Way off-topic. I need a drill. Anyone know anything about drills?

[Gilbo]

1. I'm willing to spend money to get a good one.

2. I've heard Makita is excellent, but that's the limit of my knowledge.

3. I realize this is kind of a random but what the hell.

[Pradeep]

What do your plan on drilling into? If into masonary, you may want a hammer drill.

Do you want/need cordless or corded?

[Handruin]

I've used a nice Makita in the past (corded) and it had plenty of torque...so much that the lights dimmed when it was under enough load.

The price of a Makita was rather high for what I wanted so I bought a nice Hitachi corded drill for a fraction of the cost and I'm very happy with it. I believe I ended up buying it at home depot. If you have a hardware store near you like home depot, I'd suggest taking a trip and looking at some of the drills. You'll also need to investigate if the drill can handle the size drill bits you intend to use.

The questions Pradeep asked are key into choosing the drill you might want. You can spend a lot on cordless drills because the batteries can be expensive in some brands.

[Will Rickards]

I've heard the red ones are the ones to get.
I don't know the brand name.
I'd suggest a corded one if it is your only one.

[Will Rickards]

The red ones are milwaukee I think

[Handruin]

Oh, damnit...that's what I meant, Milwaukee, not Makita. Guess I know drills very well. :-D

[Groltz]

Makitas are OK, I've used them for years to drive threaded fasteners at work. I've never been very happy with their charge holding capacity. Last night I went through 2 (14.4v) batteries just to take about 150 #10 screws out of three 757 wing access panels and then re-install them later.

***

I've read that the new Milwaukees with the "V28" batteries have problems. I wouldn't recommend them. (Consumer Reports, December 2005, Page 47)

***

If I were to buy a nice new cordless drill right here and now, it would likely be a DeWalt DC920KA.
However, I have an 6-year-old 24-volt Bosch cordless that still takes whatever beating I give it so that won't be anytime soon.

[Gilbo]

I don't need to do masonry, so I'm avoiding the hammer drills. I've also decided I'm going to go corded. For my use the cord will be fine. The Li-Ion battery drills I've looked at are really expensive. The others are all NiCd or NiMH which is an annoying chemistry to deal with for my use (need to be recharged even if not used for a couple months/weeks). I won't be using it all the time.

Is DeWalt a respected brand? They seem to be all over the drill section at the Home Depot near my house.

Milwaukee has been mentioned to me as well as a respected brand. I'll check them out.

[timwhit]

I have had very good luck with DeWalt drills. I would also try to get a keyless chuck if possible, makes changing bits much easier. I think I paid about $40 for mine and have had no problems with it at all. The yellow color makes them easy to find also.

[Bozo]

"Milwaukee has been mentioned to me as well as a respected brand."
Agreed. Mine is a few years old and still running fine. It was a little pricey but worth the extra cost. Built two houses with it, and used it to hang drywall. 100s of screws!! I believe Milwaukee still uses metal for their frames. Not plastic junk.
Stay away from Black & Decker. Junk

I have a Rigid 4" grinder too. It's great. If you go to a construction site, you will find Rigid everywhere. Don't know if they make power drills, but I would think so as they make everything else. Again, pricey but worth it. Home Depot has Rigid.

Milwaukee (made in USA) and Rigid are 'Lifetime' tools. If you buy one, you won't have to buy another.

Bozo :joker:

[Buck]

I've had good success with cordless Bosch and DeWalt drill motors.

[Stereodude]

Hitachi is well respected also.

[Platform]

Hitachi is well respected also.

I've not had the chance to test drive Hitachi's power hand tools, but they do appear to be up to standards for professional use. They sort of look like Bosch clones, but looks can be deceiving. I do for a fact like some of their *larger* pieces of equipment (table saws, band saws, planers, jointers, etc). I bought a 10-inch (blade) Hitachi table saw recently because I needed something that I more easily move around than my heavy-as-hell "old" Crafstman 12-inch table saw.

Pretty much across the board, DeWalt makes outstanding power tools. Bosch, Ridgid, Porter-Cable, and the pricier Delta equipment all excellent. By the way, I was just using my bad-ass 18-inch Ridgid bandsaw this past weekend.

As far as drill motors go, Milwaukee has manufactured excellent drill motors for several decades. But, nowadays, they have very serious competition from the likes of Porter-Cable, DeWalt, and Bosch. I own a couple of "older" Porter-Cable drill motors. I also have a 12-inch Delta drill press.

Now that I'm on a roll here, I also have a geared mechanical hand drill and a couple of braces -- which are crank-type hand drills -- all of which are used for doing delicate and/or precise drilling jobs.

[Handruin]

I'm happy with my Hitachi drill so far (corded). I need more projects to make better use of it though. ;)

[Bung]

Random quotes
"Stay away from Black & Decker. Junk"
"DeWalt makes outstanding power tools."
B&D wasn't all junk but since they've owned DeWalt since 1960 the better stuff seems to be marketed in that range now. The thing that I miss with my good drills compared with new models is the slow start option you get with variable speed.

[time]

Thanks for pointing that out, Bung. It made me chortle.

In the same vein, I see that B&D and Hitachi have been sharing models since 2002:


Hitachi Koki has already built a good relationship with Black & Decker by supplying the company with products on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis. The agreement will enable the two companies not only to source products from the other, but also to exchange technology, to cross-license patents, and to develop new products on a cooperative basis.

Also, Ridgid is, in effect, a house brand of Home Depot:
Prior to the TTI-Home Depot deal, Ridgid was a relatively unknown power-tool brand name owned by Emerson Electric.

TTI also owns Ryobi.

[Bozo]

Also, Ridgid is, in effect, a house brand of Home Depot:

That's not true. 30 years ago when I worked construction--long before Home Depot--Ridgid was the defacto tool used. No self respecting contractor would show up on a construction site with anything else. You could only buy Ridgid at wholesale houses. Home Depot is just an exclusive distribitor for the general public. Some of the tools I used then are still in service today.
I think Lowes is the distribitor for Milwalkee.

Bozo :joker:

[time]

Okay, Ridgid is, now in effect, a house brand of Home Depot.

[Clocker]

What will you be using your new drill for?

[e_dawg]

Gilbo, check out the following on sale at Cdn Tire, half-price

Mastercraft Maximum 14.4 Volt 3KO Impact Gun

Sale: $129.99
Reg :$249.99

Product #54-0070-4

Designed for three knock-out applications: fastening, driving and drilling
Variable speed: 0-2,300 rpm, 0-3,000 bpm
Delivers a powerful 1,050 in-lbs. of torque
Ergonomic design for extended use
Compact and lightweight for easier access to tighter work areas
Drilling/driving adapter pops on easily, lets you make bit changes on the fly
Includes 1 hour diagnostic charger, two 14.4V rechargeable batteries, ½" square to ¼" hex adapter, 26-piece multi-purpose bit set, and blow-moulded case with slide-out accessory tray

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444328 1436&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672077

[e_dawg]

BTW, what is the difference between a drill, impact gun, and hammer drill? In what situations would you use the latter two?

It would seem obvious to a power tool user, but a 150/300-rpm SKIL cordless drill (2.4v, I think) is the biggest, baddest power tool I got. I think they make cordless screwdrivers with more speed and torque these days!

[Groltz]

BTW, what is the difference between a drill, impact gun, and hammer drill? In what situations would you use the latter two?

A drill is for boring holes.

An impact gun is for loosening/tightening fasteners, especially those requiring high impact torque to break loose.

Hammer drills are used for drilling concrete and masonry.

[Mercutio]

There's a DeWalt repair depot in Hammond, Indiana. They've got signs up right now that say "Moving Sale, 75% off."

This is the only possible way I could contribute to this thread.

[ddrueding]

This is the only possible way I could contribute to this thread.

I was thinking the same thing, but I do have a Makita 14.4v that I use for building computers...

[Computer Generated Baby]

Wow! Not only are we music experts, photography experts, and experts in other fields, we are also hand tool experts!




Okay, Ridgid is, now in effect, a house brand of Home Depot.

I'd say Ryobi is Home Despot's "house brand" if any brand is their house brand. As far as I know, Home Depot is only in North America. Hopefully, for your sake, Home Depot isn't in Oz, becoz, (hey, I'm a poet!) it's distant cousin Walmart is probably trying to break into Oz as well. :errr:




Hammer drills are used for drilling concrete and masonry.

Ahhh... another name I don't believe was mentioned: HILTI -- king of the hammer drills. Well, at least they were a while back when I used them to install "Hilti Bolts" in concrete. At the time (mid-to-late '1970s) it was pretty much Bosch or Hilti for hammer drills. Bosch was good, Hilti was better. I have no idea what the state of hammer drills are today.

[Pradeep]

Hilti, they used one of these in an episode of The Wire, gangs guys bought one to board up derelict houses, after killing the people inside:

http://www.us.hilti.com/holus/modules/editorial/edit_singlepage.jsp?edtid=-16261_000026

They make some nice contractor gear, priced accordingly.