Thread: Cordless Power Tools

Panasonic cordless drills used to be among the best

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

Panasonic cordless drills used to be among the best

Still are if the one at work is any indication

Phil

panasonic my first choice to

Hi,

In answer to Pipeclay's question, my employer does supply such tools but everyone has to use them and we are often away for short to long periods of time. So owning my own is would be beneficial, don't have to share them and know they will be looked after.

I checked out the Sydney Tools site and liked what I saw:

https://sydneytools.com.au/milwaukee...iver-combo-kit

and

https://sydneytools.com.au/milwaukee...nder-skin-only

They aren't the brushless type but I don't think that matters too much. I can also buy other skins when I need them. Now I just have to convince the finance minster....

Thanks Ben.

I'd agree, I personally wouldn't buy something from Bunnings if they had an exclusive deal on the brand. Just my opinion.

I've had a few Dewalt tools and found them crap. They used to be good however. Pretty sad. One was a planer IIRC and the whole body had warped so the two soles weren't in the same plane. I swapped it and it was the same. They checked their stock and they were all like it too. The reason they figured was they'd got hot in the container and warped. Good thing we live in such a cold country

For cordless, one word, Makita. They may or may not be the absolute best, but I have very good experience with all my Makita products. Probably 90% of the tradies I know use them. That could be a factor if your battery/charger goes turtle on site as you can probably borrow either from somebody else and get the job finished for the day. I have the 18V Li models and just can't kill them. I wore out the chuck on my drill driver and it wasn't worth messing about trying to replace it, and just bought a new skin. Cheap on ebay. The chuck is about the only thing I can think of that isn't much chop, but them I'm more used to workshop chucks so it's a big ask. My Metabo corded drill chuck is good however.

Sydney tools price things very well in my experience. I would recommend them.

Its a tricky business with even the recognized companies ie Bosch and Makita for starters having a handyman level of tools and a tradesman level.Bosch have a green handyman series and the teal blue tradies tools.

Makita start off with with their standard blue line the lower level (cheaper) cheaper electricals, ie switches and electric motor wattage's, cheaper mechanicals and bearings.

We are influenced by word of mouth and experience. Indeed Makita have been a top performer for many years and the brand image has been influencing one generation to the next.
Taking Makita again as an example someone can be disappointed in a lower end tool as they might have made their selection on heresay and say Dad's opinion on his 20 year old tool.

We all tend to forget at times that the reasons an cheaper item is cheaper can be because of cheaper labour and cheaper materials and not just a function of throughly good design.


These days if I had to buy a new tool it would be on the basis of well known and trusted (sic) brands. For me it would be Makita, Hitachi and Bosch. The current AEG is a huge disappointment.The tools don't look and feel "quality". The type and feel of the plastic does not impress.The tools don't have the heft they once had meaning the light weight is attributed to substituting plastic for metals.

Grahame

For me it's the Panasonic 14.4v range started buying them 10 years ago and have quite the range. batteries last real well and the build quality is great? They've recently upgraded to 18 v so will be replacing as they get tired( however many years that takes)

Not exactly related to this thread, but I replaced my years old 125mm Makita angle grinder with a blue Bosch unit yesterday. The face plate that sits behind the wheel mount arbor is made of plastic!!. Tha Makita burnt out a few weeks ago. I have been using a 2 handed type with soft start since then. This has not been easy to use.

I was a bit lucky with the price. The local hardware store we use had a 2 day sale. We went in to get a 5 drawer tool chest (for cutting tools) and had a look at a new grinder. Only a 100mm was available in the blue range. One of the sales guys mumbled something about the blue unit being cheaper and better. It turns out that they are ticketed as 100mm because that is what was ordered, but they are 125mm kits at the 100mm price. Apparently this keeps happening with this item. $71.20 with 4 cutting disks, 4 grinding disks, gloves and glasses. There is also an extra guard which is wider and has full cover on the outer face down to the same depth as the inside face. I am not sure what this is for.

Dean