which cordless drill to buy?

My old drill is on it's way out,the batt. just wont hold a charge anymore.It is an old b&d and it was a tough drill(dropped and got wet outside many times).But now I may upgrade on the next one.What does everyone think?Which brands are working best for you guys?Thanks for all replies and comments.

P.S. I use mine mostly for general construction projects.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Russell on October 30, 2009 at 8:37am: James,

I have given every brand a fair shot and my longest lasting drill that really took a lot of abuse was a Hitachi.
But I found that you can double the performance life of the drill by purchasing an impact drill as well. Use the regular drill for drilling holes and setting small screws and use the impact drill for setting screws that are more than 1-1/4" long.

I am currently on my 3rd year with a set of Makita drills( I use them daily) and I'm anxious to see if they out perform my prior Hitachi's.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by David Taragin on October 30, 2009 at 8:54am: If you choose anything but Festool, buy at Home Depot until the end of next week and they will give you 15% off if you give them your old drill. (as per Popular Woodworking blog); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kevin R Case on October 30, 2009 at 9:18am: My shop has enough outlets and I don't mind hauling a extension cord for that quick picture hook. I HATE BATTERIES. Get a new corded drill.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kent Eggers on October 30, 2009 at 9:51am: Fine woodworking has a tool test review for 18v cordless drills. http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=32805

You'll also find several other articles on finewoodworking.com that might be of some help.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by AJ Hopkins on October 30, 2009 at 8:57pm: I'm not far from getting another drill, as my cordless has been starting to lower it's usefulness in my eyes. (yeah, i'm getting that "itch" to have more than one tool.)

Things to look for in a cordless: smart battery charging (keeping it topped up/off, but not roasting the batteries), a lack of constant drain if the batteries are left in the drill between uses, durability, effective voltage for longer times.

All that said, I'm leaning to what Kevin stated. Go corded for the drill, and cordless for the light duty screwdriver.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ed Harp on October 30, 2009 at 9:10pm: I have three Makita 18 volt drills, lion batteries. The smaller black and white one and two of the larger greenish ones. And one of those impact driver doodads. All have been wonderful despite a fair bit of abuse over the Summer.

I was surprised at how much I like the driver whatzit. I found that it drives these square drive frustrating screws from heck without stripping much better than any other drill I have tried. Stainless steel stuff is too soft, but it's in redwood.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Craig on October 31, 2009 at 3:16pm: I prefer Bosch. Try to get Li-Ion batteries, they should help you get longer life from the batteries that Ni-Cad or NiMH. Also look at picking up an impact driver that uses the same batteries as your drill.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matt Christopher on October 31, 2009 at 4:49pm: For me I was a Dewalt guy all the way. Years have passed and I have bought battries and have found out the batteries cost as much as the drill was so I would just buy the new model. Now for me general use where a clutch does not matter (90% people leave it on the drill setting anyway) I just but the dog cheat harbor freight cordless drills. 19.2 @ $40.00 and $10.00 for battries. for the price of one Dewalt I can get several of these drills and have them setup with a driver bit and another with a countersink. They don't have the balance of the heaft but for me having several setup is a nice thing. When they blow up who cares it was 40.00 i'll just get another one.

If I got to get a drill that needs balance and a good clutch I'll spend the money for the good drill. 99% of the time elcheapo HFT will do the trick.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dyami Plotke on October 31, 2009 at 8:42pm: James,
I've been using cordless drills for the last ten years both at work in the construction field and at home around the house and woodworking. I presently own 10 cordless drills (if you include the 3 impact drivers).

The first, and most important rule is, only consider Lithium Ion. It blows every other battery type out of the water.

If you're looking for an all around great cordless, you can't beat the Makita 18 volt Li-Ion 1.5 Amp Hour dill. It's cheap and works great with plenty of power. If you looking for a monster cordless, then step up to the Makita 18 volt Li-Ion 3 Amp Hour.

While 18 volt tools used to be the only voltage range I used, the introduction of Li-Ion has really added some power to the lower voltage ranges. For general woodworking and finish work, and good 12 volt Li-Ion will probably do about everything you could want. If you're going 12 volt, the Bosch is nice as is the Makita, but I would go either with the Hitachi (the best battery and one of the cheapest) or the Milwaukee (just a very nice tool to use). I have both the Hitachi and the Milwaukee 12 volt drills. I bought the Hitachi first and loved it. Then the Milwaukee was introduced and now I find I use it to the exclusion of the Hitachi. Another nice thing about the Milaukee is that Home Depot now has the Milaukee 12 volt Li-Ion drill and a very nice 12 volt Li-Ion radio bundled for $179.00. About 6 weeks ago, I paid $149.00 for just the drill.

Finally a note on DeWalt. Ten years ago, they made the best cordless tools, hands down. Since Milwaukee introduced Li-Ion batteries to cordless tools about 4 years ago, DeWalt has just rested on it's name. It is only now introducing a line of Li-Ions, and they are way overpriced. Both Makita and Milwaukee have stepped up to fill DeWalt's place at the top. Buy either of them, and you should be very happy.

P.S. - some may say the Ridgid's warranty makes it the one to have. While it's true that if you hold onto your receipt, they will fix it forever, that doesn't change the fact that it is a below average tool. I'm very good friends with my local tool repair shop. He makes Ridgid warranty repairs. He constantly sites the example of one guy who has received 23 Ridgid 12 volt batteries under warranty in the last 3 years. Crap that gets fixed for free is still crap.

I hope this helped and good luck tool shopping.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kosta V on November 1, 2009 at 3:52pm: personally I would go with a dewalt; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bryan on November 2, 2009 at 1:14pm: DeWalt! I have a pile of other dead drills (mostly batteries... which cost about as much as a new drill). So far the Dewalt keeps on going...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bryan on November 2, 2009 at 1:15pm: Bryan said:
DeWalt! I have a pile of other dead drills (mostly batteries... which cost about as much as a new drill). So far the Dewalt keeps on going... I would buy "cheaper" drills thinking I'm saving money... yeah, not doing that anymore.; ▶ Reply to This