Thread: Cordless Drill Replacement

here a while back I had similar issues, and based on recommendations from a couple of tradie mates I acquired an 18V Milwaukee kit. In part due to price, and in part due to a 5 year warranty on the skins. I tried Makita & De Walt, and performance wise there is little difference from my experience, and either of those are also quality gear. Each bloke will have a degree of brand loyalty, you only need talk to a Festool owner

The other factor was the other tools in the range that use the same battery, I wanted a metal circular saw, as I do a bit of pergola work every now and then, and also a right angle impact driver, 7 1/4" circular saw, rotary hammer drill, 5" grinder, jigsaw and an impact driver. I put together a kit that suited me with 3 x 4.0 AH batteries. All of it has been used quite a bit, and the jigsaw is an absolute pleasure to use.

If you only need a drill, consider a drill and impact combo as they put these on special regularly and certainly falls wihtin your price range http://www.totaltools.com.au/milwauk...t-m1/i1168700/ .

The next time I have some spare cash I will acquire the planer. Happy with my choice, and no buyers remorse, but the plastic card still has bruises.

Dewalt. Good for turning over motors if the truck has a flat battery too

Originally Posted by cava

The time has come to replace my Makita Cordless Drill. I have had the drill for 15+ years, but the batteries are dead and won't hold a charge, and I don't want to go down the non-original replacement path.

I need a reasonably powerful replacement with clutch settings for larger projects and able to take >10mm bits (hopefully, soon I will be building a house). I do not need an impact driver.

yes you do unless you will NEVER drive screws with it.

I could go to the usual tool stores, and take their advice, but sometimes it is dependent on the various opines of the salesperson and brands they stock. Not sure of the pricing either but <$500 would be desired.

So guys/gals what should I go for?

I quite like the 10.8V Bosch / Makita Li drivers -- powerful but still light in the hand

cava, when you say you "do not need an impact driver" - I always thought that too. Until I bought one. I was struggling to drive metal self tappers into my shed frame and thought I'd try one of these new-fangled things (that have been around for ages of course). The difference is astonishing. There are two huge advantages to using an impact driver when driving screws - 1. You don't have to use nearly as much effort to push the damn thing so hard. My shoulders thank me every time I use it. and 2. You don't go through nearly as many driving bits or screws, because the impact driver stops trying to turn when it can't and therefore doesn't strip the driver bit or the screw head nearly as much. I am a huge fan of mine and never use my drill to drive screws in any more. My wife is also sold - she uses the drill and impact driver quite a bit as well, and this is one tool she hasn't complained about me buying (not that she does generally anyway...). The difference truly is amazing. So if you use a drill to drive screws, try an impact driver instead. Mine are both Ryobi ONE+ Li-ion. I've got 4 batteries because I tend to use them all day when I'm doing a job, and 2 chargers. I'm a weekend woodworker so my tools don't have to be as robust as tradies' tools, but I do use them a lot and so far they've been excellent.

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.

AGree with Poppa entirely re impact driver - second best tool I have besides the cordless drill. I have old Hitachi stuff and I have given it a pasting. Next cordless tools I get will depend on range of other tools that use the same battery. I reckon Makita is looking the go at this stage

Originally Posted by ian

yes you do unless you will NEVER drive screws with it.

News to me, I have never found the need for one and I have just finished a deck/fence using hardwood joists, pine deck and about 3,000 screws.

Whether you are going to use a impact driver or not, you should be able to make use of the 20% discounts from masters through ebay - http://stores.ebay.com.au/Official-M...=p4634.c0.m322

Apart from the Triton/Hilti ranges listed on the Masters/eBay site, I have never heard of the others from Masters.

Personally I would prefer more recognised brandnames ie Makita, Hitachi, Bosch etc.

As arthritis is slowly taking over in my hands, I love my impact driver for screws.
Have a separate 18v AEG drill for drilling..

Are you really sure you don't need an impact driver?

For what it's worth to the OP, I use the drill for driving only very small screws with the clutch let right out for screw setting. All the bigger stuff not requiring setting gets hit with the impact driver. Absolutely no contest. If in doubt try one and you'll soon see what Ian & BobC mean.

Another thing, pick them up and try them on for size, I did when buying my first and realised some just didn't fit my hand. Hitachis were way too small and uncomfortable while others felt bulky, fit is a personal thing.

Some ratbag might comment on this, if he does... Listen.

Originally Posted by cava

Apart from the Triton/Hilti ranges listed on the Masters/eBay site, I have never heard of the others from Masters.

Personally I would prefer more recognised brandnames ie Makita, Hitachi, Bosch etc.

Try this link

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