Drill Suggestions

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Jgrden

Jgrden

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
6,287
Location
hOUSTON, Texas
I use a Power Storm 14.4 V hand held drill for squaring the end of blanks. The stinkin' battery won't hold a charge worth a tinkers hoot. I need a new drill. Give me an idea of what you use and what you suggest.

John, in Conroe.
 
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Right now I have two 18volt Dewalt drills with one rebuilt battery and 2 shot ones. Seriously thinking about replacing them with a Ridgid drill since batteries are covered under the lifetime replacement warranty -

LIFETIME SERVICE AGREEMENT FOR RIDGID® HAND HELD POWER TOOLS, STATIONARY POWER TOOLS AND PNEUMATIC TOOLS
In addition to the 3-Year Limited Service Warranty currently included with RIDGID® Brand Hand Held Power Tools Stationary Power Tools, and Pneumatic Tools, purchasers of these products may elect for a limited time to receive a free Lifetime Service Agreement. To accept this Lifetime Service Agreement, you must register your product and submit proof of purchase as described below. The Lifetime Service Agreement provides the original owner of qualifying RIDGID® Brand tools a lifetime of free replacement batteries, free service and free replacement parts subject to the limitations set forth below.



I don't know how these two brands compare performance wise.
 
I have a Milwaukee 8 Amp. I will drill through about anything, and I love it! I hate battery powered because they just don't have the power and the battery always seems to die right at the end of a project. I've heard the Dewalt 18V are as good as anything up until reading Monty's post. Never had a problem with mine, and my dad has one that's been going strong for YEARS! So I guess that's my two cents.
 
I have a Rigid 18 V drill I picked up at Home Depot. Complete the warranty card and it carries a lifetime warranty on the drill, battery and quick charge. I have been using it for 2 years and no problems.

Wade
 
ed4copies said:
Cheap one with a cord to plug into 120V. Works every time!

$10 ish
Click to expand...

What Ed said.

If you have to have a cordless then I would go with the Ridgid 18v Lithium Ion. I have been slowly switching my tools over to Ridgid. They are good tools and the lifetime warranty is a no brainer. I have the Dewalt 18v and the batteries are on their last legs. It is so frustrating because it is about the same price to buy a new drill with two batteries as it is to buy two replacement batteries. The Dewalt tools are good tools but I have grown tired of paying extra for the yellow and black label. The Ridgid tools are cheaper, have a better warranty and are just as good tools.

My second choice on a cordless would be the Makital 18v Lithium Ion. It is an awesome cordless drill. A friend of mine works with one and I always have drill envy when I work with him. Bit more expensive than the Ridgid and not as good a warranty, but a very good drill.
 
Check your local yellow pages for a battery rebuilder.... Batteries Plus or the like. In many cases, they can rebuild your battery pack for a "LOT" less than what it would cost to buy a new one.:cool:
 
I use a 12v FireStorm my daughter gave me a few years ago. I bought a second battery, and always have the one not in use on the charger. That way, I don't have any down time.
 
I picked up a Rigid 12v with an extra battery and case for $99. I've been using it for
about 3 years with no problems. The batteries hold a charge and charge fast. I have not
had a battery die the same day I charged it, but I'm not using it all day long, either.
I poke holes in houses with it (cable guy) and assemble/dis-assemble mold boxes most
every day. Not extremely high usage, but it gets a workout.

Someone told me that a lot of these brands are now being made by the same people
anyway.. Porter Cable .. Dewalt ..Makita? Now I forget who ..
 
Jgrden said:
I use a Power Storm 14.4 V hand held drill for squaring the end of blanks. The stinkin' battery won't hold a charge worth a tinkers hoot. I need a new drill. Give me an idea of what you use and what you suggest.

John, in Conroe.
Click to expand...

Not sure how well a tinker's hoot hold a charge, but understand that short of a Harbor Freight cordless drill you bought the cheapest possible drill there is.

Either buy a corded drill, or a quality drill from Makita

Black and Decker owns -Porter Cable, Dewalt, Delta, Kwickset, Price-Fister, Baldwin, and a few others.
 
I have two 12V B&D Firestorm systems. On both the chargers went bad making the drills and add-ons useless. On reccomendation of others at my woodworking forum, I bought a 14V DeWalt. It's charger is much better made than the Firestorm and it is variable voltage. This means I can charge my 12V batts on it also. So, now I have three working cordless drills. The DeWalt seems to be the brand of choice with professionals. I like mine but find it heavy. And, with my sore, aging shoulders, I have to admit I have trouble using it.
However, the free battery warranty from Rigid seems hard to beat and the brand has a good reputation.
Personally, if I were shopping today, I would go for the Rigid.
BTW, DeWalt is very expensive. My drill was $260.00. I made a lifetime purchase but, for me and my shoulders, it proved a false economy.
 
I'm a big fan of the Craftsman 19.2V C3 set....you can get all kinds of tools that all use the same batteries. The 19.2V lasts quite a while and has plenty of power. They also sell Lithium Ion batteries to retrofit the NiCad 19.2V set....so you don't have to buy a whole new drill just to benefit from Lithium (just the battery). I plan to upgrade to Lithium batteries when mine start to die on me....but they're still going strong after 3 years....

I bought my set on some crazy sale...it was the 19.2V drill, 5 1/4 trim saw (LOOOOOOVE it), Sander, Flourescent flashlight, dust-buster type hand vac, and jigsaw, 2 batteries and quick charger in a decent carrying bag for around $160 I think. This was 3 years ago. I was sold on the 19.2V set b/c my dad bought one 3 years before I did and we put that thing through the ringer and it held up like a champ. He's still using his set after 6 years now.
 
Ridgid makes a pretty decent tool. My cordless tools are all Dewalt 18v. Never a problem with the batteries and I have owned them for about 5 years with moderate use.

I have used some nice Ridgid stuff too, I don't think you would go wrong with the Ridgid 12v. I have 18v because I use the hammerdrill and impact driver which need the extra juice.
 
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