I'm in need of a new cordless drill. I bought one several years back and its shot. I don't need a top of the line brand as I'm not relying on this for a paycheck, but I don't want a shoddy one either. I'm looking at 100-150.00 price range, and while I'm sure I could get away with a nice 3/8", I've been looking at 1/2".

What do you all suggest? Currently I'm leaning towards Rockwell, but am torn between the bottom line Shop Series 18V and their ProGrade 18V drill's.
The ProGrade is 149.99 (Harbor Freight), 485 in/lbs max torque, 0-350 rpm driver mode, 0-1300 drilling mode. The Shop Series is on sale where I work for 79.99 (plus another 15% off), 275 in/lbs max torque, 0-400 rpm driver mode, 0-1300 rpm drilling mode.

Both come with a Free Lifetime Battery Replacement warranty as well as coming from a line where other cordless tools, (jig saw, reciprocating saw, circular saw) could run off the same batteries.

Any other brands to consider? From what I can tell, Rockwell is a small business but the products seem to be of decent quality. I'd love to have a DeWalt or Hitachi set but that seems to be a bit more than what I really need.

Suggestions?

 

how bout a craftsman ?
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...n+Professional

 

You mean crapsmen? No self respecting person should use the junk they now make. Ever since Kmart took over they build junk and most other fellow contractors agree.

I would buy a makita, bosch, rigid, milwaukee, hitachi or even a ryobi before crapsmen. I have all makita tools, my only splurge was a channel lock branded 24v cordless that aint half bad for 50 bucks, I bought it at sams club to basically abuse. My motto is buy once, cry once. YOu pay the price now or buy quality that lasts. As you noticed, your last drill is shot, and coulda been still good shoulda it been a decent brand.

 

CJM Has got it...


Makita, Bosch, or Milwaukee for me... My dad and I own a Makita Hammer Drill, a corded Milwaukee, and 2 cordless (18volt) Bosch'es. Bottom line... If you want a cordless drill that will last a very long time... Get the Bosch. My dad have been using the cordless Bosch'es for 3-4-5 years now? They have put up with a LOT of abuse and still work great. Another plus to the Bosch, is that the battery's also work in the cordless rotoZip's They may cost a bit more, but dang, it is totally worth it to buy GOOD tools... They have paid for themselves many times over.


Stay away from:
Craftsmen
Dewalt (Absolute JUNK batterys)
Anything not Bosch, Makita, Hitachi, or Milwaukee...

 

I don't know alot about them, but my Rigid has been kickin butt for about 3 years now. I like it and it hasn't let me down yet.

 

I'd say go with a craftsman or "crapsmen" as some call them. I have several craftsman power tools, including the drill my grandpa bought in the 70's. I had a 12v cordless from 1998, but ti got stolen ~2003, so I bought one of the first 19.2v they had, it still works great. I'm thinking to look it to Li-Ion soon.

IMO the 19.2v power tools from craftsman (prolly others but i can't vouch for those) are the ideal voltage. I have used 14.4's and they can be under-powered. My buddy has a 24v and there is quite a bit more weight than my 19.2.

That set elton showed is the one i bought, just newer. I'd highly recommend it.

 

Just an FYI about why I hate crapsmen: My boss has a 18v drill. It is cheap plastic, wont hold a charge after a few years (I think he got it in 01) and totally has no power vs his makita 14v. Compare this: we spent an entire day working in shevles into one of our work vans. This includes alot of metal drilling and using the drill as a driver as well.

The makita lasted all day and the crapsmen worked for an hour. Now mind you, were using this drill and bits to reinforce plain old contractor shelving to handle weight. We use bed frame as a cheap source of angle iron (read: FREE), it is not easy for any thing to drill through it that the common person has and my boss has matco drill bits designed for high speed metal drilling. The makita got hot as all heck but worked fine all day.

Next van we did I used my makita 18v cordless, all day long it was fine even though it got seriously hot and we let it cool.

Like I said: even if you dont abuse the tools, buy once and cry once. There is a reason contractors spend money on the better stuff. Most guys I know use bosh, milwaukee or makita. The older craftsmen were good, my dads old corded drill worked great for 20 years till the motor died and his circular saw is working good too.

Oh and avoid porter cable, I have a 9.6V cordless that the batteries dont stay charged up for daily use to well and it dies to easy. The makita 9.6 lasts 3x longer and has way more power somehow.

Every power tool I own is a makita or good brand unless I plan on destroying it, then even walmart black and decker I buyover crapsmen, which reminds me thier jigsaw has worked fine for years now and it was only 20 bucks-craftsmens the motor died after a few weeks, got a new one and it died again..gave up. My black and decker grind is also danged nice. But I have a makita powersaw, chopsaw, grinder, combo hammer/rotary 5/8 chuck drill, 9.6 drill, sander, I also have a milwaukee angle dril, etc. Happily the older craftsmen jigsaw and belt sander and power sander (read the ones made out of bakelite I think) have worked fine for years.

Im not trying to be a dick, but really why would one pay for stuff made of cheap plastic with plastic inner workings-only to have it break after awhile and be stuck again. There is a reason good tools cost more, they last way longer. A milwaukee power drill bought in 1985 so long as it isnt horribly abused couldhelp your great grandson someday.

 

When you say "shot" what do you mean? Mostly, its just the battery, and you can get replacements or have your current battery pack rebuilt for much cheaper than a new drill will cost.

I have a DeWalt 9.6V, it's nice for around the house stuff, but mostly as a screwdriver. I also have an 18V Craftsman and a 19.2 Craftsman (and a cordless impact gun) with the "C3" battery. I have never had a problem with either of them. Usually, Sears has their stuff made by the best in the industry based on their top of the line models - not sure who actually makes their cordless tools, but air tools are made by Ingersoll-Rand, Kenmore stuff is usually made by Whirlpool, etc.

NOTE: Black and Decker, DeWalt, and Porter-Cable are all the same company. The difference is more metal parts, etc - but the design is all the same...

 

Crapsmens stuff imho has gotten cheaper and cheaper over the years. All aspects of thier tools, from mechanics tools to power tools. You know they are cheap when you ca buy better quality hand mechanics tools at walmart made by stanley. I use my tools for a living, 4 crapsmen 1/4 drive ratchets and I am sorry I traded in an older one for them (the older one ball detent stopped working). I bought a stanley one at walmart and its been fine.

My dislike of thier stuff is quite recognized by others. My friend works for a professional contractor. Not a single person on that crew uses anything made by craftsmen besides a hammer maybe (I do have 2 of those and they are actually nice, but I bought the pro ones). My friends dad is a cabinet maker for 40 years, he has 0 craftsmen tools, my HS woodshop teacher swore by makita, bosch and milwaukee, my boss was a contractor for 10 years and he dont have crapsmens, I worked for a contractor doing all phases of work, no one had craftsmen tools made in the last 20 years, those that did had the bakelite kind I mention that seem to be made superbly, everyone else had makita, bosch or milwaukee, my cousin is a mason and he bought a ryobi set as work told him to spend as little as possible, the cheapest of cheap hasnt let him down, he bought it to replace a crapsmen set-see a trend? I dunno about you guys, but I use what holds up. Sure it may cost 200 bucks now, but down the road it aint gonna break.

 

I'm not sure about why the new li-ion batteries died from Makita, but the price they wanted for new ones was ridiculous. With the age of the drills (Few months old) they shouldn't be losing cells.

A Maxim article a few months back had a competition between a Hitachi, Makita, Ryobi, and Skil. They tested their ability to drill through a lock, carve an ice sculpture, and drill holes in hardwood I believe.
The #1 was the Ryobi (I find a bit heavy, #p203), then Makita (The little white one, their battery was the only one to die during the tests), the Hitachi, and then the Skil.

I have seen Ryobi becoming more common on the job site, while makita makes amazing tools, there were a few glitches with the batteries. They're so light, they'll take some off your wallet.
I too don't like the Dewalt batteries (Small capacity, long charge time).

Most manufacturers have interchangeable batteries, and with ryobi's one+ system, you can change between li-ion and ni-cd for most of their 18v tools.

What kind of work do you normally do? Perhaps a smaller capacity li-ion would be just fine for you.

 

yeah I had a makita 9.6v, battery life was good, little more than my craftsman, but the motor burnt up after a couple years.

I have always had good luck with my craftsmans, they have been thrown in the back of my truck, put a dent in my 77 (idiot ran the light lol), and have still ran after all that. I bought a couple extra batteries for mine so I have 4 batteries and a 1 hr charger, that allows me to easily drill all day, though IMO the battery life is excellent anyway.

I also have a craftsman drill press (2002), band saw (1983), reciprocating saw (2005), 7.25" circular saw (1983), 4.5" circular saw (2002), tractors (1983, 2002), and a ton of sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers, etc. and a coffee cup. The only complaint I ever had is that the old circular saw is heavy as a led brick, thats why I got the 4.5" for the smaller projects.

So, I recommend craftsman purely because of experience; enough arguing.

 

i've always liked mikita, but recently got the ryobi set, and the drill is pretty good. they run about $70, and the battery fits 30 other tools, that are priced pretty good. i love my ryobi 18v impact.

 

Ryobi ROCKS

 

X whatever on the Ryobi. I have got 9 of the cordless 18V Ryobi's and 6 Batteries and 2 chargers.

I like it that I don't have to have a ton of different batteries/chargers to worry about. Been using them for a couple of years now and dropped drills from being up on a ladder and non of them have skipped a beat.

It comes in handy at the boneyard for things like floors...

 

Milwaukee or Makita. I have a 28V Milwaukee that will break your arm on the torquiest setting or work like a charm putting in screws. One battery charge lasts a LONG LONG time. Great product.

 

We love/sell Bosch.
Makita's are nice for the price
Metabo/walter are on the same level as Bosch.
I've got a cheapish Ryobi 18V, it does alrigth for what it it, i just bought it for my dads office i dont use it for big things.
I've also got a first gen dewalt 18v that i have suprisingly never had any problems with. It has tonnes of power and works great. I think i've got the lemon tho, (a lemon dewalt means it works flawlessly ).. i cant recommend dewalt to anyone... now adays theyre complete garbage.

 

I have 3 craftsman 19.2 drills, 1 craftsman 19.2 impact driver , also have the sawz all 19.2, the circular saw 19.2. I have had zero problems. I have a Dewalt that makes one heck of paper weight. That drill worthless. Dewalt , Black and Decker are made by the same people. I do have 2 of the new Bosch 14 volt Brute Force( I think thats what they are calling them) drills. they are very nice. just my .02

 

I've had bad luck with....Craftsman, DeWalt, and Ryobi.
Ive had good luck with....Makita, Milwaukee, and Porter-Cable.
I've heard good things about Hitachi and Rigid.

Also oddly I've had good experiences with Black&Decker and yes I know they make DeWalt but, the DeWalt batteries we use at work just don't hold up and the chucks suck.

The above is based off personal experiences from home, shop, and work.

P.S. I'll gladly change my opinion if someone wants to send me a free drill!

 

Wow, this thread took off more than I thought it would, though the varying opinions I did suspect.

Looks like Makita, Ryobi and Milwaukee seem to be the most popular with the others close behind. Hit or miss with Craftsman and Negatives on DeWalts due to battery life.

I'm going to look a little deeper into the top 3 and compare them with the Rockwells, price/power and warranty's. I'm not relying on this daily but when the time is needed, I want a reliable tool to get the job done. And while for most of what I'll need it for, a smaller drill would be suffecient, I'd rather have a bit more just in case. Compatability with other tools battery wise is nice too as I plan to add along the way.

TC mentioned replacing or rebuilding the battery on my current one. Rebuilding is an option but the drill still lacks power. It's one that my mom would find handy for around the house but if needed for some serious work, its insuffecient. If I did though, I would just hand it down to my mom for around the house.

Anyone know what the battery lifespans on these usually are? Does lack of use over time effect the lifespan?

Thanks again for the info. Figured there were a "few" on here that might have some good info on this subject.

 

Agreed on the De walt batteries. There corded tools are awesome. I'm personally a big fan of craftsman, always have been. I'll have to see some of the flaws some of ya'll are experiencing before I change my opinion, but to each his own.