Time to buy a new tool for the shop.

[Your Old Dog]

My 10 year plus Bosch battery operated drill gave up on me. It's the batteries that can't be replaced.

I'm looking for a new one. Anyone have any suggestions. I don't mind spending good money for one that will last me as mine see a lot of use. At the moment I'm looking at a Dewalt 18V 1/2" 3 speed drill/driver for around $279. Comes with charger and two batteries. Anyone know if this is a good choice or of something better?

Here's the description: "The DeWalt DC920KA is an 18V Heavy-duty XRP Cordless Drill/Driver Kit. It has DeWalt built built high power, high efficiency motor which delivers 510 unit watts out of max power for superior performance in all drilling and fastening applications. Its XRP extended run-time batteries provide long run-time & battery life. It features patented 3-speed all-metal transmission matches the speed to the application for optimal performance. Heavy-duty 1/2 inch ratcheting chuck locks the sleeve to prevent bits from slipping and falling out."

http://www.toolking.com/Images/Product/dewalt/largeDWDC920KA.jpg

Thanks in advance for your input.

BTW, I recently replaced my cordless screwdriver with a Makita cordless Impact screw driver and find it's an awesome tool. 150 ftpounds of torque plenty for bench use. Sears had a 50 piece accessory kit for $39.00 with every size and configuration of nut drivers and blades that makes it even handier. This one straightens out with a flick of the wrist, nice for one handed use.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Tps2Y%2BqmL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

[Just Bob Again]

Can't do every job with one tool. Why such a big hulk of a cordless? It's heavy. I've stopped using the low-speed/high-torque cordless drills. They tear you up. Impact wrench for that. Light drill for drilling. Light impact for driving. Corded or pneumatic for the heavy jobs. You need a half-inch chuck, you need a big corded drill like a Hole Hawg. Enough mass and size to do the job. I got Hilti last year to replace my old Porter Cable and Dewalt. An impact driver and a drill. 14.4 lithium. Expensive, but industrial quality. Then I have a range of other stuff for percussion drilling, large holes, air impact wrench, etc. The right tool for the right job.

[dalesvp]

I was told by an engineer friend Festools were the best quality power tools. I have not checked this claim out. Does anyone have any good or bad comments on these tools?

http://www.festoolusa.com/default.aspx

[HSS]

YOD,
I carry the 14.4 version of that same drill, and my son carries that exact drill. We use them daily and are constantly having to buy new batteries. It seems they have come out with a new battery for the DeWalt drill that will cost twice what the ones we use cost and last a bit longer. I saw a Makita 18 volt cordless 2 weeks ago that a tradesman was using to put up sheetrock and it was considerably lighter than the 18 volt Dewalt or the 14.4 DeWalt, for that matter. I would rather use the 14.4 Dewalt rather than the 18 because of the weight. Even so, Dewalt is a good drill.

[torker]

I don't know about that drill but I have a Dewlat 18V impact driver. I also have a very expensive SnapOn impact driver. The Dewalt is a far better machine. It has more power and the batteries last a lot longer(this came with 2 batteries).
If the drill was as good as the impact.. I'd buy one in a heartbeat!
Russ

[Stu]

before giving up on the old batteries.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Revive-Nicad-Batteries-by-Zapping-with-a-Welder/

I used this on 3 PorterCable and 6 DeWalt 14.4 batteries and it worked pretty well on all of them. The PorterCables were almost non usable, they would not hold a charge over night and in use would not work very long. Now I would estimate they have 80% of their original power, and they hold the charge. The Dewalts are much better, but not as dramatically improved as the PorterCables.

Bill

[Bill McLeod]

I have Makita and I am not wild on any of them but I would look at Rigid from Home Depot because they are gaureented for life including the battery

[airsmith282]

iill second that motion on the homedepo rigid stuff its awesome , really good i got a set on sale with the lithum ion batters 18 volt kit comes with a drill and an imppact drill you want power to rip stuff apart put together and so on they will handel it, and you want to talk about tourqge .... all our contractor that built our deck uses is rigid cordless tools for everything he builds.

i drove 4 inch deck screws for most of the day on one charge with the impact drill and it has no mercy the drills are well made very balanced replacement batteys are cheap enough, lifetime warranty on everthing thay even give you a cool contracter grade bag to haul them in.. i paid only 228.00 on sale canadain dollars of course.

i looked at dewalt once and after seeing the price on the replacment batters i waited and i waited and then came rigid , now iam not to thrilled with the QC on their band saws or drill presses but everything else seems great and thoes cordless drills are total tops on my list.


belive it or not iam a hard man to please and iam very picky as well ..but you got give them rigid drills a go. just buy the set that has the lithum ion batteries with them , you can get the same set with nicads but nicads suck bad ...

one more thing recharge time is less then 30 min.... first time charge new is about 30 min but charges after that is well under.

[jcarter]

I have pretty much given up on cordless tools. I just can't justify having to purchase new batteries every one to two years.I have a corded Dewalt that I use most of the time and a small generator to plug it into when power isn't near by. I have a 14.4 volt Dewalt that I attached a set of leads and clips to and I now run it off of a garden tractor battery. I use this combination when using the generator isn't feasible. This works great for working on boats and other vehicles- I just attach it to the vehicle's battery.

[wrk24wheel]

I have the complete set of 18v dewalt tools including that drill. This is a love hate relationship. The tools last a long time, but the batteries don't. I get a couple of years on a battery and that is it! Batteries from Dewalt are expensive (I keep six in my cabinets at any one time) as they do not last long. I cut and drill a lot of steel with them and this punishes them considerably.

On a good side, the drills have lasted me on the average of 5-6 years. I just recently had to replace the one for the one you are looking at. If I had to do it all again, I would purchase the Rigid lion stuff from HD. Unfortunately, I have too much money in Dewalt and unless I just toss everything, which I am not about to do, I will not be buying the Rigid any time too soon. Rigid provides free battery replacement for the life of the tool. This alone can pay for itself over the years. I actually think the Dewalt might be a little better made, but it is a toss up.

[torker]

I have pretty much given up on cordless tools. I just can't justify having to purchase new batteries every one to two years.I have a corded Dewalt that I use most of the time and a small generator to plug it into when power isn't near by. I have a 14.4 volt Dewalt that I attached a set of leads and clips to and I now run it off of a garden tractor battery. I use this combination when using the generator isn't feasible. This works great for working on boats and other vehicles- I just attach it to the vehicle's battery.
I'm actually in the same boat. I do have a few cordless tools but I'm replacing the more serious stuff with good ol' fashioned corded tools. I have a huge pile of dead cordless stuff that I can't get parts or batteries for.
On the other hand...I have a 15 year old Makita 3/8" corded drill that still works fine...and...believe it or not, I have a 30 year old B+D 1/4" corded drill that still works like it did the day it was new.
I recently bought a Makita 1/2" drill. I'm not crazy about the secondary handle. It slips as soon as you need it most. Otherwise a powerful drill tho..

[Duffy]

Now this may be HERESY, but it is Sunday so it is allowed. I have a Ryobi System One 18 volt drill. I went through the first pair of batteries, but replacements were only about $70.00/pair. I recently bought the "new" li-ion battery, (new charger REQUIRED of course!) and it is really great. The important point, (to me at least,) is that there are a BUNCH of tools that take the same battery. I even have a string trimmer and a hedge shear. On the DOWN side, I have two Makita 9.6 volt, ($40.00/battery,) one Makita 14.4 volt NiMh, ($100.00/battery,) at least THEY all use the same charger, (and they were given to me!) Finally, I have two Mastercraft 14.4 volt NiCad units, BUT when I went to replace the battery on the first one -$50.00 each-BUT WAIT!! they had a special that weekend, a 14.4 volt drill kit with TWO batteries and charger for $60.00. Great sez I, I will just throw the charger away and NOBODY really has too many drills! I got it home and found out that they had CHANGED THE BATTERY PACK DESIGN! I now have FOUR battery chargers in a row but mostly I use the Ryobi. It was inexpensive, but does a FINE job, lots of clutch settings, two speed ranges and hammer action.

[Bill Pace]

I'm in the Ridgid camp, at least on the cordless drills---

Like a lot of you, I was fed up with replacing the gad-awful expensive batteries only to get a couple yrs out of them. I had heard of the life-time warranty on the Ridgids so got their 14.4 and wouldnt you know ... the batteries were weak in about 8-10 months!

So, found where the replacement center was, took both of them in, guy dont ck them or nuttin, just says he aint got that model in stock, take 3-4 days- Ill give you a call -- 3-4 days later I get the call, go down to get them and he dont even want the old ones. Very painless!!

Get the new ones charged up and, WOW!, what a difference! I think we just dont realise sometimes just how much the battery has deteriorated....

So, if I can do that whenever I need batts, I'll STAY in the Ridgid's "most favored" column!:)

[ckelloug]

Ryobi's stuff is interesting but I've compared labels on a bunch of tools and their Li Ion batteries have a slightly lower amp hour capacity than the other manufacturers at Home Depot who printed their amp hours on the box.

I think Festool makes neat stuff and some is quite unique but it seems expensive. It's made in germany AFAIK. I've drooled in the catalog but don't have any of their stuff.

[doctor demo]

I don't know about that drill but I have a Dewlat 18V impact driver. I also have a very expensive SnapOn impact driver. The Dewalt is a far better machine. It has more power and the batteries last a lot longer(this came with 2 batteries).
If the drill was as good as the impact.. I'd buy one in a heartbeat!
Russ
I have an 18v Snapon drill that has seen hard use for the last 2-1/2 years, no problems yet.
I chose the Snapon for 2 reasons, 1 I have a 20 yr. old 3/8'' impact that I love from Snapon. 2 , most of the guys I work around have Dewalts and are always complaining about the bat. life and cost.
I have an Ingersol Rand cordless 1/2'' drive impact that I don't care much for, it doesn't get good mileage between charges.

Steve

[Peter.]

I have that 18V DeWalt and I can echo the comments above. The device is very tough and hardy, never a fault with it, but it IS heavy and hard on the hands when used constantly (drywalling at home etc) because of the weight. I am on my second set of (expensive) batteries in 4 years, so not so bad.

[macona]

Forget the rest, buy Panasonic. Constantly rated top.

I had a 12v one I dropped from about 20' up on a scissor lift. Still works.

And the chucks really grab.

[rmack898]

Another Dewalt shop here. I have 3 18v drills and on some jobs I will have a drill in one, a counter sink in the other, and a phillips bit in the third one and I can usually go all day on one set of batteries. I have several other Dewalt cordless tools and while I think that they perform well, I think the secret to cordless tools is battery rotation. I have a bank of 3 chargers and about 9 batteries. I keep a battery in a tool until it is completely discharged and then take a hot one from the charger rack. This way a battery gets used in a different tool each time it is re-charged and since different tools use the battery differently, this method seems to prolong battery life (my opinion). I label each battery with the month and year that it went into service and I have some batteries that are over 4 years old. My cordless tools get used very hard on a daily basis with good results.

I just have to add here that the DeWalt 18v impact driver I bought to repace my Snap On impact out preforms the SnapOn in every way, power, weight, battery life, and cost. It is one of the most used tools in my shop.


Mac

[dixdance]

I like Panasonic too. Have a 12v that has given good service, but my favorite is my old 9.6v. Much lighter and more than enuf torque for 95% of what I need it for. It's getting hard to find batteries for it, but still cheaper than buying a whole new set-up.

Actually, my all time favorite drill was an old Skill 1/4" corded, that was stolen from my shop in 1985. Great balance, plenty of guts, indestructible. If the guy who took it is reading this, I'd like it back!

richard

[Mcruff]

I bought 4 Dewalt XPR's over a 4 day period and returned all of them as the clutch failed to work on every one of them. I ended up buying a 14.4v Makita and have nothing but good things to say about it after 2 years of use.
I don't know why you guys have problems with batteries, I have a Black & Decker 9.6v I bought 15 years ago that still works great. Its low on power compared to modern ones but I still use it quite abit.

[Norman Atkinson]

Ray, Hi!

I've been a Googling and find that you have Aldi on your side of the Pond and in NY.

I've been using the firm first in Germany- 10 years ago and then in France, England , Spain and wherever.

They have offers of things and whilst they are not the tops the prices are good and the guarantees are 3 years unconditional.
I have quite a few tools which do well in a home workshop environment. After 3 yearS, what is there to lose?

We also have Lidl and Netto- both cheap and cheerful.
In fact, I am rather pi55ed thanks to Lidl wines at drinkable prices.

However, do look. You might be surprised

Cheers

Norm

[Your Old Dog]

Well jeez guys, that was very helpful.....I think? LOL

I was shooting for a 1/2" model because I didn't think they made a 3/4" model :D Actually I own about 5 corded drills but nothing 1/2". I didn't think a 1/2 cordless would be so awkward/heavy as to make it do double duty as my only cordless drill. Back to the drawing board and I'll give some of the others a more serious look. Thanks all for taking the time.

ray.......