Thread: cordless drill/driver - help!

G'Day Niall

Have had a Bunnings brand Ozito for quite some time is 20+V and 3 years warranty and has a spare battery . Had a bit of trouble with it after 2+ years and went down and they exchanged it on the spot. Keep your receipts, also a lot less than $300 to buy, so you can spend the extra on something else

Cheers
Bernie

Hi Niallybin, What Bernie said.

I use two GMC 14.4V and they get a lot of use. They both came with two batteries so I've always got batteries on charge when I'm working. I use one for drilling and one for screwdriving.

They get the usual hard knocks and forced landings off benches etc but they just keep going.

I figure if the cheap GMCs drill and screw properly and reliably then there's no need to spend any more. And many people I know can't tell whether a hole was drilled with a cheap drill or a dear drill.

Mine show no sign of giving up, but if they do I'll be looking for similarly-priced replacements -- probably a couple of Ozitos with their 3 year warranty.

Michael

A big consideration is 'How heavy is it?' - if its too heavy you will try to avoid using it. A few years ago Fine Woodworking did some testing & concluded that 14.4 volts was the 'sweet spot' for drill weight vs power - this many have changed a bit with the new Lithium batteries but anything over 18v still seems too heavy for anyone but a professional body builder.

At one stage - don't know if they still have any - Bunnings had 'real' Makita 14.4 volt drills for a bit under $300 with 2 batteries & a 'smart' charger that handled 9.6 > 18 volt Makita batteries. I have the 3 speed cordless and the impact driver from this series.

Bosch green are fair quality tools, some are very good & some are 'not so good' - I haven't bought any of the green series cordless tools, but I know a few places seem to think they are OK for home & shed rather than job site use, so they should be pretty close to what you want - and they have been selling for round the $100 mark for the 12 volt drill - the bigger drill seems to have a considerable jump in cost for the extra 2 cells.

thanks for your help guys.

bsrlee, is the makita you are talking about this one:
http://www.sydneytools.com.au/shopex...id=11416&bc=no

and would this Bosch:
http://www.sydneytools.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=1116&bc=no

be better than this one:
http://www.sydneytools.com.au/shopex...id=11420&bc=no

cheers
niall

The Makita looks a lot like the one Bunnies were flogging - the one I got is a 3 speed with separate torque ring and a flip switch that sets drill or screw, so you don't have to change the torque setting when you get it right - it was also about $400 more than that 2 speed. Makita have a HEAP of different models.

The blue Bosch is Bosch Industrial aka Bosch Blue and has NiCad batteries, Bunnies were selling the 'home handyman' type aka Bosch Green in 12 volt NiCad for around $99 - Pauls Mid City Hardware still have plenty if Bunnies have taken them off stock. The Bosch green that you have shown is the new, just released Lithium battery drill, which has the battery fixed internally, no swap possible, and it sits in an open charger (I have the earlier 9.6 volt one) & is a right P.I.T.A. as the drill keeps falling out of the charger & onto the floor if you look at it wrong - still I would not knock one back if someone gave it to me