cordless

[brmax]

Don't laugh, but I haven't owned one since 02 it crapped out then. I did buy one for work in 2010 a do all type, big and on sale. Since I retired and at home I have several corded and all are old and well used mainly concrete and steel, so One for the biz is needed and im considering what I might need it for most and I need one for driving small stud type screws for snaps and such. Do any of you all like a model that you use over another, I glanced at the small ones with whatever the newest batteries are ion I thought. I have to look at some handy types out there a bit more before any decisions are made and I am proud to say your opinions matter a great deal.

[Mojo]

Believe it or not I have been using the Black & Decker Firestorm 18 V cordless drills for 3 years now and still have the original batteries.

Last year I bought myself a complete set of cordless Porter Cable 18 v Lithium battery tools. Recip saw, drill, spotlight and impact driver.

I would avoid Skill tools as I had horrible luck with their batteries. I would also stick to the 18 V and not get into the lighter voltages and whenever possible use Lithium batteries.

Chris

[Mike]

I have 2 Ryobi a small and a large id be lost installing on a boat snaps  tops ect,.   not many outlets on a dock

[MinUph]

In this line of work many cordless tools will do. In a past career I've owned and used up Dewalt, Bosh, Sears, and the best was Panasonic 15.5V by far. That was in remodeling. I recently bought a Ryobi as I figured it would be fine for what I do now. I hate it. The chuck is hard t keep tight, the batteries are real crap. If you leave it unused even when fully charged it dies. I still have a couple Panasonics but the batteries have seen their day. I will be replacing the batteries soon as I miss the quality.
  As in any tool do you research and buy the best you can.

[brmax]

Thanks guys, I stopped in lowes and had to look over a 12v bosch I heard about,  I am blaming it on the show even though I Cant stand watching this old house, because Tommy has new tools every time I see it.  All though this drill wasn't on the program today and this 12v is not for everything surely but looks real handy for what I am considering. I am not real up on the driver type drill bits I seen. I am looking around for a while it has always been the best strategy, and better yet getting other views and I appreciate the help.

[Darren Henry]

I got spoiled using an impact driver for the last couple of years.they are so much better than a regular screw gun that I convinced the boss to replace it when it died.we picked up a 12V hitachi yesterday that looks like it should work well.

In shopping around I found that,at least up here, the combo [drill/impact] sets are only 10's of dollars more than buying one of the pieces separately. This gives you a second battery and the ability to jump back and forth between a drill for pilot holes and the impact to set the screw without having to stop and re-chuck.

My personal "fave" is the 20 V Dewalt set.Very compact and the balance in the hand is incredible. The light on the impact is very bright and a real godsend at times. My co-worker has had his for around a year and is very happy with it. He's an RV tech so I will call them "contractor approved".

[sofadoc]

I concur with Paul about the Ryobi. Loose chuck, batteries don't last.

I also concur with Darren about buying a whole new rig for just a few bucks more than buying individual replacements. I can usually find some 5 piece kit on sale for just a little more than the cost of replacement batteries for my old cordless.

I have a buddy who used to buy a new printer every time he needed a new ink cartridge. The new printer came with cartridges for around $35. The replacement cartridges were $17.95 each. He would then sell his old printers at a garage sale.

[brmax]

Great ideas you all, Darren I just been looking over the impact versus drill and real close to your same thought so any more on that im all ears on the experience serious, I am going to look at some red 12v fuel series by Milwaukee a bit. I really like the hex driver idea no matter what brand, I think I would look at what are the stubby drill bits and just get a few I plan to use most 9/64/, 11/64.  I agree on the printer totally, I have gone broke buying ink in the past for school papers and just printing because everyone could. Dennis I wish I was a smart as the fella you mention,  but the pleasure I had throwing them in the trash. it was therapy I do say
Good day
PS I picked up a red porta-band ac/dc its noisey but no sparkys, so its time to build material cart

[Darren Henry]

Darren I just been looking over the impact versus drill and real close to your same thought so any more on that im all ears on the experience

I find that an impact driver is far less likely to slip off a screw, eventually strip out that screw,or tire out my wrist. No doubt because it requires less torque and they tend to be smaller than a drill.

My best advice would be to ---borrow one from a friend, ask for a demo at  the store--? and take one for a spin. Cordless drills were just coming out when I left home and quit working with Dad [electrician]. We had always screwed electrical boxes on with a manual screw driver and these "new gadgets" seemed a waste. I came home to visit shortly after he got his first one and he had some job to do that weekend so I gave him a hand. WOW, occasionally technology &progress are a good thing.

[byhammerandhand]

Any time I've seen Panasonic in a tool review of cordless drills, it's come out as  one of the best.

I've been through 2 Makitas and most of a Hitatchi and Metabo cordless.  The Metabo also went through a set of rebuilt batteries.  The last one I bought was a Ridgid from Home Depot. While not top rated, it came with a lifetime service agreement on the batteries.  I'm on my second set of replacements now in about 7 years.   My local repair shop swaps them out over the counter and fills out a few forms.    Maybe I'm hard on cordless tools?

I got an impact driver a few years ago and couldn't stand the thought of spending almost $200 for a cordless tool and have the batteries go bad, need $100 in batteries to get it back to life.   I found one corded model, a Makita, that I've been happy with.   I can now do a large deck and drive screws all day long.    Since then, Porter-Cable has also come out with a corded model.   And many of the brands are offering the combo backs for between $100 and $150.

I don't have much use for cordless tools other than the drill / driver.   If I was working on roofs or bridges, maybe, but I've never more than 12' from an outlet most places that I work.    And I have some heavy-duty extension cords.