Thread: Curious as to what cordless drill / impact drivers chippies are using on site.

Originally Posted by justinmcf

hi boban, are you a chippy?

Not a framing carpenter, No.

Why do you ask? Own a Makita do you?

Or are you going to tell me how you need to have the accuracy of a Kapex in one breath then tell us all that you wont take it on site because it is so precious.

Oh and since you are on this track, I own both a LS1013 and a Kapex.

Why don't you just tell me I'm wrong and tell me why I am wrong.

hi boban, the reason i ask is....i have yet to meet a chippy that doesnt own cordless drills/tools.

i am not trying to start a pissing contest,

btw, can you tell me if you have had any dramas with your kapex?

i have had to remove the plastic throat plate on mine because it was swelling up.

regards, justin

Originally Posted by justinmcf

hi boban, the reason i ask is....i have yet to meet a chippy that doesnt own cordless drills/tools.

i am not trying to start a pissing contest,

btw, can you tell me if you have had any dramas with your kapex?

i have had to remove the plastic throat plate on mine because it was swelling up.

regards, justin

Mate, I don't know too many framers that own or need one. That is what I know chippies to be.

As far as fixing carpenters are concerned, there is a need, but it's nothing like the sparkies. Guys in joinery shops use brads more than screws but there is a need. I don't think of these trades as chippies.

As for the Kapex, I still use the Makita more because its set up on the bench. The only problem so far with the Kapex is that the lasers need to be calibrated. Otherwise its not too bad.

hi boban, i am glad to hear you have no problems with the kapex. i have had to calibrate my kapex when i got it home for the first time.

it has been on site once and when i brought it back to the garage/workshop it needed calibrating again. but no major dramas yet.

getting back to dingoshreds original question. i have been using dewalt, aeg, bosch, makita, panasonic, milwaukee cordless tools for the last 18 years.

i have mixed results with all of the above, i would not say one is better than the other, i guess it all depends what you are doing with them and how well you look after your tools, and what colour you like!

i have had a dewalt drill fall 8 metres and bounce along the concrete, it only needed 1 wire to be screwed tight again. the drill still works perfectly.

i have invested quite a few thousand dollars in makita cordless tools lately, some of their tools have been great, such as the reciprocating saw and 18 volt driver.
but i have had a couple of makita 18 volt drills breakdown for no apparent reason.

panasonic have always had a great name, very highly regarded by all trades i have spoken with. milwaukee too.

i am looking at protool or panasonic for my next cordless upgrade. but i have not made up my mind yet.

i would recommend to dingoshred to look at an 18 volt combo kit, because there will be times you need that extra grunt and the cordless saws save you so much time.

the 14 volt gear is great, but if you need to drill some holes while on a roof, 3 or 4 storeys up, you dont want to be running leads out for 1 or 2 holes.
i am looking at new 18 volt cordless tools for construction site work and i will be getting the 14.4 volt gear for my workshop/cabinetmaking.

hope this helps, justin.

Further to the debate. If I am using the machine (impact driver or drill) all day and have it swinging off my hip I appreciate the size and weight of the 14.4 rather than the 18 or 24 volt jobbies. Just means I don't have to pull my nailbelt up as often. 3/4 of a kilo less makes a fair difference at the end of the day. Also, as far as roofs are concerned, I lay and tack off about 500- 600 square M in a day and if our batteries are fully charged then my mate and I generally get it done on one battery. 1.6mm purlins. 2mm then you change batteries at lunch.

Originally Posted by boban

Chippies have never been big users of cordless drills.
.

Maybe you should have said "Chippies who ONLY do framing have never been big users of cordless drills"

I'm a Chippie (office fitout/shopfitting) and my cordless's and impact driver are my most used tools.

I've had a 15.6v Pansonic now for 9 years (ish), batteries are brilliant (mine have only just died, only hold charge for about 15min now), but the chucks are junk (gone through 4), the switches break (gone through 3) and I've lunched one motor (fixed for free thanks to a friend at a tool shop). As for for new Lion they may have fixed these problems? I don't know.

Also got a 24volt bosch drill, had this for about 7 years, on my second set of batteries, drill is very powerful but is way to heavy for constant use (weighs almost 3kg). The impact driver is a 12volt Ryobi, I only have this as I had a Bunnings gift voucher but according to a tool review it has Panasonic batteries.

Packed away in the shed are 2 old Makita drills (9.6 or 12volt??) both are perfect but the batteries are junk,

Dingoshred all the major brands (Milwaukee, Bosch, Dewalt, Panasonic, AEG, Hitachi, Metabo, Hilti, Makita) have their good points and bad points go to a tool shop pick up each one and try them for yourself and buy the one you feel most comfortable with.

As for me. When I break the Bosch and Ryobi (woops I mean when THEY break) I'll be buying a Makita LXT drill and impact driver.