Battery powered screw driver/drill

I have an old rebatteried (several times) drill. What I like about it is that it has a mechanical gear change so low speed high torque or normal speed. I think that is much more desirable than reducing speed by cutting power as most do. If you find one ol'will
 
William_H said:
I have an old rebatteried (several times) drill. What I like about it is that it has a mechanical gear change so low speed high torque or normal speed. I think that is much more desirable than reducing speed by cutting power as most do. If you find one ol'will
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My Titan has two gears, handy for drilling at fast, driving in slow. Plus the normal speed control.
 
neil_s said:
My Lidl's Parkside 10.8v cheapie would do it easily. But what about a hand brace with screwdriver bit? will save your aching wrists, the batteries last a very long time, won't mind being dropped in the wet, and won't need replacing next year!
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I'm with you Neil. I keep an old hand drill on the boat and consequently no need for electricity. Maybe not the fastest, easiest thing to use but reliable, durable and never needs charging.
 
I was surprised lately to see Screwfix or Toolstation boasting a Hitachi 18v combi-drill with 2x 1.5ah batteries, for 'only' £130.

Last year I bought a Bosch 18v, with a single 4ah battery, for £99. The large reserve of power isn't burdensome at all.

I don't believe any of the premium brands are much better than the rest, because even trade crews seem unable to agree which is most durable. But before buying, it's probably worth looking at other tools from the same manufacturer - for instance, Bosch makes a nice cordless grinder which I could buy quite cheaply without a battery, because my drill's battery will also fit the grinder.
 
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dancrane said:
I was surprised lately to see Screwfix or Toolstation boasting a Hitachi 18v combi-drill with 2x 1.5ah batteries, for 'only' £130.

Last year I bought a Bosch 18v, with a single 4ah battery, for £99. The large reserve of power isn't burdensome at all.

I don't believe any of the premium brands are much better than the rest, because even trade crews seem unable to agree which is most durable. But before buying, it's probably worth looking at other tools from the same manufacturer - for instance, Bosch makes a nice cordless grinder which I could buy quite cheaply without a battery, because my drill's battery will also fit the grinder.
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The trade guys do, in my experience, agree on the brands. Milwaukee are the highest rated, then Makita and DeWalt close behind. Hitachi and Bosch are probably next, with Ryobi being the pick of the more DIY-oriented stuff.

You make a very valid point about checking out the full range from a manufacturer. One of the reasons I went for Makita is that they do a cordless sander, which has been invaluable on the boat. I've also accumulated the grinder, circular saw, drill, and driver, and run everything off the same pair of 4Ah batteries.

For DIY use Ryobi have a lot going for them, as they have a huge range of different tools all using the same batteries.
 
Any modern 18V drill will do that. The days of dragging cords around for tiny jobs are past. If you buy a decent drill with a good battery and charging system you can charge a battery in an hour or so. I have five electric drills - two corded and three battery. They all do different jobs - which I won't bore you with. I only use the mains drills for really hefty jobs.

If you spend days in the workshop - I do - then you may need to get two batteries, and they are expensive. It is worth buying into a system I think. So I am Makita 18V. If you have a couple of batteries it i relatively cheap to buy naked other machines reasonably cheaply for occasional use. I have a circular saw, which won't hack the big stuff, but it's great just to grab it for a simple cut, and I can take it with me to the timber yard and cut up lengths for transport. I also have a little "blower" - like a mini leaf blower which turns out to be great for blowing sawdust into a pile. Still only have two batteries. Of course it will hurt when the system I've bought into goes obsolete - happened to me once already. Sounds like Kelpie is on the same track as me.

And DownWest is right on the money about Torx screws. I never use anything else now. Anyone who is perverted enough to want about 5000 slotted head screws that are lying around my workshop can have them.
 
Like Kelpie and Amulet I am a Makita fan/customer. Buying naked tools is great to expand your set. Two batteries is an idea, but I find my arms give out faster than the 4Ah batteries I have.

Not cheap mind.
 
Lidl parkside 20v battery systems are great. They had an impact driver not so long ago for £20 and batteries for £11. For DIY use they are perfect. They also do angle gringers, jigsaw even a multi tool using the same batteries.
 
Trouble with Lidl/Aldi as a source of tools is that they're not always in stock so, if you have a sudden requirement for say a cordless jigsaw, you have to wait till they decide to stock them. This could be a long time.
 
thinwater said:
Doesn't everybody have a corded 1/2-inch drill? Lotsa power and the battery never runs down.
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I have two, and there are jobs they're good for such as swinging big holesaws, but for most work it's the 18v Li-Ion Makita every time. The batteries charge quicker than they run down, so it only takes a few seconds to swap between drill and charger and I can keep going.

The older NiCad Makita that it replaced lives on the boat now, with a 12v charger for the batteries. I'd bring the workshop one down if I had some serious drilling to do during refit, though. And of course a pair of drills fitted with different bits is often useful during a job to avoid repeated changing.

Pete
 
I've been using Milwaukee for some time (see https://www.milwaukeetool.eu/m18-fuel-drill-driver/m18-fdd-eu/). The 18v range is the best I've used. IMHO, better than Makita/DeWalt. Batteries never seem to self-discharge, so ready to go even after no use for months. Over a couple of years I've added the impact driver and a right-angle driver to my original drill/driver. Good quality kit just works when you need it and it lasts. Just put a lanyard on it if using on the boat!
 
We have had Bosch, Makita, Hitachi, Dewalt and black and decker Proline.

Dewalt on the whole i think is pretty good, the Bosch pro cordless i have i have just stripped the 2nd gear on it drilling a timber floor plate, not impressed.

A lot of trade guys like me wont buy really expensive tools as they are not covered by insurance in vans overnight, when you have been cleaned out you tend to buy cheaper stuff in case it gets nicked again :(
 
Well said chrisscorp. Many will say "buy cheap, buy twice" but it's been proved time and again that buying good quality, mid range tools is the best bet for amateur use. Professional users who use a tool for long hours daily need something more robust.
chrishscorp said:
We have had Bosch, Makita, Hitachi, Dewalt and black and decker Proline.

Dewalt on the whole i think is pretty good, the Bosch pro cordless i have i have just stripped the 2nd gear on it drilling a timber floor plate, not impressed.

A lot of trade guys like me wont buy really expensive tools as they are not covered by insurance in vans overnight, when you have been cleaned out you tend to buy cheaper stuff in case it gets nicked again :(
Click to expand...
 
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