Thread: Advice on cordless drill pls

I just purchased a set of makita brushless lithium battery set from sydney tools.

It came with impact driver and hammer cordless drills amp 3 lithium batteries n charger for $500ish it may be on the exspensive side but its good value for money and being brushless set will last me a long time. After only having my old drill a 1.5 yrs i needed something to last longer

If i could recommend anything id look at a reputable brand and get an 18v lithium battery cordless hammer drill

Depends on usage pattern and usage.

If you'll be using it just once every 3-4 months, get a corded drill; otherwise most of your drill usage time will be spent recharging the damn thing. Ditto if you are going to be using it in a garage or other 'power handy' place - cordless is good for when time is money and you don't know where power points are (I still have - and use - the first corded drill I ever had, and it's close to 30 years old, but I'm up to my 4th cordless in 15 years, though...guess which type is better value for money)

Batteries have finite shelf life, and lithium is the worst of the battery mob for shelf life, while nicads and NiMH have the most self discharge.

Punch (in the face) any salesman who mentions 'memory effect' and (when helping them off the floor) ask them to point you towards peer reviewed literature on memory effect. They won't have any. It's cheap overcharging chargers and poor cell matching by manufacturers.

Don't go for large drills if you will only have light usage. A large grunty he-man master of the universe drill connected to the battery pack of a Prius won't drive a #7 screw or sink a 6mm drill bit any better than a 12 or 14 volt model. It's rare in woodwork to be using screws larger than that, and even then holes will be pre-drilled, especially in Australian hardwood.

Don't buy features you don't need. Not considering drilling into brick all that often? Hammer isn't really high on the list then; better to look for features you will use, such as good torque at low speeds and a two speed gearbox.

Love the Makita cordless drills myself.

Own and use Makita 18v drills.

Have also used AEG drills and the best feature is the batteries have charge indicator lights.

If you are working in a workshop with mains power available then do not worry about 3ah batteries.

When selling cordless tools to customers we go thru a series of questions to know what tools to show them like:

whats your budget
how often will you be using it
will you be buying any other tools on the battery platform in the future, if yes what tools
what type of work will you be doing with it

there is so much choice & different combinations these days that you need to do the above to get the best value for what you want to spend

I too swear by Makita, they have a good range and perform well, in having said that, at the moment I have the Hitachi 18v lithium, plenty of grunt but not without its flaws.

Originally Posted by Master Splinter

Depends on usage pattern and usage.

Batteries have finite shelf life, and lithium is the worst of the battery mob for shelf life, while nicads and NiMH have the most self discharge.

Punch (in the face) any salesman who mentions 'memory effect' and (when helping them off the floor) ask them to point you towards peer reviewed literature on memory effect. They won't have any. It's cheap overcharging chargers and poor cell matching by manufacturers.

Haha i have heard the term memory effect a lot since purchasing these lithium batteries.

Out of curiousity does anyone know why salesmen are pushing the term "memory effect" if there hasnt been an independent study by anyone to prove this?

Is it just something that manufacturers are coming up with the latest marketing term or is there actually some level of truth behind it? ie when a lithium battery is left on charger for a long time it doesnt shorten its life as it doesnt over charge.

Hi all
Thanks heaps for the advice, I spent a little more $$ and got the Hitachi kit, 18v 4amp and is the brushless type. It was light in my hands and felt right. I'm thinking that it was a bit expensive but i figure that I won't be buying another drill for many many yrs and this is an investment in my artistic future
And fortunately the sales men didn't mentioned nothing about "memory effect'.

thanks all for the advice

Delbs -

Any statement made by a salesperson should be discounted from actual fact by at least 80%. Nicad memory effect has been proved not to exist in consumer batteries (see PDF below). Memory effect in NIMH and Li-ion batteries similarly does not exist. Its cheap charge circuitry and overcharging that causes most problems. Li-ion batteries have the problem of a limited shelf life (used or unused) of about 3-5 years from manufacture...ie the battery will be trash no matter how well you look after it.

The seminal paper describing memory effect was referring to the very closely measured batteries in a satelite in space.

"True memory only happens in sintered plate NiCd cells (which aren't necessarily the sort of NiCd you're using, and are of course completely different from any kind of NiMH cell), and it only happens when you precisely discharge a cell to exactly the same level over and over again, and recharge it without any overcharge. True memory effect happens in satellite power systems, electronics test labs, and practically nowhere else."

From Dan's Quick Guide to Memory Effect, You Idiots

There's a more detailed explanation here (pdf file):
http://www.battcon.com/PapersFinal20...rFINAL2003.pdf

TL; DR summary of the PDF - Memory effect does not exist in consumer nicad battery devices.

I love my Hitachi 18V. Yesterday I drilled 65 off 8mm holes through 10mm thick of cast aluminium before the battery went flat. I just put the second battery in and kept on going.

Originally Posted by dstar

Hi there
I'm a novice at all this and I enjoy making my own furniture and recently my family for my birthday gave me some $ to buy a cordless drill.

So apart from buying one that feels comfortable to hold, what else should i look out for?
I was thinking at least 18v....but have no idea what else I should look for in a good cordless drill.

Thanks
D

I bought a dewalt 12v with lithium battery both drill and hammer drill and sale for little over $300 and they are quick charge and have alot of power for smaller jobs and good for getting in to small place because the are small and light weight and good for the Gazebo Bird feeders i make but not good if your doing big jobs like putting in long screws or lags ,,,, i also have witch i bought 3 years ago a panasonic 14v Li-ion drill and hammer drill this one is alitte bigger but has all the power i need for any job (didnt know panasonic made drills untill of friend from Louisana had showed me his and liked it and bought one ) Gueas its all on what u are useing the cordless for and everybody got there own opinion


Home - Shop For Incredible Tools

Originally Posted by VEK TOOLS

When selling cordless tools to customers we go thru a series of questions to know what tools to show them like:

whats your budget
how often will you be using it
will you be buying any other tools on the battery platform in the future, if yes what tools
what type of work will you be doing with it

there is so much choice & different combinations these days that you need to do the above to get the best value for what you want to spend

Excellent post!

I'd like to emphasise one point as an illustration of why consideration is needed with all.

If you want a one-size-fits-all, that is a drill to do it all - out in the garden, around the house drilling into brick walls, in the shed drilling wood and then driving screws - you have no choice but to get a high power drill, say around 18 v. (Keep in mind that there are volts and there are "volts". More in a while).

As a rule the greater the power the larger the battery, and mass/weight increases proportionally.

You do not need much power for woodworking (drilling wood and driving screws). My first good battery drill was a 12v Panasonic about 18 years ago. This was/is a beautifully balanced drill, one that I preferred to a Festool at that time. After 5 years the on-off switch went and the cost seemed too high to justify a repair. So I purchased a 15v Panasonic. Power, power, power! Over time I discovered that it was heavy and fatiguing to use building furniture. I did the unthinkable - had the 12v repaired.

The 12v is still going strong. I've had the batteries repacked a couple of times, but the drill is good. I really cannot imagine needing more power.

The 15v, on the other hand, would get picked up last, or used for heavy work, such as drilling concrete. The batteries bit the dust (again) recently and instead of replacing them I bought another drill. Looking at the market (and having a wife that says "buy once"), I plumped for the 10.8v Festool C12 Li. This is not cheap!!!! It is probably the best drill for furniture building around. Light and very powerful. You just cannot reconcile that a 10.8v motor can produce such torque. The point of mentioning this tool is just to make that point - big voltage is not always necessary, and not all voltage is as claimed by manufacturers. I would be suspicious of the Chinese volts.

Another point is that cheap can be dear. It does depend on how much use a drill will get. The Chinese motors may have plastic bearings and wear out in months. Or you may be happy with a throwaway tool - personally I dislike that concept. I'm not trying to sell you a Festool, but pointing out that you get what you pay for. Look around and read the reviews of various reliable makes, such as Makita.

Regards from Perth

Derek