palings, the nails were backing out, easiest solution, gal roof screws. Tried the usual drill with a hex adapter as a comparison test, worked but slow and hard work as the rails are hardwood. Used the impact driver and it was a breeze, 2 batteries on the go, 400 palings, 800 screws, 4h work, 3 cups of coffee and it was beer o'clock.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

That's why you don't use it George.

You're going to build a house. You'll use an Impact Driver many times a day if you have a good one.

Smaller and lighter than drills of the same power

An impact driver is a little heavier than the same standard equivalent drill. An impact driver is noisy, an impact driver has no clutch control to set the screw properly relying on the operator to some how judge the stop point. Just about any modern 18V drill will drive and break fasteners in low gear. I know it is an unpopular concept and I know no one will accept it (my problem, not yours) but they are really unnecessary with proper pre drilling in most cases. I have both and I never use the impact facility and I do mean never. I only bought it as the Protool special at the time was so damned cheap and I thought it might come in handy one day but that day is yet to arrive. I do have a small Bosch impact driver for internal cabinet work but it is going to get the flick and a small brushless driver will replace it. They weren't readily available when I bought the Bosch. What 10V small brushless driver won't drive an 8 gauge screw?

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I only bought it as the Protool special at the time was so damned cheap and I thought it might come in handy one day but that day is yet to arrive.

I'm confused Chris. The protool you bought was a drill (it may have been a hammer drill). They never made an impact driver.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

I'm confused Chris. The protool you bought was a drill (it may have been a hammer drill). They never made an impact driver.

Was it? I just bought one of each and never really took any notice of what it did as the price was so good. To expand on what I said in the previous post, I suppose I have not drunk enough of the kool aid so to speak that convinces me that impact drivers are anything more than a bit of a gimmick THESE DAYS. In the past when the drivers were lower powered and far less capable maybe a case could be made for their use but these days with 18V drivers in common use I think their time has passed. As I said, I know it is contrary to popular belief and so be it.

NOTE: Fred, if you read this I did not get an email notification of a new post to this thread and I will add to the other thread.

Cava, I got an email from Bunnings trade today. Guess what they are selling
http://l.bunnings.com.au/trade/our-r...ewalt-kit.aspx

Originally Posted by justonething

Cava, I got an email from Bunnings trade today. Guess what they are selling
http://l.bunnings.com.au/trade/our-r...ewalt-kit.aspx

Thanks for that. Is it a >10 mm chuck and how long would a 1.3 Amp battery last?

Originally Posted by justonething

Cava, I got an email from Bunnings trade today. Guess what they are selling
http://l.bunnings.com.au/trade/our-r...ewalt-kit.aspx

Interesting. DW have been producing back in the USA for about 12 months. Curious to know where these are made. If China then they are old stock which would explain what appears to be a very good price.

Looks like a good buy to me George. but note that you'll be chasing down a 5Ah battery pretty soon. They are only 1.3 (which have their uses, btw, when you need less height or lighter weight).

Thanks Brett.

Currently my old Makita was using 14.4V NiCd 2.0 Amps, which was adequate for me.

However, I do wonder how long 1.3 Amps would last with 'average' use. Any idea?

At $199. its probably worth getting another battery. Maybe $100 for a 3AH? That way, one on the charger all the time, one on each bit of kit. Plus, Amazon US have deals on Dewalt tools sometimes. I know USA is 110V but you have the charger; and the skins or batteries may be cheaper. That may be worth a look if you are not squeamish about getting stuff from overseas. Trouble is, that model may be "Unique" to Bunnings.