Cordless drills

[DJ-Dulux]

After going through many cordless drills including £130 Black and Decker jobs I now only use Hilti, all my crew also only use Hilti now... They also do a rental scheme now which looks good, batteries replaced for free, tool updates etc all for a pretty decent monthly charge.

 

Dupe...

[KidRay]

+1 for the Makita made "Site" cordless drill at Screwfix.

Makita quality and 3 batteries with a 30 minute charger for under fifty quid, get them while they're hot.

[scoutnetworker]

my drill of choose is the milwaukee HD18 DD drill, best drill I have ever used by a long way... but they are pretty expensive (£275ish)

[Jack-handy]

I think you'll find that should read "Made in the same factory as Makita" A subtle, but possibly significant difference.

 

 

If you can find stock and stretch another 20 quid

 

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/49414/Power-...ss-Drill-Driver

 

Site , now getting dropped, are made by Makita , even Makita batteries fit.

[KidRay]

I think you'll find that should read "Made in the same factory as Makita" A subtle, but possibly significant difference.

 

From the Screwfix website:

The Site power tool range is designed and manufactured by Makita with all the professional performance and reliability you would expect from this heritage.

 

Are they fibbing do you think?

[KevinE]

Makita drills are made in Telford, I used to work for the company who serviced their plastic moulding machine controls.

 

They also made Philips fan heaters under contract..try drilling with one of those!

 

 

One of my ex work colleagues used to work at Marconi Defence where they made torpedos and guided missiles. The same factory also made 'Redring' electric showers as Marconi were part of GEC as were Redring.

 

But you get my point I hope!

 

My colleague talked about one week being put on the guidance alignment test bench and the next week being moved to the shower line..and back again. lets hope the excellent Makita quality is carried over to the Screwfix stuff...I might have a look at that range now I'm after a decent sander.

 

PS just looked on the screwfix website and one of those 'Site' drills looks like my Makita! Maybe the old Makita mould tools have become a little worn or of dated design and they've been transferred to the 'Site' brand..this sort of thing happens. I once bought a 'Great Mills' brand washing up bowl and when held up to the light you could see an 'ADDIS' logo that had been crudely machined out of the original mould by a hand held grinder though traces were just visible.

[Pete McCrea]

Had a Bosch 18V NiCAD for about 3 years. The drill was fine, but the batteries didn't hold charge. Replacement batteries were the cost of a new unit. SO I went Hitachi on a B&Q special. IIRC it's an 18V Li-Ion dual battery, and I seem to remember getting a pair for about £120. Weight is good, with a good level of power, and decent battery life.

 

One oddity of going from NiCad to LiIon is that the LiIon's will just stop with little or no warning, where as the NiCad will loose torque. It's a bit disconcerting the first time it just stops on you....

[waster]

Since people are talking about more expensive drills now...

 

I've had a Dewalt DC925 for about three years now. It's been bomb proof. It's taken loads of abuse and is still going fine. Batteries are also still fine. I've had mates that have gone through several cheap drills over the same time and have spent more buying replacement cheapo ones endlessly than I did on the Dewalt first time round.

[madorangepanda]

Again, if we are providing more general advice about drills. From the short time I spent working at a tool shop I can proffer the following advice.

 

The main two things that distinguish the £200+ drills from the sub £200 ones that look very similar are;

 

Batteries: Li-on is better, much better. But costs more. Look at the capacity also, a 1.3Ah battery won't last as long as a 3Ah one. But you can bet the 3Ah one will cost more.

 

Torque: Lots of the cheaper drills will have a really low torque, meaning for harder jobs they just don't cut it. Driving screws over 50mm can become a struggle even. My drill of choice is 14.4v but offers greater torque than many 18v models.

 

Brand wise have a look at the following. Hitachi, Panasonic, Dewalt, Bosch Blue Line, Makita.

 

Cheapest places are often online, but if you go to a tool shop regularly you will be able to get a discount.

[i_hate_fisicks]

I recently bought a Makita from B&Q. They had a pile of them half price, so it was £90 instead of £180 or something. I guess it must have been last year's model. Also though, they had a much cheaper drill, brand I can't recall, but it was grey that was I think £50 for the drill and 2 batteries. 18v. None of the other cheap ones came with 2 batteries. They had a demo one on the shelf and it seemed pretty solid. If there hadn't been half price Makitas I'd have had one.

[revbobuk]

Don't know if it will be relevant, but B&Q currently have the DeWalt 18V Li-ion drill (only one battery) for just £130 - I paid a bit more for mine, and I think it's worth every penny. Superb chuck - really does up tight; lots of torque, and excellent battery life.

[CarlaBatten]

Hi,

 

I read that a few people are recommending screwfix, I came across another DIY mag called ITS, I managed to save £60, when I went to ITS.

www.itslondon.co.uk

 

 

Carla x